Tag Archives: Food

Fresh Peach Frozen Yogurt

Posted on by Laurie

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Fresh Peach Frozen Yogurt

2 c. whole milk Greek yogurt

1 c. pieces of ripe, fresh peaches (no skins)

1/2 c. honey

1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice

1. Place ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste. At this time, you can add a little more lemon juice, honey or peaches, if you want to adjust the flavor. Process again until smooth.

2. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and follow machine’s instructions. I use a Cuisinart ice cream maker and run the machine for 30 – 40 minutes and then put the yogurt in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Homemade frozen yogurt is tangier and less gummy than commercial frozen yogurt, and it is so easy to make. Enjoy!

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Spaghetti with Asparagus & Herbs

Posted on by Laurie

Spaghetti with Asparagus & Herbs

This dish is designed to highlight the flavors of its fresh ingredients rather than overpowering them with heavy tastes. Serve for lunch or a light dinner with bread, fresh fruit and a light cheese. (Makes about 3 servings.)

Approximate measurements:

12 oz. spaghetti

1 lb. fresh asparagus

2 oz. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz. white balsamic vinegar

4 fresh lemons

several twists of fresh ground green and red peppercorns

1/4 t. sea salt

1/4 c. fresh golden oregano

1 T. fresh flat leaf parsley

1 1/2 t. fresh thyme

1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of lightly salted, boiling water.

2. About half way through the cooking time for the spaghetti, put the asparagus on the stove to steam. Cook until crisp tender. Remove from pot then rinse asparagus with cold water and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, combine olive oil, vinegar, juice of 2 of the lemons, fresh ground pepper and salt. Set aside.

4. Submerge herbs in a bowl of cold water to remove any possible dirt or insects. Remove herbs and rinse well. Pat dry. Strip herb leaves from stems. Discard stems and any damaged leaves. If there are any thyme flowers, set them aside for garnish.

5. When the spaghetti is cooked to desired consistency, drain well. Add the olive oil mixture to the pot that the pasta was cooked in. Return spaghetti to the pan and toss with the olive oil mixture.

6. Divide spaghetti between serving bowls. Top with fresh herbs and then with asparagus. Squeeze a little more fresh lemon juice over asparagus and then grind a little more fresh pepper over dish. Garnish with thyme flowers if available. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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Sweet Cherry Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

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Sweet Cherry Muffins

2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. buttermilk

2 lg. eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. dark sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped (frozen ok)

cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare 10 1/2-cup ceramic ramekins with butter and flour or with baking spray;  or line 12 standard muffin cups with muffin papers, with butter and flour, or with baking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.

3. Stir together butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir mixture into dry ingredients until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Fold in cherries.

4. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape tops of muffins into a slight mound. Sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon sugar.

5. If using ramekins, place ramekins on 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 15 – 20 min for 12 muffins or about 22 – 27 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins should be firm to the touch when done.

Tortilla Soup

Posted on by Laurie

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Tortilla Soup

(4 servings)

8 corn tortillas

salt

3 white bulb onions (or other mild onion), thinly sliced (about 3/4 c.)

1 t. olive oil

4 c. vegetable or chicken stock

4 c. chopped fresh tomatoes (or Muir Glen canned fire roasted tomatoes)

1 – 2 dried Guajillo chili peppers

1 T. lime juice

3 T. minced cilantro, plus cilantro for garnish

1 avocado, diced

lime wedges for garnish

Crema Agria (or other sour cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice tortillas into 3/4-inch strips. Cut strips in half. Spread out on a baking sheet. Lightly salt strips, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until crisp and lightly brown. Toss strips every 10 minutes while baking. When done, set strips aside until ready to serve.

2. Saute onion in olive oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and cook for about 8 minutes or until tomatoes are cooked down and some of the liquid has cooked off. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree.

3. Pass tomato mixture through a sieve (to remove seeds and skins) into a 4 to 6 quart pot. Cook at a low simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. Add Guajillo pepper(s) to soup about 5 minutes before serving. Add lime juice and cilantro about 1 minute before serving. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove pepper(s) before serving.

5. To serve: divide tortilla strips between four bowls. Ladle soup base over tortilla strips. Top with avocado, crema agria and cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge.

Buen provecho!

Crema Agria (Homemade Sour Cream)

Posted on by Laurie

Since tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make some homemade sour cream to go with Tortilla Soup. Homemade sour cream is incredibly easy to make and only takes two ingredients. When made with heavy cream and fresh lime juice, it is called Crema Agria. When made with heavy cream and buttermilk, it is called Crema Espesa (or Creme Fraiche). The lime juice version does retain the taste of lime is tangier than the buttermilk version. Either version, however, is thinner and creamier than commercial sour cream, and has a fresher taste.

Crema Agria (or Crema Espesa)

2 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. fresh lime juice (or buttermilk)

1. Warm heavy cream on stove until the cream reaches 90  to 100 degrees F (or about body temperature). Do not overheat the cream.

2. Stir in lime juice (or buttermilk).

3. Pour mixture into a glass jar. Cover loosely. Let sit at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours or until thickened. Cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using.

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Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins

Posted on by Laurie

The other morning, I had a guest on an almost vegan diet; so I made these delicious muffins which one would never know were free of dairy products and eggs. I hope that you enjoy the recipe!

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Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins

3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated white sugar

2 T. instant coffee or 2 t. espresso powder

1 T. baking powder

1 c. mashed ripe bananas

1 c. coconut milk

1/2 c. canola oil

1 T. coconut rum

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably miniature ( use vegan chocolate if needed)

1 recipe Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze (below)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 3 to 4 minutes or until just starting to turn golden at the edges. Remove coconut from baking sheet and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, prepare 12 standard muffin cups or 10 four-ounce ramekins with baking spray.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, 2 T. of the instant coffee or 2 t. of the espresso powder, and baking powder. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, canola oil, and rum. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Divide batter into ramekins or muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a slight mound. Bake 15 to 20 minutes for 12 muffins or 20 to 25 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins are firm to the touch when done.

6. Meanwhile, prepare Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze. Glaze muffins immediately upon removing from oven and  then sprinkle them with toasted coconut.

Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze

1 c. confectioner’s sugar

2 T. coconut milk

1/2 t. minced orange or lemon zest

1/2 t. instant coffee or 1/4 t. instant espresso powder

1/2 t. coconut rum, light rum, or orange or lemon extract

1. In a small bowl, slowly stir coconut milk into confectioner’s sugar. Stir in coffee, then zest, then rum or extract. Stir until smooth, then warm glaze to dissolve coffee.

Searching for the Perfect Gluten-free White Butter Cake + Notes on Preparing Cake Pans

Posted on by Laurie

Part I.

As an innkeeper, I am aware of just how many people have food sensitivities or allergies and also of how difficult it can be for them to find foods that they can eat when they travel. This is especially the case when it comes to special events, such as  wedding receptions, where the food choices are limited.

I am working on perfecting my gluten-free white butter cake recipe which could be used for wedding cakes or baby showers. My goal, of course, is for my gluten-free cakes to be 100% as delicious as my regular wheat flour cakes. I would say that I am about 90% there with this particular cake. The flavor and crumb (cake texture) are good, but it does not quite have that melt-in-your mouth quality of my other cakes. I think that I just need to increase the butter a little on my next attempt. The two key issues to solve with gluten-free baking are (1) using the right wheat flour substitute for your recipe and (2) figuring out the right flour-fat ratio. In many recipes such as cookie recipes, a one-to-one substitution of rice flour for all-purpose flour works fine. Substitutions for specialty flours, such as cake flour, are a different story.

Normally I use cake flour for baking white butter cakes. Cake flour has a low protein content – 7.5% as compared to 10% for all-purpose flour- and weighs 3.5 oz. per sifted cup. While rice flour has an even lower protein content – 5% – it is not milled nearly as finely as cake flour. To lighten the texture of cakes made with rice flour, the flour needs to be blended with starches which are very fine in consistency. These starches also act as thickeners helping to compensate for the reduced protein content. The gluten-free cake flour blend that I made for this recipe is significantly lower in protein than cake flour – 2.5%, and is heavier weighing 4.5 oz. per double-sifted cup; but it works pretty well.

Laurie’s Gluten-free Cake Flour Blend:

Whisk together, and then sift together twice, the following ingredients.

1 c. white rice flour

1/2 c. tapioca starch

1/2 c. potato starch

1 T. Cake Enhancer (from King Arthur flour)

I used 9 oz. (by weight) of gluten-free cake flour blend as a substitute for 7 oz. cake flour in my regular white butter cake recipe. As I mentioned above, the flavor and crumb were good, but the cake didn’t have the melt in your mouth quality that really makes for a wonderful butter cake. Next time, I think that I shall increase the butter slightly. The other option would be to decrease the flour, but since the dry-wet ratio of the batter seemed right, I am going to try the increased butter option first – my theory being that the recipe needs increased fat to compensate for the increased weight of the flour.

If you have been experimenting with your own gluten-free cake recipes, I’d love to hear from you!

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Part II.

Proper preparation makes removing any cake from the pan easier.

(1) Place your baking pans on parchment paper and trace the outside with a pencil. Cutting just inside the pencil lines, cut paper to fit inside pans.

(2) Cut strips of parchment paper long enough to wrap around the sides of your pans, making the strips just taller than your cake pans.

(3) Butter the inside of the cake pans and one side of each of the pieces of parchment paper. Place paper, buttered side up/out in pans.

(4) Sprinkle with sifted flour or gluten-free flour. Tap pans to distribute the flour. Shake out any extra flour. (If you prefer to use baking spray, skip buttering the paper. But don’t use baking spray for gluten-free baking.) Fill with batter and bake.

(5)  After baking, allow cakes to cool then remove parchment paper from sides of pans, invert cakes, remove paper from bottoms of cakes, then re-invert.

Your cakes should turn out the pans perfectly each time.

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2LC Monthly Cooking Challenge: Mexican Wedding Cookies

Posted on by Laurie

Thank you once again to Bebe and Ridha for hosting this month’s Two Little Chefettes Cooking Challenge. The theme for this month is nuts. I just made a batch of Mexican Wedding Cookies – the pecan version – to put out for our guests. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

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Mexican Wedding Cookies*

Makes about 32

Known by various names, including Russian Tea Cakes, these buttery nut cookies, rolled in confectioner’s sugar, are good for entertaining because you can make them up to a week ahead of time and store them in an airtight container without any loss of quality.

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

2 T. confectioner’s sugar + about 1/2 c. extra for rolling cookies

1 t. vanilla extract*

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. pecans or walnuts finely chopped or ground to the texture of coarse kosher salt

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 T. of the confectioner’s sugar and the vanilla extract. On lowest speed, beat in flour and then nuts. The mixture will be very crumbly.
  3. Spoon a small about (about 1 heaping teaspoon) of mixture into one of your palms. Squeeze lightly until the mixture holds together then shape into a ball. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, spacing the balls well apart on the 2 baking sheets.
  4. Bake for about 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned on the bottom. Place baking sheets on wire racks and allow cookies to cool. Once cool, roll the cookies in confectioner’s sugar until well coated. If desired, roll a second time.

* This recipe is from my cookbook, Confectionately Yours: A Collection of Cookies, Candies & Yummy Confections.

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Preparing for Thanksgiving

Posted on by Laurie

I ordered some Amaryllis bulbs early in the Fall in the hopes that they would be in bloom for Thanksgiving. Somehow, I timed it just right. It’s always so nice when things work out that way.

One of the side dishes that I will be preparing on Thursday is Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  The recipe was sent to me by one of our guests. It’s delicious. I tested it out this summer while I was visiting my mother.

Tim’s Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes

4 – 5 large sweet potatoes, washed

8 T. unsalted butter

1/2 c. good Bourbon, or to taste*

1/4 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. honey, or to taste

1/4 c. brown sugar, or to taste

1/4 t. ground cinnamon, or to taste

milk or cream, just enough to achieve desired consistency

(1) Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork. Cook in microwave until tender or wrap  in buttered aluminum foil and bake at 425 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender.

(2) Remove sweet potatoes from their skins. Mash together with the remaining ingredients, making adjustments as needed to achieve desired flavor and consistency.

* Note: the alcohol is not “cooked out” in this recipe.

Another one of the side dishes that I’ll be serving is my Cranberry Compote, which I make every year. I prepared the base this morning (photo below) and will add fresh apple just before serving on Thursday.

Cranberry Compote

1 c. granulated white sugar

1/2 c. cold water

6 whole cloves

3 whole allspice

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. dried apricots, diced

1/2 c. raisins, currants or chopped dried dates

3 c. whole fresh cranberries, washed and picked over

1/2 c. pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

zest of 1 fragrant orange, finely minced or grated

1 1/2 c. chopped fresh apple or pear, or orange slices, optional

(1) In a medium pot, stir together granulated sugar, water, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low so that they syrup is barely at a simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Carefully remove spices.

(2) Add dried cranberries, apricots and raisins, currants or dates to sugar syrup. Bring dried fruits to a simmer  and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in cranberries, pecans and orange zest. Cover. Remove from heat. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes. The cranberries should just begin to pop. If they do not, you may need to return the pot to a low heat for a few minutes.

(3) Serve warm or chill before serving. If desired, stir in apple, pear or orange right before serving.

Note: Cranberry Compote is very versatile. It can be served on its own, mixed into yogurt, or mixed with maple syrup, warmed and served over French Toast. For Thanksgiving, I will be serving it as a chilled side dish.

Now, I’m off to do some more cooking! I’ll try to do a Thanksgiving Preparation, Part II tomorrow or Thursday morn. Just in case I don’t manage to get another post in before the holiday, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2LC: Mushrooms

Posted on by Laurie

After a short hiatus, Two Little Chefettes have returned with their monthly cooking challenge. The ingredient for November is mushrooms. Thank you Ridha and Bebe!

I tend to have rather strong opinions about mushrooms. I think that most people cook them on too low a heat, for too long a time, with too much fat and without enough seasoning – the result being a rubbery, unappealing ingredient. I always cook mushrooms on a high heat, with just a little fat, with plenty of salt and pepper, and almost always with some sherry. That is how the Portobellos are prepared for this recipe. They are then stirred into the soup at the last minute. The result is a silky soup with slightly caramelized mushrooms.

Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup

4 T. unsalted butter, divided

2 T. potato starch

2 c. flavorful vegetable broth (mine is a golden-orange because it has lots of carrots and some tomatoes)

2 c. whole milk*

1/2 c. chopped yellow onion

4 c. very thinly sliced fresh Portobello mushrooms

splash of dry pale sherry

salt and fresh ground pepper

1/4 t. ground paprika

1. Melt 2 T. of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in the potato starch. Once the mixture is completely smooth, slowly whisk in the vegetable stock. Continue cooking, whisking occasionally, until perfectly smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in the milk; and again, continue cooking, whisking occasionally, until perfectly smooth and slightly thickened.

2. Using about 1/2 T. of the remaining butter, saute onions in another pan until starting to turn translucent and lightly golden, but still slightly crisp. Stir into the soup base. The soup base will continue to thicken and will need to be whisked every few minutes.

3. Melt the remaining butter in the pan from the onions, stir in the mushrooms, and saute until almost cooked. Add the sherry and then salt and pepper the mushrooms. The sherry should be absorbed fairly quickly at which time the mushrooms should be done cooking. Stir mushrooms into soup base.

4. Stir in paprika and then adjust seasonings. Serve right away. Enjoy!

* Once time when I made this soup, I substituted soy milk. I thought that the soup turned out too sweet. So I would recommend sticking to regular milk.