Supporting our pollinators

Over time, I've tried using honey in place of white sugar in baking recipes. I've had varied success. Yesterday, I think I hit it out of the park.

My friend Roberta in Chicago had shared a family recipe for chocolate chip banana bread with me. I made several modifications including making muffins instead of bread. 

Here's what you'll need: muffin tin and paper muffin cups and/or butterfly muffin pan from Target and Trader Joe's coconut oil spray for butterfly pan molds.

Preheat oven at 350.

Beat together until blended:

• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature (1 stick)

• 3/4 cup honey (Use local honey from farmers market if you can. We need bees in our communities for flowers and food.)

• 2 eggs

• 2/3 cup sour cream or plain 2% yogurt

• 3 bananas peeled and mashed

Stir in:

• 1 3/4 cups flour (I've been using Safeway organic flour and am pleased with flavor.)

• 1/4 cup finely ground flax seed

• 1/3 cup chopped hazel nuts (You can omit nuts or use chopped pecan, almond , or walnut)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• pinch of kosher salt

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Once mixed, decide batter into cups filling 2/3 to 3/4 full. This recipe makes 1 1/2 dozen breakfast or afternoon tea treats. 

Bake at 350 for 25- 30 minutes until muffin tops are dark golden brown.

Serve with yogurt and a spoonful of honey. Bon appetite!

Just add assorted vegis

My family requests I bring this dip to every family get together. I love it too and it's really easy. I started with an Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Green Herb Dip recipe and made modifications to suit my family's taste and what I have in the fridge.

Here's what you'll need for the dip:

• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

• 1/2 cup sour cream ( I often use 1/4 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup sour cream. I like the tanginess of the yogurt with the weight and creaminess of the sour cream)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 4 green onions, washed with both ends trimmed 

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro (or combination)

• 3 teaspoons dried dill (Ina suggests 1 Tablespoon of fresh dill but even in California, it's seasonal so not always easy to get and I make this dip year round)

• 1-2 fresh garlic cloves, peeled

• 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (I use Omnivore salt by Angelo Garro. It can be purchased online if you can't find at a fancy grocery store. It is a bit pricey compared to regular table salt but I can taste the difference. It's worth it and how much are you paying for your daily take-out coffee?)

Place everything in a food processor using the steel blade. If you don't have a food processor, a blender can also be used. Pulse until just blended and smooth without any lumps of cream cheese. 

Serve at room temperature with assorted vegetables. I try to buy a variety at Trader Joes, my farmers market or the local grocery store. A multitude of colors are also a huge plus and make this both beautiful and appetizing.

Suggestions for dipping:

• cherry tomatoes

• sliced and seeded red, orange and yellow bell peppers

• jicama, peeled and sliced in wedges

• blanched snow peas (They're sweeter if you blanch them and it's fast. Trim snow peas of tough stems using kitchen scissors. Place in a colander. If you've never blanched before you need a pan of boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt, add snow peas. Almost immediately remove and drain in colander. To stop cooking process rinse with cold water.)

• sliced cucumbers

• peeled and sliced carrots into 2-3 inch sticks

• celery sliced into 3-4 inch sticks (shorter vegi sticks help discourage double dipping)

Bon appetite!

Let them eat cake! Fit for angels and St. Valentine

Did you know Angel Food Cake is fat free? Well, that's until you add a side dollop of homemade whipped cream like I do. And it really is easy to make.

The two most important things to have  are egg whites at room temperature and an angel food cake pan. 

So far, I haven't used cake flour and the cakes have been fluffy. I do encourage you to use organic flour. I've used white organic flour from Wholefoods in their bulk foods and Safeway brand Organics flour. Following in Julia Child's pans and spoons, you want flour with good fat to it so the taste and fat hasn't been processed out of it.

Also, you can add food coloring to the cake or the whipped cream. Red for St. Valentine's Day? I used blue this past weekend pre-Super Bowl in support of the Panthers.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and have the oven rack low enough to accommodate the Angel Food Cake pan.

Needed ingredients:

• 1 cup good organic flour

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 12 egg whites, room temperature

• 1 1/4 cups sugar (I buy the organic sugar at Costco. Flavor is better than traditional, over processed white sugar.)

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (use the real thing. It costs more but flavor is way better plus no chemical aftertaste)

Whipped Cream

• Heavy whipping cream

• 1-3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fresh berries, washed

Separate egg whites from the yolks. Make sure no yolk is in the whites or it'll impact how fluffy you can get the whites. Also, make sure the bowl and beater are super clean. Beat whites until they're fluffy. Gradually add cream of tartar and sugar until you have stiff egg white peaks. Add vanilla, beating in. All this should take 5-10 minutes depending on the weather.

Place flour and salt in a sifter. Sift flour, salt mixture gradually into whipped egg white mixture stirring together gently and gradually. Use a rubber spatula to do this if you have one. When flour is just blended with egg whites so you don't see dried ingredients, spoon batter into an ungreased Angel Food Cake pan. That's right. No oil in cake or pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes until cake is golden. Cool in pan, inverted for at least 30 minutes. You may need to use a knife on pan sides and bottom to release cake.

Slice and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and berries. Bon appetite!

Tip: Use the egg yolks for homemade custard

Red quinoa salad deliciousness

I spent last week pedaling through Natchez Trace National Park on a VBT bike tour. Not only was it a wonderful vacation, but the food was fantastic. Ann Rush, one of our leaders, made a red quinoa salad for one of our picnic lunches. It was both tasty and beautiful.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 cups red organic quinoa. Cook like rice in 4 cups water

• 1 large jar kalamata olives drained and sliced in half

• 2 cups good feta cheese

• kosher salt and pepper to your taste

• 1 lemon juiced

• 1 Tablespoon good olive oil (I'll be using Cecchetti olive oil www.cecchettioliveoil.com)

• 1 basket organic cherry tomatoes washed and sliced in half

• 1 organic cucumber washed, seeded, sliced and quartered

Place in a large bowl and toss. Here's Ann being silly with her yummy salad 

Bon appetite - and visit Mississippi! It's amazing.

Creamy tomato salad dressing

Looking for a way to use an overripe tomato and add some dazzle to your salad? From the following basic recipe you can add dried tarragon, a garlic clove        or some roasted peppers to change it up - but the basic recipe is also delicious as is.

Here's what you'll need:

• an overripe washed, organic tomato or a handful of cherry tomatoes

• 1 Tablespoon good Mayonaise

• 1-2 pinches of kosher salt 

• 1Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Cream using a blender, food processor or hand tool you want to purée/cream these ingredients. The consistency should be more fluid than Thousand Island dressing but not as liquid as oil and vinegar dressing. You can add a touch more mayo or vinegar to get right balance.

I've also been using this dressing with leftover roasted chicken on a bed of lettuce with scallions. Mix of colors are beautiful.

Bon appetite.

I mean no disrespect to my great grandmother

I'm going to share with you my great grandmother's and nana's German chocolate cake frosting recipe. It's kind of a family secret.

Here's what you'll need for the frosting:

• 1 cup evaporated milk

• 1 cup sugar (I like the organic I can get either at Costco or Trader Joes. It tastes and smells better)

• 3 egg yolks (Use the whites for an omelet. They can be frozen too for later use.)

• 1/4 lbs sweet cream butter

• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine in a medium sized pan on medium to low heat and cook for 12 minutes or until thickened. Use a whisk stirring constantly. It's ok if you have little flecks of yellow cooked yolk but you don't want clumps.

With a spoon add:

• 1 1/3 cup grated coconut. My great grandma used Baker's but there are more options now

• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Stir until smooth. You can spread on chocolate sheet cake or two layer cake. It will taste delicious either way.

Tip: Find a chocolate cake recipe online or in a cookbook and make the cake from scratch. It's a lot easier than you think and tastes so much better without the extra sodium and preservatives that are in store bought cake mixes. I grew up with store bought cake mixes but my friend, Martha, in London told me how easy they are from scratch. And they really are - and cheaper to make.

Bon appetite and dessert is great with lunch!

Melt in your mouth tuna melt

Here's what you'll need:

• 2-3 Radicchio leaves

• 1 Tablespoon drained capers

• 2 slices sour dough bread or sandwich bread of your choice

• 2 Tablespoons good Mayonaise

• 1 garlic clove, cleaned and pressed or finely diced

•  3 slices Provolone, Monterey Jack, Cheddar or Havarti cheese

• 2-3 teaspoons Sierra Nevada stout mustard or other mustard including French's ;-)

• I can Albacore tuna

• Lemon Cecchetti olive oil or good extra virgin olive oil

In a medium sized glass bowl, combine tuna, mustard, mayo, capers and garlic using a fork to blend everything together until it has a creamy texture.

In a cast iron skillet, drizzle 3-4 teaspoons olive oil in skillet. Place both slices of bread in pan with one side touching skillet. Place cheese on one slice of bread. Put Radicchio and approx. 1/2 - 1/3 cup tuna on the other slice of bread. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 5-8 minutes until cheese is melted and bread side touching the skillet is golden brown. Put sandwich halves together, slice and serve. 

Bon appetite

Roasted spicy pumpkin, white bean spread

Pumpkins are starting to be harvested. You want to age them at least 2-3 weeks before you roast because they age and sweeten after they've been cut from the vine. I use an ice cream scooper to remove seeds as well as once the pumpkin is roasted, to remove the pumpkin 'meat' from the skin. Roast pumpkin cut in big chunks on a cookie sheet at 350 for an hour. I scoop and freeze in glass jars for future delight.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 14 oz. can garbanzo or white beans, drained and rinsed (I purchase organic beans at Trader Joe's or soak and cook good dried heirloom beans)

• 1-2 cloves garlic, cleaned

• 1 cup roasted pumpkin. You can also use canned plain pumpkin if you don't have fresh, but it won't be as good. Butternut squash can also be used.

• 1 teaspoon cayenne or other dried, ground chili pepper. (I purchase a variety of dried chili peppers at my local grocer by organic spice company Spicely. Use as much or as little based on your tolerance for heat.)

•1-2 teaspoons cumin

• 1-2 teaspoons coriander

• 2 Tablespoons Cecchetti olive oil or other good, extra virgin olive oil

• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• Salt and pepper based on taste. And add more lemon juice and dried chiles based on taste.

• sesame, carmelized onion and current crackers or other hearty cracker. Rye, wheat, multi grain will go well with this spread

Place garlic cloves in bowl of food processor and run until minced. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Bon Appetite!

I love grilled cheese!

The other night I needed to figure out dinner with left overs for me to munch at lunch the next day. Here's what I came up with:

• Sourdough bread

• Good mustard - I like Sierra Nevada porter

• Cecchetti garlic olive oil or good virgin olive oil

• cast iron skillet if you have one

• washed cilantro, stems removed about 1/3 cup leaves

• 2/3 cup baby kale, washed

• 2-3 Tablespoons of Wholemilk Riccotta

• 2 slices Provolone or Havarti cheese

• Dash of Simply Organic Ancho chili powder

• 3-4 slices baked bacon (bake raw bacon for 50-60 minutes in the oven at 350. Drain off fat every 20 minutes. Cool bacon on a plate covered with a couple of paper towels to drain additional fat. Tip: I used bacon I had cooked on the weekend for bacon and eggs breakfast)

Add a little olive oil in skillet. Place two slices of bread in skillet so each has one side touching pan - you're going to cook open faced. Spread a thin layer of mustard on one slice. Layer bacon, then cilantro and baby greens on one slice. On the other slice of bread, smear your Riccotta and then layer sliced cheese on top. Sprinkle with your favorite dried, ground chili. Cook covered on medium heat for 5-8 minutes until cheese is melted and greens wilted.

Put halves together to make a whole sandwich. For dinner, I had a glass of Zinfidel with my half sandwich. Bon appetite!

Best macaroni salad - well, I think it's pretty great

I grew-up eating macaroni salad in the summer but never really liked it. Too white and not enough flavor so I decided to create my own version.

Here's what you'll need:

• Brown Rice penne pasta or pasta of your choice cooked until tender but don't overlook. Fill pan with water and add pinch of salt and bring to boil. Add pasta. Approximate time 8-10 minutes in boiling water. Place in colander and rinse.

+ add 2-3 cloves garlic to cold water and cook with pasta until done

Then place in glass bowl and add:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1/4-1/2 cup Best Foods mayonnaise

Cream garlic with mayo and yogurt

• 1/4 white balsamic vinegar

• 1-2 sweet red onions or 3-4 green onions chopped

• 1 fennel bulb stocks, cleaned of frilly leaves so looks like celery. Washed and sliced thinly

• 2-3 hard boiled eggs, peeled, washed and chopped. I used a combination of Duck and Chicken eggs because I had both

• 1/2-3/4 cup chopped Bubbies sweet pickles. Trust me, they're worth it. Super crispy and taste like my great grandmas homemade sweet butter pickles.

• 1 Tablespoon Sierra Nevada Stout mustard or mustard you have on hand. French's will work.

• 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

Blend together and enjoy. If stored overnight, pasta will absorb the liquid/yogurt/mayo but flavors will open up and be more intense in day 2.

Bon appetite!

a.m. granola

I don't consider myself a picky eater but I am picky about the granola I put on my morning yogurt. No raisins or dried bananas and it can't be real sweet.

I also didn't find any recipes online that inspired me. So I decided to create a personal granola recipe based on my tastes and what I had on hand. I really liked the idea of controlling the ingredients and incorporating favors I thought would compliment any of the fruit yogurts I eat daily.

Here's what I came up with:

1 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds (Costco purchase late last year so I wanted to use up the bag. Tip: Nuts can be stored in the freezer to prevent them from going rancid)

1 cup organic walnuts (Trader Joes)

2 cups Irish oats (Trader Joes and these look like large grains and are very crunchy)

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (Trader Joes)

1 cup chia seeds (Trader Joes)

1 cup finely ground flax seed (Whole Foods. I'll use whole flax seeds next time for a change)

1 tablespoon good vanilla (real vanilla, not vanilla flavor. Madagascar vanilla is delicious and worth the extra money.)

3/4 cup Cecchetti olive oil or another really good olive oil

1/2 cup local honey

And yes, I made way too much. I basically grabbed and poured everything into a large bowl and stirred it up.

Spread thinly on parchment lined cookie sheets. No more than 1/4 deep. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Stir. Bake another 10-15 minutes and pull from oven and stir. Bake to honey color, not brown.

I placed my granola abundance in glass jars and froze for future use. I do eat 1/4 cup every morning.

Alternative ingredients to add:

Coconut oil or dried coconut

Almonds, pecans, other nuts

Dried cranberries, cherries, figs

Bon appetite!

No guilt watering

We're in a severe drought here in CA and I love my herbs and deck garden. So what's a fresh herb, garden loving gal going to do? Not waste water from the shower while it's getting hot, water from rinsing my veggies and fruit, plus water from rinsing out my coffee pot and coffee machine parts.

'Brown' water doesn't have to be gross or smelly. And it's amazing how much I would otherwise be wasting down the drain that is now used for my deck garden.

Fresh Sage is awesome!

Squeeze and freeze

Got citrus? I don't always think to grab lemons and limes when I'm at the store so having  juice in the freezer has come in handy on more than one occasion. Since I'm also thrifty, I never turn down gracious friends who share citrus fruit from their trees; one of the benefits of living in California. But citrus will parish so right now as I'm being given fresh Meyers lemons, I'm juicing and freezing. 

Another option, my sister's cousin freezes her lemons whole and than mircowaves to defrost them, then juices them. Take your pick, it's all juicy.