It’s Good to Go Home

Friday after work, Griffy and I hit the road for a weekend of visiting in Maine.

{the co-pilot}

{the caffeine.}

  {sunday naps.}

{sunday scones.}

{lemon-cranberry scones, that is.}

{recipe here.}

Way too soon we will be packing up and hitting the road back to Boston. You better believe I’ll be bringing a scone [or three].

It’s good to go home.

I’m back!!!

The past few weeks have been crazy. First I got sick, then I got sicker until finally I was bedridden for way too long. While my appetite never went anywhere, big surprise, my motivation to cook was nowhere to be found. But a girl can only eat so much soup and so many pb&j’s before enough is enough. I don’t even need to say that it’s so great to be back and healthy. Though it is usually non-existent, my sweet-tooth was out in full-force while I was sick and I couldn’t stop thinking about cookies! So, with that said, for my first post back in too long…

White Chocolate Lime Cookies

 from Have Cake, Will Travel

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter (dairy or non)
• 3/4 c sugar
• Zest of 1 Lime
• Juice of 1 Lime (~2 t)
• 1 t Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 c Flour
• 1/2 t Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Baking Soda
• 1/2 t Sea Salt
• 1/4 c White Chocolate Chips
• 2-3 T Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in lime juice, zest and vanilla extract.

In another bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Fold in dry ingredients to wet. Add Almond milk as needed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop up a Tablespoon or so of dough. Flatten a bit but leave room between cookies as they will spread a bit.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

After 2 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes ~20 Cookies

Pretzel Rolls

I’ve been wanting to make pretzel rolls since the first time I saw them on a blog months ago.

Just. Look. At. Them.

Perfect dipped in soup. Or as the vessel for a delicious sandwich. And, of course, just by itself. I’m addicted.

Pretzel Rolls

Makes 6 Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 .25 ounce package active dry yeast
• 1 c. warm water
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 c. flour (I used 1/2 c. AP & 2 c. whole wheat)
• 7 c. water
• 1/2 c. baking soda
• coarse salt, for sprinkling

What You Do:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, warm water and sugar, whisk gently until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbly. Add flour gradually until a soft dough ball is formed that is neither sticky nor dry, add extra flour if necessary. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead until elastic and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with towel, and let rise in a warm place* for about 1 hour or so until doubled in size.

*I pre-heated my oven to 200 F then shut it off when I put dough inside.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside.

3. Bring water and baking soda to a rolling boil in a medium-large saucepan over medium-high heat. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a clean work surface. Separate the dough into 6 pieces and knead each until elastic. Shape into rolls about 3-4 inches long.

4. Drop 1 roll at a time into the boiling water. Boil for about 1 minute, remove using a slotted spoon, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this until all of your rolls have been boiled. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Allow rolls to cool slightly before serving, and allow to cool uncovered on a wire cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I wanted to thank all of those who voted for me to advance in Marx Food's Ridiculously Delicious Challenge! Though the official announcement will be made tomorrow, 3/7, I have been voted through to the next round. I already have started on my recipe for round 3… can’t wait to share it with you all!

Thanks Again!

Cheddar Biscuits

I’ve started wearing my glasses again.

I have no idea whether my prescription is right or not… it’s been a year since I’ve been to the eye doctor but I’ve been getting headaches after spending time editing photos and reading blogs.

So back to the glasses it is.

The reason I stopped wearing my glasses in the first place was because Griffy got his hands teeth on them about a year ago and made them the most expensive chew toy. Ever.

The lenses are scratched, the frames are bent and an ear piece is missing. But I’m wearing them.

Why am I telling you this?

Because despite the return to wearing my glasses, tonight, I could not believe my eyes.

When I walked in the door tonight, there was a large package waiting for me. A package I wasn’t expecting. I cautiously opened the package tore the box open. Sitting in a sea of packing peanuts, A HD FLIPCAM!  I had pretty much forgotten that I had entered a contest through Food Buzz's Tastemakers Program to make a video using Newman's Own products! I’m psyched to share my recipe proposal with all of you but I have to get busy because the video is due by THIS Friday.

My elaborate dinner plans went out the window. After all, I have some serious brainstorming to do. Dinner quickly became my leftover sweet and spicy vegetarian chili. (Don’t forget, voting for this recipe opens tomorrow 3/1 at Marx Foods!) But I’ve had my eye on these biscuits.

Mine were not vegan, I used skim milk and cheddar cheese. I omitted the sugar and garlic salt too. They were delicious. Amazingly flakey and perfectly cheesy. You MUST make these.

And a warning, as soon as these are done cooling, store them somewhere out of sight. Don’t even think of leaving them on the stove-top like I did. Why? Because you will be tempted to break off a crumb every time you walk by them. Trust me on this.

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

I like strawberries AND champagne but the idea of drinking strawberry champagne just didn’t enthuse me. What does one do when they don’t want to drink a particular booze [this bottle was given to me with the intentions of me finding a good use for it] they cook with it! I’d call that a good use for it.

 Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes adapted from Love and Olive Oil

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C. AP Flour
• 1/2 t. Salt
• 1/2 t. Baking Soda
• 1/2 t. Baking Powder
• 1/3 C. Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1/3 C. Strawberry Champagne
• 1/3 C. Strawberry Puree
• 3/4 C. Sugar
• 1/3 C. Unsweetened Apple Sauce (to replace Vegetable Oil)
• 1/2 t. Vanilla Extract

For Frosting:

• 1 C. Strawberry Champagne
• 1/2 C. (1 Stick) Unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into Tablespoons
• 2 C. Confectioner’s Sugar
• 8 oz. Fat-Free Cream Cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

In another bowl, whisk together almond milk, champagne, strawberry puree, sugar, apple sauce and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill paper liners with ~1/4 C. of the batter (about 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until set. Transfer cupcakes to cooking rack.

To make the frosting, bring champagne to a simmer in a saucepan. Allow champagne to reduce to about 2-3 T. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add champagne and mix. Finally add block of softened cream cheese and beat until the desired consistency is reached. Transfer frosting into piping bag (or Ziplock bag with corner cut off). Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Makes 12 regular size cupcakes.

Sweet and Spicy Vegetarian Chili

It’s that time… I present you with my entry for:

at Marx Foods!

I was sent a box of ingredients to choose from and ultimately chose Tepin Chiles and Dried Tart Cherries.

Sweet and Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Serves 8-10

• 1 28 oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 28 oz can Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 15 oz cans Organic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, undrained
• 1 c dried, Sweet Cherries, roughly chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 4 c Vegetable Broth
• 1 T Cumin
• 1 T Chili Powder
• 1 T Tepin Chili Powder (Recipe Below)
• Pinch of Salt

In a saucepan, heat 2 cups of broth to a boil. In a heat-safe container, soak dried cherries in heated broth. Set soaking cherries aside while you prepare the Garlic, Red Bell Pepper and Onion.

In a large pot, add beans, tomatoes, garlic, red bell pepper, onion and remaining 2 cups of broth over medium heat. As broth cooks off a bit, add dried cherries in the broth they have been soaking in. Add cumin, chili powder and Tepin chili powder. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

Allow chili to thicken for about 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with sour cream, Greek yogurt or cheese.

Tepin Chili Powder

Toast 1 T Tepin Chiles in dry pan. Watch carefully so they do not burn. After about 7 minutes, remove from pan and place in heat safe container. Allow to cool and then transfer them to spice grinder or clean coffee grinder. Grind to a fine powder. Save unused chili powder in an airtight container. This was some of the best chili I’ve ever made. The combination of the sweetness from the cherries and the heat from the Tepin Chiles was outstanding. Those little chiles are HOT! Though it’s a quick heat, it definitely encouraged me to slow down and take smaller bites. Soaking the dried cherries is key here for the chili to really take on their flavor. And with three different beans in this chili, there was absolutely no need for an additional protein. Though I hope warmer days are on their way, in the meantime this is a great chili to warm up with!

Please return to Marx Foods to vote for your favorite recipe (hopefully mine!) starting on March 1st! If you know me, it could mean you are one step closer to an unforgettable summer bbq (courtesy of my winnings).

A special thanks to Marx Foods again for sponsoring this challenge and supplying me with fabulous ingredients to create this delicious dish!

Good Reads

Since I’m not taking any classes this semester, my textbooks are gathering dust taking a break. Since I don’t often find much time to read for pleasure when I have school reading to do, I’ve been taking advantage of the time to catch up on fun reads. Not that I’m saying that 200 pages about the function of the hyoid bone isn’t a “fun read”. Wait, that’s exactly what I’m saying. However, in case your interest has been piqued…

But we can talk more about that later. In fact, your hyoid bone plays an integral role in your ability to speak. That was my summation of those 200 pages I previously mentioned.

Moving right along… a recent great read:

  I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci

She’s hilarious. Really, the stories of her relationships will crack you up. And there are awesome recipes scattered throughout. I honestly was reluctant to return it to the library even though I finished it two weeks ago, so I held onto it until today… the due date. Go. Read. It.

And then, because no great Young Adult series passes this girl by…

You better believe I’ll go see the movie. And they better cast some cutie as Peeta Melark. Or else. But seriously, I was amazed by how much I enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful right up until the end. Well actually, it left me in suspense but that’s because it’s part of a trilogy. And yes, I do have a hold on the next book at the library.

I’ve started a new book but I’m not far enough into it to tell you what I think yet so I will save it for later.

Until next time… (which will be fairly soon because I have a recipe to share!), happy reading!