A Healthy Sundae

Our town is somewhat limited in health food options, but we do have one health food stores where we can find most of the the things we need of the organic nature. This store is called LifeSource. It is staffed by very helpful and friendly people and the atmosphere is always relaxed. Besides fresh organic fruits and vegetables, grocery items, and vitamins and supplements by the dozens, they also have fresh made food in their deli section. It is a great place for a quick lunch.

I chose to make my own granola recently as The Husband enjoys it very much and the packaged stuff never has all the things he likes and it is really expensive as far as cereal goes. So off to LifeSource I trotted and I was able to buy the exact quantities of the various ingredients in their bulk bins at a very reasonable cost.

Putting the granola together is ever so simple. Just throw everything in a big bowl, give it a very thorough stir and then spread it out on a parchment lined tray and bake. The quantities in this recipe makes about 7 cups of fresh, delicious granola. I choose to eat my granola as part of a yummy sundae which includes honey, granola and non-fat plain yogurt topped with fresh fruit.Granola

4 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cups honey

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup dried cherries (or any other dried fruit to your liking)

1/2 cup sliced, unsalted almonds (or any other nut to your liking)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup coconut shardsPreheat oven at 300 deg. F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a slipat baking sheet. Mix all of the ingredients very well in a large bowl. Make sure everything is well coated. Spread granola out in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Watch carefully the last few minutes as this can burn easily. Let cool on baking sheet. Store in an airtight container.

Asian Noodle Soup with Chicken and Snow Peas

One of my go to sources for quick, easy and tasty recipes is Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. It has usually has such a great variety of different items each month, from main meals to desserts and the ingredients used are easy to find in most peoples cupboards or at the local grocery store. They are also usually fast on a weeknight which is a "good thing" as Martha would say.

A recipe I recently tried was the Asian Noodle Soup with Chicken and Snow Peas in the latest edition, May 2009, issue 62. I am a big fan of Asian noodle soups, be it Chinese noodle soup or my very favorite - Vietnamese Pho beef noodle soup which I get at a local Vietnamese restaurant. The trouble is with every recipe I see for Pho, there is usually such a long list of ingredients and lengthy cooking time, I've always been too lazy to tackle it.

This recipe looked like it might be a good chickeny subsitute without all of the time and trouble. It turned out well but there were certainly not the complex flavors and aromas of a Pho. It is a nice light soup with lots of good, slurpy noodles to satisfy that craving. I do recommend a shot or two of chili sauce to finish it off and give it a bit of a kick.Asian Noodle Soup with Chicken and Snow Peas

8 oz. rice noodles

2 cans (14.5 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth

1 piece of lemon grass (3 inches) smashed

1 piece of peeled fresh ginger (1 inch) cut into matchsticks

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced crosswise

1/2 lb. snow peas, trimmed and halved

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (I didn't use this ingredient)

Asian chili sauce (such as Sriracha)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles per package directions. Drain noodles and set aside. In a saucepan, combine chicken broth, lemongrass, ginger and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until fragrant, about 10 minutes.

In a fine mesh strainer, strain broth and return to saucepan. Add chicken and snow peas and simmer until chicken is cooked through and snow peas are tender. Remove soup from heat and stir in lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, pour soup over noodles. Top with mint, additional lime wedges and chili sauce if desired.

Key Lime Pie-O-My

Time to make another pie though this is a cheating kind of pie as it has no pastry crust. This is actually my own invention; a key lime pie utilizing my all time favorite recipe for Cheery Cherry Cheese pie which I wrote about some months ago. I saw this product, Nellie and Joe's Key West Lime Juice, in the grocery store while wandering aimlessly through the aisles (a dangerous thing to do) and decided to purchase it and see what I could make. The recipe on the bottle for Key Lime Pie sounded okay but I decided to experiment with my tried and true recipe, substituting the lime juice for the usual lemon juice. Let me say, it was delicious and very easy to make. Even my first attempt at piping on whipped cream with a pastry bag turned out just fine. All in all, a good experiment.Key Lime Pie-O-My

1 graham cracker crust

1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature

1 can condensed milk

1/3 cup bottled lime juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whipped cream for garnish

2 Tbsp. lime zest for garnish (optional)

Beat the cream cheese in electric mixer until softened. Add condensed milk, lime juice and vanilla and fully incorporate in with cream cheese. Put mixture into graham cracker crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and serve.

Baking with Dorie Greenspan

I purchased a marvelous cookbook a few months ago called Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I have followed for many months the wonderful blogs of folks who participate in an interesting cooking experience called Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD). Each week a member selects a recipe from this comprehensive baking cookbook and they all cook the selection and post it on Tuesday. It is so interesting to see the variations for the same recipe and read people's comments on their successes and failures.

Well, reading these recipes made me decide I must purchase this book and so I did utilizing Amazon and through the used books option I was able to purchase the book brand spanking new for $7.99 plus shipping. Once received, I was so thrilled with it I turned around and had another copy shipped to my dear friend Warren, who also likes to whip up magnificent pies and cakes on occasion.

I have made a few things from the book and last weekend made the Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake featured on page 286. It turned out to be an extremely moist, rich chocolate cake with a nice cherry jam filling and a tangy, intensely chocolate fudge-like frosting. I must admit I did have trouble getting it out of the pan, most likely due to not letting it cool enough before attempting it's release. Fortunately, the photo of the end product does not reveal this issue. Thank goodness for photo cropping!

I am not going to post the recipe but instead suggest that anyone interested in a very thorough and easy to follow cookbook on baking, run to your nearest bookstore or keyboard and purchase Dorie's book immediately. You'll be glad you did.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

We are lucky to live in a town where there is an abundance of Hispanic restaurants, markets and bakeries. Over the years I have discovered my favorites in all categories. One establishment called Salvador's Bakery, is a hybrid of both a restaurant and a remarkable bakery. They have a limited menu of Mexican favorites such as tacos, tamales and burritos as well as take out food and the most remarkable selection of pastries.

For our Cinco de Mayo celebration at home, I purchased some carnitas from Salvador's Bakery and we had a taco bar utilizing this very flavorful shredded pork, homemade guacamole and all the other accompaniments that go into a good taco. With a fresh squeezed lime juice margarita, the meal was complete. Thanks to The Husband for his food styling on the taco plate!Guacamole

1 ripe avocado, scooped out of peel

1 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp. finely minced white onion or 1 green onion finely chopped

2 Tbsp prepared salsa

1 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepperPut all of the ingredients into a bowl and mash with a fork to the desired consistency. We like ours chunky. Serve with tacos or along side salsa and sour cream for nachos or plain tortilla chips.

My Mothers' Scones

Whenever we have the opportunity to get to Seattle to spend time with my mother, she always serves us the most delicious orange and cranberry scones for breakfast. Hers are flaky and tender with a delicate flavor of orange along with the ever so tart dried cranberrys scattered throughout. They are something we always look forward to.

I decided to scour my cookbooks and try and find something similar which I did in a recipe by Ina Gartin in her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa At Home. Her recipe makes a large quantity so I cut it in half and this makes a dozen 3 inch round scones. The dough was fairly easy to work with but you must make sure you use enough flour on your board when rolling out, as it is a rather wet/soft dough. Also, she says to bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees but watch them very carefully as my first batch turned out a mahagony brown instead of a golden brown after only 16-17 minutes.

Orange and Cranberry Scones

(As adapted from the recipe in Barefoot Contessa At Home)2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for the board and rolling pin

1/8 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling the tops of the scones

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp grated orange zest

1 1/2 sticks cold butter, diced

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup cold heavy cream

1 cup dried cranberries

1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or silpat mat.

In a bowl for an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest until combined. Add the cold butter and mix at lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Comine the eggs and cream and mix on low speed into the flour and butter mixture and mix just until blended. Combine the dried cranberries into the mixture until just blended.Turn the dough onto a well floured board and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and rolling pin and roll the dough out until it's just under 1 inch thick. Flour a 3 inch round cutter and cut out the dough. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops of each scone with egg wash then sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown approximately 20 minutes, depending on your oven. These can be glazed with a mixture of confectioners sugar and orange juice or eaten as is.

Feather Rolls

In my repertoire of recipes I have a few old standards that I turn to time and time again. Every now and then I discover something new to add to that collection and the following is one of them. This is a recipe for wonderful, light and airy yeast rolls that require absolutely no kneading. They just could be easier and the end result is a roll that is great to serve alongside soups or stews.

The entire process for making these Feather Rolls takes approximately 2 hours from start to finish and the beauty is that everything gets beat together in one bowl to rise and then the dough is put in muffin tins for a final rise and that's it. All you need is a little elbow grease to mix the dough together in the bowl. I usually make a double batch and stick a dozen in the freezer to have on hand when the mood strikes for a yummy roll with our dinner.

Feather Rolls

1 package dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

4 Tbsp. cooled, melted butter

1 Tbsp. sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup tepid milk

2 cups white flourSir the yeast into the warm water and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. Mix the butter, sugar, salt, egg, milk and dissolved yeast in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the flour and beat vigorously until well blended. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.Stir mixture down and fill buttered muffin tins half full. Cover and let rise in warm place for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 deg F and bake rolls for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown. Makes 1 dozen rolls.

A Spring Risotto

When fresh asparagus becomes available in the stores you know Spring has officially arrived. I found some wonderful bunches of young fresh stalks at the local market and had to grab some with no particular recipe in mind.

What I chose to make as a side dish was Roasted Asparagus and Lemon Zest Risotto. I roasted off the asparagus first by placing them on a parchment covered cookie sheet and sprinkling some olive oil, salt and pepper on them and cooking them at 425 deg for about 15 minutes until they were just turning brown. Like other roasted veggies, this technique really amplifies the flavor. The main course was grilled chicken breast paillards seasoned with salt and lemon pepper. I served dinner with a great Chardonnay called Robert Mondavi Private Selection 2006. It was one of those impromtu dinners that turned out great.

I don't really follow a recipe for the risotto but I will try to write down the approximated proportions I used as follows:

Roasted Asparagus and Lemon Zest Risotto

1 cup Arborio rice

1 quart of low sodium, low fat chicken broth

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

2 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. lemon zest

1 bunch of roasted asparagus, cut into bite size pieces

Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat up chicken broth in a separate pan. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, heat olive oil. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add white wine and lemon juice and cook for 1-2 minutes until almost evaporated. Add rice and stir in around in onion mixture until rice starts to look translucent, approx. 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and stir rice occasionally until broth is nearly evaporated. Keep adding chicken broth in 1/2 cup intervals until rice is tender and creamy. It is important to taste test rice toward the end to make sure it is thoroughly cooked through. Add butter, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and asparagus and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Carin's Caramel Corn

A former employee of mine use to make divine caramel corn. She would take orders at work and then go home and make large batches and bring it to us all neatly bagged and sell it for some extra spending money. We were discussing this at work the other day and I said she had actually given me her recipe so I decided I would whip up a batch and surprise the girls on Monday with some of this delightful confection.

It couldn't be more simple to make but does take a time commitment of about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish and a large roasting pan to bake the caramel corn in to dry it out. The beauty of this recipe is that you don't have to worry about using a candy thermometer. It just boils for 5 minutes and it's done. It's fun to watch the mixture change in viscosity from a thin liquid to a molten lava. You will find the end result is a far more delicious product then what you can buy in a cardboard box.Carin's Caramel Corn

6 quarts popped corn (approximately 1 cup unpopped)

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Put popped corn into a large roasting pan which has been sprayed with vegetable spray.In a fairly large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in sugar, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in soda and vanilla. This will bubble up and double the volume in the pan. Pour all over popcorn and quickly mix well. Put roasting pan in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Store in airtight containers. This recipe can easily be doubled but be sure to use a large pan when cooking the caramel.

Chili Con Carne-Pike Place Market Style

I was so sad to discover my favorite chili restaurant was no longer open in Seattle's Pike Place Market when we went for a visit a couple months ago. It was a little tiny shop in the bowels of the market where the feisty owner (he was never very friendly) would ladle out his multiple chili concoctions to us, his lucky patrons. I don't even remember the name of the place but I have such fond memories of wandering around the market doing my shopping on cold, rainy Saturdays and I would either have a lunch of a bowl of chili or go to my other favorite place for a bowl of piping hot wonton soup at the Vietnamese counter restaurant.

Here is my attempt at a meaty, warm, spicy, but not fiery hot chili con carne which I serve over little seashell pasta, topped with sharp cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. This is how I always use to eat it at the restaurant after saying "no thank you" to onions when always asked and getting a scowl from the owner. I'm telling you, he was crabby but boy could he make good chili!Chili Con Carne (This recipe is for 4 servings when combined with pasta)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small chopped onion

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp California style chili powder (I buy mine in the Hispanic section of my grocery store)

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 lb chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 can beef broth

1 can drained whole tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 can drained and rinsed pinto beans

3/4 cup dark beer

small seashell pasta, cooked

garnishes of choice (grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, green or white chopped onions)

Saute onions and garlic until soft. Add beef cubes and cook until meat loses it's pink color. Add all of the spices and cook 5 minutes. Add beer, broth, tomatoes and beans. Simmer, partially covered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid (beer or broth) if chili becomes too thick. Serve over pasta.