Two Tarts

Popsicles with Roasted Strawberry & Coconut Milk

2012-06-04T13:15:00.001-06:00

In search of something creamy and cool, with a seasonal fruit thrown in the mix, we came up with these popsicles. With only three ingredients – coconut milk, roasted strawberries, and a spoonful of agave for sweetness - these are simple to make and easy to substitute in any seasonal fruit you’ve got on hand. Not bad in terms of a reasonably healthy treat that makes toddlers literally squeal (loudly) with excitement!

We decided to see what would happen if we attempted to concentrate fresh strawberry flavors from fresh and light to rich and intense. We love fresh strawberries, but their flavor sometimes seems too muted when you start using them as an ingredient (rather than eating them straight out of hand). We did it simply by roasting the strawberries for 20 minutes. Sprinkled with a tablespoon of sugar, they develop bubbly brown edges and deep flavors. Perfect for blending with coconut milk to create a creamy popsicle with lots of strawberry flavor.

To be honest, these popsicles came together as a result of leftovers. I had some coconut milk waiting in the fridge, and I was itching to use it in a summery dessert. We had leftover roasted strawberries from our latest cocktail over at our Whole Foods column, Locally Mixed. A little agave for sweetness (chosen for its easy-to-stir-in consistency) and we had ourselves four sweet little popsicles!

Popsicles with Roasted Strawberries & Coconut Milk

1/2 c. coconut milk

1/2 c. roasted strawberry puree (recipe below)

1 Tbsp. agave

Blend all three ingredients together, pour into popsicles molds, and freeze overnight. Warning: This recipe only makes about 4 small popsicles; feel free to double it!

Roasted Strawberry Puree

2 cups roughly chopped strawberries

Sprinkled with 1 Tbsp sugar

Yield: 1 cup

Roast at 400 for approx 20 minutes or until edges are browning and the pan contains bubbling & caramelizing strawberry juice. I highly recommend a rimmed baking sheet for this recipe! Scoop roasted strawberries into a glass jar for storage and mash them with a fork until they fall apart into a rough “puree”.

If you’re looking for another excuse to make a batch of the Roasted Strawberry Puree, here’s one: Roasted Strawberry, Gin, & Ginger Cocktail!

Homemade Mayonnaise

2012-05-31T17:39:00.002-06:00

Sarah and I have been talking about doing homemade mayo for what feels like forever. Now we're experiencing summer temperatures in Colorado, and our thoughts are on picnic baskets, baguette sandwiches, and potato salads. I am not a huge mayo fan, and I have always used it sparingly on sandwiches, if at all. It was a great point of contention when I discovered that my husband's family dips their artichoke leaves in mayonnaise. (Melted butter, am I right?) But homemade mayo is a whole different creature than the supermarket stuff. Is anyone surprised?

I recently bought the gorgeous cookbook Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. I'm pretty sure that everyone else in the blogosphere (did I really use that word?) already owns this hefty tome, but I tend to be late to the party. When we decided to finally make mayo, I thought Dorie was just the woman to turn to. Of course, I did not read the recipe from start to finish beforehand, and I flubbed it on my first go. (Note to self: read the damn thing first.)

So take it from me, when the recipe says to go slow and literally add the oil drop by drop, it truly means literally. It isn't to say that it takes very long to make mayo (unless you have to start all over again). It actually doesn't take long at all. You just need to do it right. Drop by drop.

Also, I tried it in my food processor which has a gracious 14-cup capacity (love that thing), but it didn't work for this because it was just too big. I switched over to my handy stick blender, and finally things started happening. So if you have a large food processor, use the small bowl attachment, or try another mixing method.

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1/4 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2-1 cup oil, mild (such as grapeseed or canola) or more flavorful (we used olive), or a combination

Put the yolk, vinegar, and the mustard in a bowl, blender, or food processor. Whisk or whir to blend. Drop by drop (literally!! don't go to fast here...) start adding the oil, mixing all the while. When you've got about 1/4 cup oil beaten in and the mix is starting to look like mayonnaise (around 4 minutes or so), you can add the remaining oil more steadily, but still slowly. Use at least 1/2 cup oil, and up to about 1 cup to get the consistency you want. We only used the minimum 1/2 cup oil, and we liked how thick and flavorful the result was.

Strawberry Basil Sparkler

2012-05-18T08:11:00.003-06:00

This sparkler is made with thinly sliced strawberries, torn basil leaves, a little vodka, and a lot of sparkling water. Here's why we love this cocktail: it isn't sweet or sour or bitter. It's a whole new animal -- a fizzy collection of real ingredients, sliced thinly & torn roughly to give up the edge of their unique flavors, but not overwhelm the pureness of the vodka and sparkling water.

The combination of strawberries and basil is unexpected; basil isn't as sweet smelling as mint. We chose it for this reason specifically, because against the sweet strawberries, it elevates this drink's flavor profile to something sophisticated.

Strawberry Basil Sparkler

Visit our Whole Foods column, Locally Mixed, for the recipe.

Strawberry Apple Torte

2012-05-16T20:32:00.000-06:00

I can barely believe that I've waited this long to share this recipe on Two Tarts. I've made this recipe umpteen times, but it has never been the same recipe twice. It is titled in my favorite cookbook as a "seasonal fruit torte" and four seasonal variations are included. This isn't one of them. That is the brilliance of this kind of recipe: entirely adaptable to whatever is in season or rolling around your fridge.

Aside from the fruit, the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. This has become the ultimate dessert for an impromptu get-together. Give me an hour head's up, and I'll have this torte at the ready. As it turns out, all you have to do is arrange fruit in a pretty pattern and people are extremely impressed. (But hey, it also doesn't hurt that this simple cake tastes really good.)

So, obviously the recipe here is for a strawberry and apple torte. But here are some other ideas: strawberry-mango torte, summer plum or peach torte, autumnal gingered pear, wintry cranberry-apple. Play around with some spices, depending on the fruit. Also, lime might make more sense than lemon, or try orange. (I've also omitted the citrus juice and zest altogether - still great!)

Strawberry Apple Torte

adapted from Hay Day Country Market Cookbook

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

8 tbs (1 stick butter), room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries

1 apple, peeled and sliced

1 tsp granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter and flour an 8-in cake pan; pour out any excess flour.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and 3/4 cup sugar together until light and fluffy (easiest with a mixer, but I've had good results by hand too). Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and zest. Add the reserved dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth, thick batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
4. Toss the fruit with the lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Arrange the topping decoratively over the batter, using just enough fruit to cover the batter in a single overlapping layer. Sprinkle with the last 1/2 tsp sugar, and bake in the middle of oven until lightly browned around the edges and just set in the middle, 30-35 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes.

Giveaway: Cuisinart Food Processor!

2012-05-14T17:18:00.001-06:00

Our food processors are one of our absolute kitchen essentials. Dulcie uses a Cuisinart, Sarah uses a KitchenAid, and we love them both very much. Big Kitchen recently gave us the opportunity to give away a very nice Cuisinart food processor. We jumped at the chance, because we love ours so much and use them so often. Instructions on how to win are at the bottom of this post.

First, let’s review our top five favorite Two Tarts recipes that require a food processor. You, too, will be able to make these things if you win this giveaway!

Homemade Ketchup

The season for outdoor grilling is here again. We love this all natural and super flavorful version of the classic Heinz version. Recipe here.

Homemade Almond Paste

This almond paste has more flavor than the grocery store kind that comes in a tube. It is also be less expensive, and you will rest assured that its three ingredients are not weird chemicals or preservatives: almonds, sugar, and egg whites. Recipe here.

Baked Eggs with Crispy Hash Brown Crust

Shred a couple of potatoes in 2 seconds flat and turn them in to golden crispy hash browns. Impress your family and friends with simple to make (but impressive to eat!) brunch where eggs and cheese are baked on top of a homemade hash brown crust. Recipe here.

Homemade Harissa

A spicy, garlicky, north African condiment made with sun-dried tomatoes, chilis, spices, and lots of garlic. Good on pretty much anything! Recipe here.

Mint Sugar

A flavorful, simple recipe that combines sugar with fresh mint leaves. Makes an amazing sugared rim on cocktails, and adds a delicious twist sprinkled on a seasonal fruit salad. Recipe here.

Now, let’s get to the good part: The giveaway! Here she is: the lovely, the shiny, the Cuisinart 9-cup Stainless Steel Food Processor.

Here’s an excerpt of the product description, just to get you all hot and bothered about this beauty:
With its powerful motor, the convenient Cuisinart 9-Cup Stainless Steel Food Processor quickly and easily slices, dices, chops, and purees, helping to reduce prep time in the kitchen. The appliance comes with a large 9-cup work bowl that makes it easy to create an entire meal from scratch.
This is a pretty fancy model, but Big Kitchen carries an entire line of Cuisinart Food Processors, which you can check out here.

~~Here’s how you enter to win:~~

~~Tweet about this contest. Link to this post, and be sure to mention @twotartsblog in the tweet so that we don’t miss it!~~
Share our Facebook post about this contest. We created a little blurb about this contest over on our Facebook page, all you need to do is share it with your network for an entry into this giveaway. (Make sure to make your post "public" when you share it, so that we can see it!)
~~If you do both things, you get two entries to win the food processor.~~
~~Enter by this Friday, May 18th at 9am MST. We'll let the winner know by the end of Friday.~~

Thank you Big Kitchen, and good luck to everyone!

Update: The contest has ended, and the winner is Viviana Rodriguez-Forte. Congratulations, Viviana!

Lemon Yogurt Cake

2012-05-07T20:27:00.001-06:00

It’s amazing how much flavor a healthy dose of lemon zest can contribute. This cake has a brown crisp top, then inside it’s dense and lemony. I personally recommend eating a slice as soon as you pull it out of the oven so you can enjoy the lemony steam this cake creates!

We’ve really been getting our money’s worth from the latest Bon Appetit magazine. The Agave Margaritas were a big success and then we moved right along to this delicious cake. It’s a classic French recipe; the magazine says that it is one of the first recipes French mothers teach to their children. And so I have to assume that everyone in France has this delicious cake recipe memorized. Right? Either way, it’s a great classic recipe.

The lemon zest is added to the sugar, then the two are rubbed together until the oils in the lemon are evenly distributed and the sugar becomes clumpy and moist. The cake comes out of the oven with a shiny brown top, and as you slice it open you’ll release a burst of lemony steam. Enjoy!

Lemon Yogurt Cake
recipe by Bon Appetit

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lemon zest

3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350. Grease & flour an 8 1/2” loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Combine lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl, and rub the two together with your fingers until the sugar is moist. Add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla – stir to combine completely.
Fold dry ingredients into wet and stir gently until just to combined.
Pour batter into pan, smooth top, and bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

Agave Margarita

2012-05-02T17:35:00.000-06:00

Cinco de Mayo is this weekend, which, in my mind at least, kicks off margarita season. For the last several years, I had been making margaritas based on the same recipe. It was pretty heavy on the lime juice and the triple sec, making it both sweet and overly acidic. I don't know why I kept using that recipe except that I liked it, but I didn't love it. Well, I've just found a margarita recipe that I love: the agave margarita.

This recipe comes from the pages of the most recent Bon Appetit. Tequila takes center stage here, so try to use a decent one. The lime juice gives just the perfect amount of tartness, while the agave syrup replaces what is traditionally triple sec or Cointreau.

Because there isn't too much lime juice in there, you can hand squeeze what you need pretty quickly. I was a little worried that they wouldn't be lime-y enough or that there would be something lost without the flavor of the orange liqueur. But this margarita has great flavor, and it goes down very, very easily. (Don't say I didn't warn you!)

Agave Margarita

kosher salt

ice

1/4 cup tequila

2 tbs light agave syrup

2 tbs fresh lime juice

lime wedge, for garnish

1. Place the kosher salt in a shallow dish. Moisten the rim of your glass with a bit of lime juice, and then turn the glass over onto the dish of salt.
2. Place ice into the glass. Pour in tequila, agave, and lime juice. Stir, and garnish with lime wedge. (You could also place ice, tequila, agave, and lime juice into a shaker, shake, and strain into a margarita glass.)

Apple Brie Baguette

2012-04-24T20:59:00.001-06:00

Let me tell you what’s on this delicious (but simple!) sandwich: brie, tangy apple slices, spicy arugula, and honey. On a fresh baguette. With a little sprinkle of coarse salt. It’s so easy that it barely counts as a recipe, but it is so delicious that we got really excited about it and had to share.

I’m not much of a sandwich person, but when it is on a baguette I apparently change my mind. I have been thinking about this sandwich every day since we made it.

Do you see those patient baby hands up there? We had to share our sandwiches with two hungry toddlers, and somehow managed to take these pictures to the slightly stressful chant of "More cheese please! Are those apple slices?! I would like some MORE HONEY!" etc, etc.

The honey we used was a little special, which was fun. We tried out this raw Colorado clover honey. It came in a jar with a chic label and was much more solid than our usual honey, but had a really nice texture and floral taste.

This recipe makes about 3 to 4 sandwiches depending on the size of your baguette.

Apple Brie Baguette

One baguette

6 oz sliced Brie

1/2 thinly sliced tart apple

handful of fresh arugula

drizzle of honey

sprinkle of coarse sea salt

Slice the baguette lengthwise. Spread the honey thinly on the bread, then layer on slices of brie. We recommend sprinkling with coarse salt on top of the brie, by the way, so it sticks and doesn’t fall off the sandwich. Finish by layering the apples slices, the arugula. Slice into sandwiches and you’re done.

Rhubarb Anise Cocktail

2012-04-23T20:46:00.000-06:00

Sarah's new house came with a robust crop of rhubarb, and the young stalks were ripe and ready to be juiced into a cocktail. We combined it with the sweet anise liqueur pastis and a splash of grenadine for our new drink.

The drink is a little sweet, a little tart, and a little herbal. And it just tastes like springtime. The recipe is over here at our column for Whole Foods Market.

Homemade Hummus

2012-04-16T21:18:00.001-06:00

Homemade hummus is another one of those recipes that is so easy to make super fresh at home. I’ve made a lot of hummus over the years, and in my research I learned a trick to making really creamy (as opposed to “grainy bean mash”) hummus. Yes, we have a trick to share with you! It’s easy.

The secret to creamy hummus is the order in which you combine the ingredients. You start with the tahini, lemon juice, and water. Whir these together like crazy to create a totally smooth and creamy emulsion – it should look like thick cream. THEN you add the chickpeas and garlic and blend until smooth. The chemistry of whatever happens here creates the end result of creamy hummus rather than grainy bean mash. If you’re interested, drop in on some nice vegetarians ranting and raving about this over here.

You can catch a glimpse of the tahini emulsion in the upper right picture, below.

Top your creamy fresh hummus with chopped parsley, drizzle with olive oil, and serve. We (and our toddlers!) love this with carrots, pea pods, pita bread triangles, cabbage wedges, and loads of harissa. Well…not the toddlers on that last one.

Homemade Creamy Hummus

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp water

4 small cloves of raw garlic (the raw garlic adds a spicy kick so adjust according to your tastes!)

16 oz can chickpeas, drained

1/2 tsp salt

Put tahini, lemon juice, and water in the food processor. Blend (and scrape down if any tahini sticks) until it forms a thick creamy emulsion.
Blend garlic and salt into the tahini cream.
Add the chickpeas and blend until your hummus is totally smooth and creamy. Note that this recipe calls for fewer chickpeas (in proportion to the other ingredients) than many other recipes – it is more tahini and lemon heavy, which helps achieve that delicious texture!

Spring Herb Mojito

2012-04-12T16:08:00.001-06:00

Hardy mint and its close cousin lemon balm are just about the only edible things that are looking robust in our backyards these days. We plucked a few tender leaves, and plan to kick back and sip these spring herb mojitos as Spring advances.

All those fresh green leaves suspended in white rum with a spritz of lime – the perfect breath of an early spring garden.

Head on over to our column at Whole Foods for the simple recipe.

Classic Martini

2012-04-09T20:13:00.001-06:00

I was raised in a martini household: Tanqueray on the rocks with a twist was the drink of choice for both of my parents. I have a very vivid memory of being around 15 years old, and desperately needing to quench my thirst, I reached for a glass of water -- I grabbed my mom's martini by mistake. I swigged that martini down in a huge gulp, and then I jumped to my feet horrified, spitting, and gasping. Welcome to the wonderful world of gin! It took me a little while to get over that early introduction, but somewhere along the way, gin has become my spirit of choice.

For a drink which has only two ingredients -- gin and vermouth -- it almost seems as though no two versions of the martini are alike. The amount of vermouth varies greatly with some recipes calling for merely a few drops of vermouth rolled about the glass and then poured out. We played with the proportions and found that this is the ratio we like best. Ours is a "wet" martini with a bit more vermouth than typical. We like the smoothness that the vermouth imparts.

Classic Martini

1 1/2 oz gin

1/2 oz dry vermouth

Pour gin and vermouth into a shaker with plenty of ice. Shake well, and then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive or two, or with a twist of lemon.

Two Tarts has a Facebook Page

2012-04-08T20:28:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone – we have a Facebook page! It took us a while to jump on the band wagon, but we think we see some fun potential here. Come on over give us a “like”!
To celebrate, throughout this week we’re going to be posting our top 5 most popular recipes of all time on our Facebook page. We’ll start with #5 on Monday and build up to the grand finale of our most popular recipe EVER on Friday. It will be very exciting.

We’re also looking forward to sharing some behind the scenes shots, bloopers, etc. You know – all the embarrassing pics of straight-laced Dulcie that I’ve been stockpiling over the past year or so (or vice versa?)…

See you over there!
http://www.facebook.com/twotartsblog

Homemade Pizza Dough

2012-04-03T21:00:00.000-06:00

It has been a long time since we published our recipe for homemade pizza sauce. And in that time, we've made many, many pizzas. Some with our pizza sauce and some without. Usually with olives and sausage (my toddler's absolute favorite toppings) and other times with whatever we have rattling around in our fridges. We've tried several pizza dough recipes, and we finally settled on one we quite like, and then we got around to snapping some pictures before devouring the subject at hand.

As always being fans of the easiest option, we liked the idea of a pizza dough that you can make in a food processor. Let the food processor do all the dirty work. I had been using the recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, while Sarah had been working with Emeril Lagasse's version. In the end we melded them together and came up with the recipe below.

Making pizza dough is surprisingly easy, and once you do it a few times, you might wonder why it ever intimidated you. This recipe makes two 14-inch pizzas, and you can make one and save the other for the next day. Suddenly, a homemade pizza is a simple lunch you are throwing together at the last minute.

Homemade Pizza Dough

makes 2 14-in pizzas

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more if necessary

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Combine the yeast with the warm water in a small bowl, stir well, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the yeast and water into the bowl of your food processor. Add the flour, salt, and olive oil and process until it forms a ball. Touch it and if it is quite sticky, add more flour until it is no longer very sticky and process a minute longer (for us it is close to 3 cups).
3. Knead the dough for a few minutes on a floured surface until it is a smooth and elastic dough. It should not be sticky, so add more dough if necessary. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for an hour or so, until it has about doubled in size.
4. Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 500 F. (We highly recommend a pizza stone! They are not expensive and they really make a big difference in the crispiness of the crust. They are awesome for baking bread, too.) If you don't have a stone, you can use a baking sheet -- don't put it into the oven until you put in the pizza itself.
5. Divide dough into two portions and shape into balls. Stretch or roll your dough into a circle (we usually just stretch with our hands rather than roll with a pin.) Take your time manipulating the dough. Sometimes the dough needs to rest a bit, so take a break, and then resume stretching until it is the right size and shape.
6. What we do, which may be a bit unconventional, is take our preheated pizza stone out of the oven, lay the shaped dough directly onto the stone and then put the toppings on. The dough will start cooking immediately, so we work fast. But we've had the best luck this way. For us, futzing around with a pizza peel leads to misshapen final pizzas. So we like this way... try it! Or use place the toppings on your pizza on a pizza peel, and then slide the pizza onto the stone that is in the oven.
7. Bake your pizza until crispy with a golden brown crust: around 10-13 minutes.

Homemade Almond Butter

2012-03-29T20:22:00.001-06:00

If you’ve got a food processor, you can make homemade almond butter in a few minutes. No preservatives, stabilizers, sugar, or salt here. Just pure creamy almond goodness. I am loving this homemade stuff much more than store bought, and I can’t put my finger on why. It seems a little creamier, and the almond flavor is a little more intense. Maybe I am appreciating the lack of salt and sugar, too?

Whatever the reason, this recipe is simple, healthy, and delicious. My top two ways to eat it are on tart apple slices or with toast. Look how creamy it is!

There are two things to keep in mind when making almond butter.
The first step is roasting the almonds, and you have a choice to make here. Roast the almonds on the lighter side for an end product that is lighter in color and more almond-y in taste. Roast the almonds longer, until they’re turning brown and are almost too roasted (we tested this out for you…you know, by accident) and you’ve got a much darker almond butter with strong bitter (almost chocolatey?) undertones. I think the middle ground (about 10 min at 350) is best, but it’s fun to experiment with how the taste changes as you roast the almonds differently.
The second thing is that you need to let the almonds blend in the food processor for longer than you expect to get a truly creamy almond butter. The first step is sandy, then the sand starts to clump and you may need to scrape down the sides a few times. Then the almond butter begins to get gradually more and more creamy – let it go at this point for 2 minutes or so. Done.

Homemade Almond Butter

2 cups raw almonds

Preheat oven to 350, then roast almonds on a rimmed baking sheet for approx 10 minutes or until fragrant and just beginning to turn golden brown. We roasted our first batch of almonds a bit too long, which resulted in a very dark and slightly bitter almond butter (see notes above)
Let almonds blend in the food processor as they move from sandy to clumpy to smooth and liquid-y. When they seem like they’re getting smooth, let them run for 2 minutes or so…otherwise our final product tended to be a little more firm than we liked.

Frozen Berry Daiquiri

2012-03-26T18:08:00.000-06:00

Spring break has arrived in the Boulder area, and everyone from pre-K to post-doc has left local schools looking like ghost towns. Even if you aren't on the next flight to Costa Rica, you can get into the spring break spirit with a delicious homemade daiquiri.

Head on over to the Boulder Whole Foods Cooking blog to find our recipe for a very easy berry daiquiri. No corn syrup and red dye-filled daiquiri mixes here!

Oven-Puffed Pancake with Berries

2012-03-22T19:32:00.001-06:00

I'm all for pancakes in the morning, but I am not a fan of standing at the stovetop endlessly pouring and flipping. The oven-puffed pancake (a.k.a., Dutch baby, Dutch pancake, German pancake) is the solution. Pour it in, bake it, and you are ready to go in a flash. Plus, with the dramatic puff as it emerges from the oven -- and then the warm custardy center -- this pancake has a whole lot more pizzazz than the usual flapjack.

While we wait through this seemingly endless non-growing season, we reached to the back of our freezer for a bag of tasty frozen berries. Just a quick toss of berries brings a simple puffed pancake to new heights. A sprinkling of powdered sugar lends a little extra sweetness and elegance.

Like our earlier recipe for baked eggs with a crispy hash brown eggs, you are likely to already have these ingredients in your refrigerator. So grab your trusty cast iron skillet, and let's do this...

Oven-Puffed Pancake with Berries

From Hay Day Country Market Cookbook

3 tbs unsalted butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries (or combination), fresh or frozen

powdered sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the butter in a 10-in oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron), and place it in the oven.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined and smooth.
3. Wearing an oven mitt, remove the hot skillet from the oven (the butter should be bubbling), and pour in the batter all at once. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the top, and return the skillet to the oven. Bake until the pancake is nicely browned and puffed around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pancake from the oven (don't forget that oven mitt!). Carefully transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Chickpeas

2012-03-18T20:20:00.000-06:00

We're always on the look out for quick and healthy snacks, and this recipe fits the bill. As a surprising bonus, our toddlers gobbled these crispy little chickpeas down.

This is another recipe inspired by Super Natural Everyday, but not wanting to mess around with several paprikas among other flavorings, we looked to Morocco's cuisine for big flavor in only a few spices. Ginger, cinnamon, and cumin provide complex flavor in this snack that disappeared all too quickly after it came out of the oven.

Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Chickpeas

2 15-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and dried

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F with a rack in the top third of the oven. Pour the chickpeas on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Shake the pan and roast for another 8 to 10 minutes. (Keep an eye on your chickpeas to avoid burning.)
2. Transfer the roasted chickpeas to a large bowl and mix together with olive oil, spices, and sea salt until well coated. Return to the baking sheet and roast for another 3 to 5 minutes.

Kumquat Sour

2012-03-14T20:17:00.000-06:00

Our newest cocktail is up on our column for Whole Foods Market Cooking: the Kumquat Sour!

What do you do with a weird but adorable little fruit that you aren't quite sure what to do with? Mix it with booze, of course. Better yet, mix it with some of Colorado's finest whiskey and a delicious honey-sweetened sour mix. For the recipe, click here to visit Locally Mixed.

Lemon Asparagus

2012-03-12T21:20:00.001-06:00

We found bundles of skinny new asparagus at the store this week! This recipe is our winner for spring asparagus. It’s so simple and fast, but feels special and fancy. That’s our favorite type of recipe, after all. Here’s our trick:

Thin lemon slices arranged on a baking sheet. Olive oil drizzled asparagus arranged in a layer over the top of the lemons. Sprinkle with salt, broil for a few minutes. Done!

The lemons get a little charred, and waft their lemony vapors up into the asparagus as they roast.

The asparagus gets a little charred, too, during their quick trip under the broiler. I especially love this treatment for the super skinny asparagus because their pointy tips get crispy and brown. Oh and PS: our 2 year olds loved these! And I quote “more green! more asparagarararasuss!” Great liberties were taken with the pronunciation of the word asparagus. We basked in the glow of toddlers gobbling vegetables of their own free will.

Lemon Asparagus

One pound fresh asparagus

One lemon

2 Tbsp olive oil

sprinkle of salt

Thinly slice the lemon. Arrange in one flat layer on a baking sheet.

Toss the asparagus with the olive oil until evenly coated. Arrange asparagus over the lemon slices. Sprinkle with salt. Broil for approx 6 minutes (in our oven) or until asparagus spears get a few browned and crispy areas.

Spring Herb Quinoa Patties

2012-03-04T19:27:00.001-07:00

Spring is so close! But really, it’s just barely here. If you’re lucky you might have some tender leaves sprouting in your herb pots (I found chives in mine today!) but other than that we still have a bit of a wait until it’s really spring.

Those tiny little spring herb leaves are so exciting, though, that we wanted to let them shine in these delicious quinoa patties. Mint, parsley, and green onion are tossed with quinoa and shavings of flavorful cheese. Crispy on the outside and packed with flavor, this is my spring go-to lunch.

These are made with simple whole foods ingredients. All you do is mix everything up in a bowl, then form little patties and pan fry them until they’re golden and crisp on each side.

The mixture stores well in the fridge for a few days, so you can whip up a full batch and then fry just a few each day for lunch. That’s what I’ve been doing!

Spring Herb Quinoa Patties

inspired by a recipe in Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson

Yield is 8-10 patties

2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 c. dry)
2 eggs
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
2 Tbsp chopped mint
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 c. grated strong cheese – we used an aged sheep’s milk cheese
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt

Combine everything but the quinoa in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in the cooked quinoa until it’s fully incorporated and the mixture is even.

Heat a large frying pan, with a drizzle of oil to coat, to medium high.

Using a spoon & your hands, form appox 2” patties with the quinoa mix and plop them into the hot frying pan.

Cook each side for approx 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Don’t disturb them for the first minute or two to prevent them from falling apart! Flip, and cook the other side for an additional 3-ish minutes, or until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with more freshly grated cheese on top.

Chocolate Cake with Ganache Glaze

2012-03-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

So if you took it upon yourself to make that rich, decadent, and oh-so-easy ganache that we posted about a few days ago, but you were wondering just what to do with it... well, look no further. This is just the chocolate cake that would love a heaping helping of ganache glaze.

Susan Loomis called this chocolate pound cake, or quatre quarts au chocolat, in her French Farmhouse Cookbook, but it little resembles a poundcake to us. It comes closer to a flourless chocolate cake in its rich chocolate flavor. It really is moist, satisfying, and rather impressive.

We made the delicious (and did I mention easy??) ganache the day before. A quick reheat and it was ready to be poured over the cooled cake at a moment's notice.

I think we may have underbaked the center of this cake just a wee bit, but fortunately the cake didn't suffer. Instead, it was a little like a molten chocolate cake. Hmmm... Now I'm feeling sad that I have no leftovers!

Chocolate Cake with Ganache Glaze
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of sea salt

4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 batch ganache

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan, place it inside, and butter and flour it as well.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks with all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar until they are foamy and pale yellow and have doubled in volume. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sprinkle the flour over the egg yolk mixture and whisk it in quickly until it is just mixed.
4. Add the butter bit by bit, beating continuously, until all is combined.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they are white and foamy but still quite liquid. Gradually sprinkle the reserved 1 tablespoon sugar into the egg whites, whisking constantly until they are whiter and slightly firmer, but still this side of forming soft peaks.
6. Fold one fourth of the egg whites into the batter. Then add the remaining whites and fold in until they are fully incorporated.
7. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven until the cake springs back when touched, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then loosen the edge of the springform pan. After 15 minutes, remove the cake from the pan and let cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
8. If ganache has been refrigerated, warm gently in saucepan until smooth and liquid-y. Put cake on rack over a rimmed cookie sheet. Pour warm ganache over center cooled cake and push towards edges with a spatula so that ganache coats the top and sides of cake evenly. Let cool in fridge until firm.

Vanilla Citrus Cocktail

2012-02-28T13:00:00.001-07:00

We’re excited to announce that we’ve started writing a new cocktail column for Whole Foods, called Locally Mixed. We’ll focus on seasonal cocktails made with fresh local flavors. Here’s our first one – the Vanilla Citrus Cocktail!

The winter seasonal staple of citrus is mellowed and sweetened with fresh vanilla bean flecks and high quality (local) vodka in this lovely and simple cocktail.

Check out the full recipe here, in our first Whole Foods column!

Ganache

2012-02-26T20:18:00.001-07:00

This very week, Two Tarts turns one year old! And what does our yearling blog deserve other than a chocolate cake? Well, we think it deserves a chocolate cake covered in rich and decadent ganache.

I'd never made ganache before. I'd never even considered making ganache. It is one of those confections that sounded so fancy-pants that I figured it was reserved for accomplished pastry chefs only. Turns out that it is really, really easy.

Ganache involves only two ingredients: heavy cream and bittersweet chocolate. A little heating and a little whisking, and you've got yourself a very impressive and surprisingly versatile finishing touch for your dessert. While it is still warm you can use it as a glaze, or you can let it come to room temperature and use it as a frosting or filling. You can even use it to make truffles. Keep an eye out for the cake that we covered with ganache later this week.

Ganache

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook

2 cups heavy cream

15 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

Heat the cream over medium-high heat to just below a simmer. Remove from the heat, and add the chocolate piece by piece, stirring as it melts, until blended. While it is still quite warm, use as a glaze, or let cool for a few minutes until it is the consistency of a thick but easily spreadable frosting.

Lentil Goat Cheese Salad

2012-02-22T14:06:00.004-07:00

Discs of plump brown lentils are tossed in a dijon vinaigrette alongside thinly sliced sweet carrots, fresh parsley, and tangy goat cheese. It’s the goat cheese crumbled over the top that makes this one special. And in second place is the dijon vinaigrette.

But honestly you can’t do without the sweetness of the carrots or the fresh parsley either. So don’t try to leave anything out, ok? I like this one because it’s a salad (toss everything together, exact quantities really don’t matter) and it can be served right away warm, or saved in the fridge and eaten cold anytime you want.

I got this from a Runner’s World a few years ago (so it is basically health food and appropriate for any of you marathon trainers out there). I don’t remember the exact recipe, but this is my rendition of it after making it many times over the years.

Lentil Goat Cheese Salad
1 cup brown (or Le Puy or Beluga) lentils, cooked

1 cup thinly sliced carrots (about 4 carrots)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup crumbed goat cheese

1/2 cup dijon vinaigrette (recipe below)

Cook the brown lentils in simmering water for approx 45 minutes, or until tender but not mushy.
Slice the carrots thinly, chop the parsley finely, add to a large bowl. Add warm cooked lentils, then drizzle the dijon vinaigrette over everything. Toss well, then sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Season with salt to to taste. Serve.

Dijon Vinaigrette
1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Whisk the mustard and red wine vinegar together in a large bowl, then continue to whisk as you drizzle in the olive oil.