maximios

I made a pie dough a little while ago with the intention of making a cherry pie…but I ate all the cherries . (I do that a lot… eat all of something that I was intending to use for something else)

And then I think about that saying.. The road to hell is paved in good intentions.

.Well I guess I am going to hell.

So no cherries, but I have a crap load of summer squash (and it’s only the beginning) and a few peaches that are in need of some eating. And what’s that, a container of ricotta in the fridge from lasagna a couple weeks back…. Meant to be and not in hell yet!

Sure, I could have made one single crust galette, sweet or savory, and thrown it to the masses for consumption, but I figured that I might as well just hit two birds with one stone. A dinner and a dessert, all at once, and call it a victory in time management and putting a dent in the pile of squash on the table. (don’t be fooled, I love excess amounts of squash.. It’s like the printer paper of the veggie world.. can be used for everything!) And bonus, only one set of dishes! I mean come on, this is so good, easy and just really pretty. I know, I know….. so smart.

Anyway, here, take a look, get inspired and make some pretty dinsert (dinner and dessert) galettes. 

The stuff. For the base, we need one single crust pie dough (that’s going to be for two smaller galettes) and some ricotta cheese.  The savory galette has summer squash, salt, pepper, lemon ( the zest) and a couple tomatoes.  The sweet needs honey, a peach, and a few strawberries. 

And if you want, change up your toppings. Pretty much any fruit or veggie combo would work. And spice up the ricotta if you wan. Garlic, fresh thyme, cinnamon… whatever will make you happy.

First things first. Roll ourt dough. You could cut the dough in half and roll two separate disks, but I just rolled out one big rectangle shape.

And onto the baking sheet and into the fridge to rest.

While the dough is chillin, take half of the ricotta and whip it up  with some honey and thinly slice up your fruit.

Take the other half of the ricotta and add a bit os lemon zest, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and mix that up. And thinly slice up the squashes and dice up the tomatoes.

Two crusts(or one cut in half. Smear the honey ricotta on one side, savory on the other, leaving a boarder so you can fold the dough over.

Now pile the fruits on the honey ricotta, veggies on the savory,  and fold the uncheesed part of the crust over. just enough to keep everything from falling out. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the veggies.

Stick into  a preheated oven and bake until the crust is cooked all nice and golden brown and crispy. 

While the galettes are baking, toss the chunks of tomatoes into a skillet with a splash of oil, salt and pepper and stick it into the oven too. Just bake until the tomatoes are nice and soft. You can stick in the oven right away and let the tomatoes cool, or towards the end of the bake time so that you can eat them warm… these tomatoes are good hot or cold.

all baked up, removed from the oven, looking oh so pretty.

Pile the roasted tomatoes onto the savory tart. And if you got it, a bit of chopped freshy fresh basil

And drizzle a little bit more honey on the sweet.

And serve… Is it savory first or do you go sweet?

How about a pice of both. Dnner and dessert.. all on one plate!

Happy Tuesday!

Ba Bye!

-C

-Makes 2 small or one large galettes 

• a single pie crust (recipe here.. or use whatever dough you like)
• 1 cup of ricotta cheese

For the savory

• 2 cups thinly sliced green and yellow summer squash*
• 2 roma tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• teaspoon lemon zest
• a few fresh basil leaves
• olive oil

For the Sweet

• 2-3 tablesppons honey
• 1 peach thinly sliced*
• 3-4 strawberries thibky sliced*

*Note. Feeling like blueberry apricot or maybe potatoes and peas? Swap out any fruit and veggie (and spice) combination you want. The possibilities are endless! And if you want to do just one big galette, go for it. 

Roll out pie dough in either 2 separate disks or one large rectange cut in half and.place on baking sheet and stick in fridge. While dough is resting, divide the ricotta into separate bowls. Add the salt, pepper and lemon zest to one, and the honey to the other. Using a fork, whip them up.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

When the oven is preheated, grab the crust from fridge and smear the ricotta fillings evenly on the middle of each crust, leaving about an inch and a half boarder. Layer on the toppings, (sweet on honey, savory on lemon pepper.. or whatever floats your boat) and fold  border over the edges of the filling. Place in oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the crusts are nice and crispy and golden brown.

While those are baking, dice up the tomatoes and toss into a oven safe skillet with a little drizzle of oil and sprinkle of salt. Stick that into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are nice and soft. You can do this right away, or towards the end of the bake time of the galettes… roasted tomatoes are great warm or cold.

When the galettes are done baking, remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. Top the savory galette with the roasted tomatoes and chopped fresh basil. Drizzle a little more honey on the one with the fruit .

Serve one, then the other, or both at the same time!

Eats good hot, warm, or cold. Utensils not required

I have been meaning to make this jam for a while now. I’ll buy a bunch of jalapeños, then slowly, before I get to cooking them down, end up eating them all. But not today, and the rewards are great, Fresh jalapeño jam. So much potential for the greatest of things (I am thinking mango jalapeño sorbet… no, I am making jalapeño mango sorbet) And if you, like me are a jalapeño fan, this is going to make your life amazing. You will find yourself jamming up everything, or maybe just eating it with a spoon.

Whatever you want to do with it, just make it. 

Honey and jalapeños.. All you need, well a little salt and water too, but that’s it.

What you need to do is remove the stems,, most of the ribs and half of the seeds removed. (You could remove all or none of the seeds depending on you heat preference) Chop the peppers into small chunks, toss into a pot, sprinkle with a bit of salt, add in a splash of water. Place the pot on medium heat. Top it with a lid, and give the peppers a good stir every few minutes. While the peppers are cooking, you want to make sure the bottom isn’t sticking and buringin. If that starts to happen, just turn the heat down a bit and add in a little splash more of water.

After about 20 minutes, the peppers are fully cooked and falling apart. The liquid is cooked down and the peppers are starting to caramelize on the bottom of the pan. When that happened, remove the pot from heat.

Now you can either blend the peppers, mash the peppers with a fork, or leave it chunky. Thats a choice Ill leave to you. ( I like to blend, but keep some chunks)

And drizzle in a bit o honey. As little or as much as you like.

And scoop into a jar. Eat the jam on anything you want. (I found myself eating it with a spoon)

Keep it Real!

-C

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of jam

• 10 large jalapeño peppers
• a pinch of salt
• About 1 tablespoon of honey, but add more if you like (And if you want to keep it vegan, use agave or sugar)

Wash, remove ribs and most seeds (the more seeds you leave the hotter it will be) and dice jalapenos into small chunks. Place in a pot with a few splashes of water and a sprinkle of salt. Turn on medium heat and cover, stirring every few minutes. If the peppers seem to be sticking  o the pot and burning, turn heat down and add another splash of water. After about 20 minutes, the peppers should be really tender and falling apart. The liquid should be completely cooked out and the peppers will start to caramelized at the bottom of the pot. When that starts to happen, remove from heat.  Now either mash with a fork, blend with a hand blender, or leave superr chunky. Drizzle in honey (or sweetener) and stir. 

Eat right away or stick in a jar and store in the fridge for up to a week (It won’t last that long)

 Happy Cinco de Mayo! And what better day to share my version of  my oh so fantastic pico de gallo, or as I call it, super freshy salsa.

I love me some freshy salsa, It makes me oh so happy. 

 I make this stuff all the time, especially during the warmer months and tomato season. I usually make a batch right before a meal, just enough to eat right away, but sometimes I ‘ll make a big batched of it, thinking I’ll save some for the next day.   It never makes it past the second day in the fridge because it’s just one of those things that when you see it, you want to eat it. Weird but true. And it’s totally ok to do so cause it’s basically eating a big bowl of healthy goodness, so eat on!

It takes no time to prepare, tastes super refreshing, goes on everything, and it’s just so freaking tasty. You can eat it with tacos and chips (the mister) or like me, I like to add it to everything; salads, popcorn, or directly in my mouth. 

Make one batch, make 4, it doesn’t matter cause you will eat it all, and need to make more.

The stuff. Chopped Roma tomatoes, chopped red onion, a diced jalapeño, lemon, a bunch of cilantro, and salt.

Stick all the chopped stuff into a jar and add in the juice of the lemon. Roughly chop the cilantro and add that on in with a sprinkle of salt. 

Mix it up….And thats it. Now eat… with something or without.

A spoon out of the jar is one of my favorite ways to go at it.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Happy Tuesday!

-C

Pico de Gallo… Freshy Salsa

• 4-5 Roma Tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 1-2 jalapeños (Depending on heat preference)
• 1 lemon or lime
• salt
• 1 bunch of cilantro (don’t use it if you don’t like it)

Chop tomatoes and onion and toss into a bowl or jar.  Cut seeds from jalapeño(s) and dice up into little bitty pieces and add that to the tomato and onion. Roughly chop the cilantro and toss that in as well with the juice of the lemon or lime. Sprinkle with salt. Stir, let sit for a minutes, taste and then add more salt if needed. 

Eat right away or make ahead and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Goes great with corn chips, tacos, toss onto salads or eat as is standing in front of the fridge. If someone is judging you, they are stupid.

     WOO WHOA!! MARDI GRAS! I wish I was down in New Orleans today celebrating… and soaking up some warmth and sunshine, catching beads, maybe even  taking my shirt off(?!!?) 

No, I keep my shirt on today because I am not like that, and also, I would die of hypothermia. Today I wear a shirt, underneath 5 other shirts ad sweaters.  Because today is just another day of -20 below here in Vermont. 

To keep me from going completely crazy, I am thinking of warm weather and I am thinking of New Orleans (love that place!) and the humongo celebration that’s been going on there for the past week. Everyone partying out in the streets. Big floats and beads all around. I might be feeling a little jealous, (more of the weather then the partying) but thats ok, I have TV to watch and a warm comforter to wrap myself up in. And maybe I should have done a post of fried donuts or of some type of alcohol party drink to celebrate the day, but I really just wanted to make something warm and spicy, so I went with some dank cajun beans. And also I wanted to sing…. “Beans Beans the musical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot!!” hehe

But for real, these beans  are sooooo f-ing tasty and super versatile. You can serve the spicy beans with the rice or just eat just the beans. You could do the beans and  add to a bed of kale (me) or add cheese, guacamole and a few  corn tortillas to the mix (the mister).  Simple to make, super tasty and full of flavor!  And pretty freaking heathy to boot! This dish gets an A+!

This dish is so full of flavor but so simple to make. We start with presoaked black beans drained and rinsed. Cajun seasoning (which is basically 1 part onion powder, thyme, oregano,  and 2 parts paprika, garlic powder, cayenne power, and salt and pepper) Sliced onion and jalapeno, and a few tablespoons of tomato paste. Oh, and the rice.

     Beans are in a pot filled with water unit beans are completely sumerged. Add in the onion, jalapeño, tomato paste and cajun seasoning. Bring to a boil then cover with a lid and simmer for about 45 minutes…..  After about a half hour, start up the rice. Water in pot with rice, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

The rice is done and fluffed with at fork. The beans are cooked with just the tiniest bit of bite, bathing in a thick spicy tomatoey sauce. The chunks of onion and jalapeño have broken down and are hiding in every bite…. Oh so good!

 Now get ready for the bowl!!! Bringing a little spice and  nice to this crazy cold winter day or any fun festivities you may have planned.  

Have a Fantastic Day.. Stay Warm or if you already are.. lucky you!

-C

Cajun Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dried black beans* soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight..Rinse and strained
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 Jalapeño
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 tomato (I used a large roma)
• 1 1/2 cup of dried rice plus 3 cups water

*If you want to use canned beans, go for it…Just sub in 2 cans rinsed and strained black beans and only add a cup of water to the beans. Pre sauté the onion and the jalapeño before adding to the beans and only simmer the beans for about 15 minutes. 

Place you soaked beans into a pot and fill with water until the beans are completely summered.  Slice the jalapeño and onion and add to the pot along with the  tomato paste and the cajun seasoning.  Bring to a boil then place a lid on it and turn heat down to low. Let simmer for about 45 minutes or until the beans are completely cooked.

When the beans are about half way done, add rice to water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, place a lid on pot and turn heat down to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or  until all water is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff with a fork.

To sever. place a scoop of two of rice to a bowl and top with a scoop of two of beans.… Top with diced tomatoes and scallions… (The mister added shredded pepper jack to his and thought it was excellent)

Eat with a fork or spoon.

I was informed yesterday that if I was going to make tortilla chips, that I better make some sweet ass dips to go with them.  I kind of agree… tortilla chips need dip… or better yet, two dips. Queso and guacamole. It’s what needed to be done, and so I did it.

Guacamole is amazing… anything avocado is amazing…this guacamole is amazing. White bean guacamole is amazing. And not that we really care, but this guac is half the fat then straight up guacamole.  Plus it’s packed full of protein making it a kind of super duper, must eat all of it, kind of dip.  And sweet potato anything will make me happy.  Making queso dip with sweet potato and cauliflower is probably one of my best food combos so far. (after eating a butt load, I felt like I was a genius and made an amazing discovery) Again, not that we need it to be, but this is also a fat-free, vegan, gluten-free, super healthy, packed full of B12,  fiber and nutrients, dip for all kind of dip.…. just another reason why you cannot feel bad when you finish off half a batch before you get a chance to stick it in a serving bowl. (I might have done that)

 Here is what you need for a good time:

−These tortilla chips ….Check.

−Some  Chopped Veggies (I want the veggies)…..Check

−Cauliflower Sweet Potato Queso.…Check.

−White Bean Guacamole…Check. 

You are now ready for it. It being this party, that party, the Super Bowl, or a Wednesday afternoon.  

To the left we have the makings for the cauliflower sweet potato queso.. Steamed cauliflower, a baked sweet potato, nutritional yeast, garlic, and chopped up red onion, red bell pepper and jalapeño. To make all you need to do it take the chopped peppers, onion, and garlic and sauté for a few minutes just to slightly soften and bring out flavors. While that’s going on, take the steamed cauliflower and sweet potato(skin off..but eat it, or save it for soup or feed it to the dog) and puree together with a blender or food processor. Add in nutritional yeast, about a tablespoon or two of hot water and, salt and pepper to taste. Blend for about 5 minutes until super creamy smooth. Add in sautéed stuff and pulse just enough to incorporated the veggies but not complete blend in.  Stick in a bowl.

To the right we have white bean guacamole stuff.  Two cups (or one can) rinsed white beans, one ripe avocado, a lime, a few cloves of garlic,(I also added a bit of garlic powered…I like my garlic) and some chopped up red onion and tomato.  Place beans, garlic, avocado and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste and toss in the chopped tomato and onion. Blend for sec to mix that in…Stick in a bowl 

Perfect…

To think that both of these dips took about 10 minutes total to make. (I had pre baked the cauliflower and sweet potato)  And for real, I would spend much more time if I had too because both of these dips are so freaking good, I definitely will be making these on the regular.

So there , dips for those sweet ass chips or whatever you want to dip or them spread them on. 

And he guys…It’s FRIDAY! Have a fantastic day!

-C

White Bean Guacamole 

• 2 cups white beans (or 1 can) rinsed and drained
• 1 ripe avocado
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lime
• 1/4  small red onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1-2 teaspoons salt

Finley chop onion and tomato. Set aside. Place the beans, avocado, garlic, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and the juice from one lime into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add a splash of water if needed to help keep things moving. Taste and add more salt if needed. When smooth, add  the onion and tomato and pulse a few times to mix in. Scoop into a serving dish and finish with a squeeze of lime and a bit of chopped onion and tomato. 

Cauliflower Sweet Potato Queso

• 1 1/2 cups pre cooked steamed or roasted cauliflower
• 1 medium pre baked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 a small red pepper
• 1/4 small red onion
• 1 jalapeño
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper

Finely dice the red pepper, jalapeño, onion and garlic and sauté in a skillet for a few minutes until slightly soften and fragrant. Take the pre-cooked cauliflower, sweet potato (skin removed), and nutritional yeast and place in a blender or food processor. Blend for about 5 minutes until creamy and smooth. Add in a tablespoon  of water  to keep things moving. When completely smooth, add in sautéed veggies and pulse a few times to combine. Scoop into a serving dish. If your feeling it,  top with scallions and cracked pepper.

Serve dips with chips, veggies or anything you want. Also make great spreads for sandwiches and crackers too!

 How awesome will you be when you bring the most freaking amazing tortilla chips to the party this weekend? You will be like..”what, it ain’t no thang.. I am just good like that” Yes, yes you are.

And yes, I am assuming that you will be making these awesome chippers to share at a Super Bowl part this weekend. I say this because even as I sit here writing this (with the TV on) there has been nothing but football talk…deflated balls, hot wings, half time shows and commercials. It’s almost as big as Christmas.  Got to get the decorations, the special game day food and your football jerseys. It’s crazy and all over the place. So that’s why I am assuming you are making these for the game.  But if you not going to be participating in any football parties.. by all means, make these chips for yourself anyways. Celebrate you day! Have a non football watching party. Or just make these whenever.  Jalapeño Lime chips for everyday! 

Note: You can make these chips without the jalaeno and or the lime if you need or want to. You can also stop after the first step and have some dank corn totillas for tacos ands stuff..But definitely make the chips… worth it for sure!

All the stuff.. Masa harina, hot water, salt, a lime and a jalapeño. Zest lime and place half the zest into a glass bowl with oil and either sit on warm oven or microwave for 30 seconds to infuse.  Puree the jalapeño with a cup of hot water and add the puree and half the zest of a lime, plus salt, to the masa harina. Mix it all up with another 1/2 cup of water or enough to make the dough resemble play dough… You can add more water or masa if you dough is to wet or dry. 

Knead dough a few times just to make sure it’s completely uniformed and divide  into 12-14 equal pieces. Place balls on a plate and cover with a wet paper towl to keep from drying out.

 I do not own a tortilla press so I used what I had… wax paper, a wooded cutting board and brunt force. I took each ball and place it between the two pieces of the waxed paper, placed the cutting board on top, and with all my might and body weight, pressed down to smoosh.  It works like a charm.

My cast iron skillet is big enough to cook 2 -3 at a time, but doing one at a time is cool too. Preheat the skillet to medium heat. Cook each tortilla for about 2-3 minutes ( or until starting to brown) on each side. Half way there to chips!!!

With my fingers ( you can using a basting brush for sure), I rubbed a little of the lime oil all over  both sides of each tortilla. Stacked a few high,  then sliced those tortillas into triangle shapes. If you  want to go crazy, you could cut them into strips or even use a cookie cutter and do some fun shapes… but triangle are easy, classic, and practical. A good shape for dipping!

Placed all nice and cozy on a baking sheet. trying not to overlap. Into a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes to complete the chip making process.. After about 15 minutes, check for doneness. When nice a crispy, remove from oven, squeeze  lime juice all over and sprinkle with salt. I then stuck them back in the oven for a few more minutes just to dry the lime..

After cooling down, take those chips and stick them in a bowl. 

Eat a few, but wait and save them for the party. Or better yet, make a few batches. Bring a batch, eat a batch. (Its ok, you are allowed)

Eat with some salsa, maybe some of this guacamole, or just as they are…Anyway is the right way as long as you are eating!

Have fun making these and have fun getting read for the party this weekend (Super Bowl or not!)

-C

Jalapeño Lime Tortilla Chips

Makes 12-14 tortillas.. then made into a medium bowl of tortilla chips.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups hot water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 lime (juice and zest)
• 1 large or 2 small jalapeños 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt

To start, zest lime and add 1/2 of the zest to bowl with the oil. Place oil on warm spot on stove to let the oil infuse the limeness. 

Take jalapeno and puree with 1 cup of hot water. In a large bowl, add puree  and remaining lime zest to the masa harina and mix, adding an additional 1/2 to 1 cup of hot water until the dough  resembles  play dough, not to soft, but not to dry and completely incorporated

Divide dough into 12-14 balls and place on a plate  under a wet paper towel to keep dough from drying out. 

One at a time, take a dough ball and place between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. Place either a plate or cutting board on top and press down as hard as you can (you could even stand on it). Remove flatten tortilla from paper and place in medium hot skillet. Cook each tortilla for 2-3 minutes on each side.

When all tortillas have been made, lightly rub lime oil on all over both sides. Stack a few on top of each other and cut into triangles. Place pieces on a baking sheets (I used 2) and bake at 400 for 15- 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crunchy. When chips are done, remove from oven, squeeze or sprinkle lime juice on chips and sprinkle with salt. Stick back into oven for another 2 or so minutes to re-crisp from the lime juice. 

Remove and let cool completely, then dump into a bowl

Enjoy!

It’s Mother’s Day weekend which means that you and I and everyone out there should feel the slightest bit obligated to at least do a little something nice for your mom for the mere fact that you were borned. And really what better way to celebrate mom than with food… It really is the least that you can do. (I think mom’s also like flowers and cards and handmade pasta necklaces) My mom is defiantly about the food. (she has had her fair share or pasta necklaces)  A many years back on Mother’s day, this sweet little girl (me) made her mother a special  breakfast treat…blueberry scones. And ever since that day, for every freaking holiday, birthday, whatever day, my mother requests (demands) a batch of those scones. She is always saying that these are her favorite treat and that no one has ever made them as good as I do. (I guess that just reiterates that I am her number 1 child)

And for the last few months my mom has been up my butt, trying to get me to make her some. Not going to lie, I have been saying I’ll get her a batch, but for some reason, I haven’t gotten around to making them. So two birds here.. Make the scones and she gets off my back for a least a little while (a month.. maybe 2) and I give her a fantastic Mothers day gift that I know she will love.

So here they are , oh mother of mine. Blueberry scones!

The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. A bit of sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter (use vegan butter and nut milk if you want to make them vegan) And of course we need the blueberries which can be fresh or frozen. I usually use fresh, but the store I stopped at only had really big containers of fresh that were like $1000 dollars a piece and the organic frozen happen to be on super sale. So you know, the cheap in me won that battle. So into the bowl goes all the dry stuff; flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and the sugar. Give it a good whisk.

Now for my special trick for a perfectly distributed cold butter in a pastry. Freeze your butter and grate it!

With a large wholed grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl with the dry, stoping a few times to toss the butter chunks around so you don’t end up with a huge pile of grated butter. When it’s all grated, gently toss around so the butter is evenly distributed. Now dump the blueberries into the flour mixture. Toss them around to give them a coat of flour. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and give a little mix until liquid is absorbed. We are trying to handle the dough as little as possible.Turn mixture onto counter. It’s very loose, but thats what it should look like. Very gently and with as little handling as possible, gather dough up, knead a few times till everything  just comes together. Press dough into a disk that is roughly an inch thick…. and it doesn’t need to be perfect. Cut the disk into even sized pieces. Do 6 big, 8 normal, maybe even 10 smaller. Whatever size you like. (I did 8) Place the scones onto a baking sheet, using a spatula to transfer, and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar. Into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.And when the scones look all nice and browned and a tester comes out clean. remove and either serve right away warm, preferably with huge cup of coffee or tea, or stick on a rack to cool before storing in  air tight container.

Perfect to serve as a breakfast pastry, at brunch, or even as a dessert. A nice little treat for a special lady. (dudes can eat them too) 

Happy Mothers Day Mom! Thanks for having me!

And Happy Weekend!!!

-C

Blueberry Scones 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons  to sprinkle on top
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted  butter frozen or really cold (use non dairy butter like Earth Balance for vegan)
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla 
•  3/4 cup buttermilk (use non dairy milk for vegan)

Preheat oven t0 400 degrees

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Take the frozen butter and grate directly into flour mixture, tossing around to evenly disrupted. Add in blueberries and toss around till coated with flour, then lastly, add vanilla to buttermilk and mix into mixture until just barely coming together. Turn mixture out onto counter and with your hands, knead mixture a few times until it forms a solid dough. Shape into a disk and smoosh down until about an inch thick. Cut into 6-10 triangles  and place on a non greases baking sheet and sprinkle tops with remaining sugar. Stick into oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tops start turning a golden brown and a tester in the middle of a scone comes out clean. 

Remove from baking sheet and serve warm or let cool on a rack.

Mom gets first dibs, and if she is willing to share, eat one yourself with your face. 

I was informed yesterday that if I was going to make tortilla chips, that I better make some sweet ass dips to go with them.  I kind of agree… tortilla chips need dip… or better yet, two dips. Queso and guacamole. It’s what needed to be done, and so I did it.

Guacamole is amazing… anything avocado is amazing…this guacamole is amazing. White bean guacamole is amazing. And not that we really care, but this guac is half the fat then straight up guacamole.  Plus it’s packed full of protein making it a kind of super duper, must eat all of it, kind of dip.  And sweet potato anything will make me happy.  Making queso dip with sweet potato and cauliflower is probably one of my best food combos so far. (after eating a butt load, I felt like I was a genius and made an amazing discovery) Again, not that we need it to be, but this is also a fat-free, vegan, gluten-free, super healthy, packed full of B12,  fiber and nutrients, dip for all kind of dip.…. just another reason why you cannot feel bad when you finish off half a batch before you get a chance to stick it in a serving bowl. (I might have done that)

 Here is what you need for a good time:

−These tortilla chips ….Check.

−Some  Chopped Veggies (I want the veggies)…..Check

−Cauliflower Sweet Potato Queso.…Check.

−White Bean Guacamole…Check. 

You are now ready for it. It being this party, that party, the Super Bowl, or a Wednesday afternoon.  

To the left we have the makings for the cauliflower sweet potato queso.. Steamed cauliflower, a baked sweet potato, nutritional yeast, garlic, and chopped up red onion, red bell pepper and jalapeño. To make all you need to do it take the chopped peppers, onion, and garlic and sauté for a few minutes just to slightly soften and bring out flavors. While that’s going on, take the steamed cauliflower and sweet potato(skin off..but eat it, or save it for soup or feed it to the dog) and puree together with a blender or food processor. Add in nutritional yeast, about a tablespoon or two of hot water and, salt and pepper to taste. Blend for about 5 minutes until super creamy smooth. Add in sautéed stuff and pulse just enough to incorporated the veggies but not complete blend in.  Stick in a bowl.

To the right we have white bean guacamole stuff.  Two cups (or one can) rinsed white beans, one ripe avocado, a lime, a few cloves of garlic,(I also added a bit of garlic powered…I like my garlic) and some chopped up red onion and tomato.  Place beans, garlic, avocado and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste and toss in the chopped tomato and onion. Blend for sec to mix that in…Stick in a bowl 

Perfect…

To think that both of these dips took about 10 minutes total to make. (I had pre baked the cauliflower and sweet potato)  And for real, I would spend much more time if I had too because both of these dips are so freaking good, I definitely will be making these on the regular.

So there , dips for those sweet ass chips or whatever you want to dip or them spread them on. 

And he guys…It’s FRIDAY! Have a fantastic day!

-C

White Bean Guacamole 

• 2 cups white beans (or 1 can) rinsed and drained
• 1 ripe avocado
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lime
• 1/4  small red onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1-2 teaspoons salt

Finley chop onion and tomato. Set aside. Place the beans, avocado, garlic, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and the juice from one lime into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add a splash of water if needed to help keep things moving. Taste and add more salt if needed. When smooth, add  the onion and tomato and pulse a few times to mix in. Scoop into a serving dish and finish with a squeeze of lime and a bit of chopped onion and tomato. 

Cauliflower Sweet Potato Queso

• 1 1/2 cups pre cooked steamed or roasted cauliflower
• 1 medium pre baked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 a small red pepper
• 1/4 small red onion
• 1 jalapeño
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper

Finely dice the red pepper, jalapeño, onion and garlic and sauté in a skillet for a few minutes until slightly soften and fragrant. Take the pre-cooked cauliflower, sweet potato (skin removed), and nutritional yeast and place in a blender or food processor. Blend for about 5 minutes until creamy and smooth. Add in a tablespoon  of water  to keep things moving. When completely smooth, add in sautéed veggies and pulse a few times to combine. Scoop into a serving dish. If your feeling it,  top with scallions and cracked pepper.

Serve dips with chips, veggies or anything you want. Also make great spreads for sandwiches and crackers too!

What are your weekend plans?

Me well, I need to can, pickle and eat as much zucchini as I can. And it’s not just zucchini anymore… we are getting into cucumbers too…AAAHHH  I know I have said this a few times in the past weeks, but man, I have so manning freaking zucchinis.. and the more I eat, the more I end up with… It’s getting pretty crazy here!

So anyway, yesterday my dad came back to VT, WOO HOO! and I was his first stop on his rotating dinner schedule. (cause I am his favorite child. I think..maybe) I made zucchini noodles for dinner (I have made them every night for the past week) and I wanted to make him dessert,  I have all sorts of pretty fruit that I wanted to make and prepare,  but I also had little time and honestly, little desire to move all that much (it was so f ing hot!)  I already had out the shredder and a bowl, and the zucchini was just sitting there, in the basket  taunting me with it’s gigantic green whaleness.  So I figured I’d just make a zucchini cake, or better yet, cause my dad really likes chocolate, a chocolate zucchini cake. 

This cake is tender and moist, almost like a cakey brownie, so it does not require any frosting  which is nice when your dead tired and it’s so hot that any frosting would probably just melt off anyway. (although you could totally frost it up) It makes a great dessert, but I would not hesitate to serve this for breakfast either because,  1. It has a lot of zucchini in it which automatically justifies eating it whenever,  2.  also made with whole wheat, and 3. it’s totally ok to eat chocolate cake for breakfast. I mean people eat donuts for breakfast and that shit is usually fried. 

Yeah, this is for sure a dessert/breakfast cake.

The stuff for cake…. Regular all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, and cocoa powder. Some sugar, salt, baking soda and oil. A little vanilla extact and a splash of coffee. And of course, shredded zucchinn

Dump the sugar, salt and baking soda into flour, whisk together, then mix in the oil, vanilla and the coffee. Now add in the shredded zucchini, but right before adding it in,  give it a squeeze to remove a little bit of the liquid. 

Mix until combined.

And pour batter into a well oiled pan

Feeling fancy? I was so I peeled the green skin from a zucchini and make a little starburst on top

And into the oven to bake…

And it comes out looking so fancy.  Let cake cool for a few minutes and carefully flip from pan.

Note. It might not be the best idea to test your cake with a blunt chop stick.. I did and it made the middle sink in a little. No big deal, but next time I will use a fork.

Cooled and removed from pan. Now all you need to do now is eat cake.. I think that’s something you can handle.

Happy Friday!!!! 

-C

• 1 cup white whole wheat (can use regular whole wheat or all all purpose)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup oil (veggie, canola, sufflower)
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  2 cups of shredded zucchini 
• 2 tablespoons of coffee

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt and sugar. Then add in the oil, vanilla and coffee. Add in the zucchini, but right before, give it a squeeze to remove some of the liquid. (don’t got crazy, just get a little liquid out). Mix until incorporated. 

Oil a 9 inch cake pan and pour in the batter. If you want, use  zucchini skin to make a pretty design on top (completely optional), and place into preheated oven.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a tester stabbed in the middle comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for at least 5 minutes the gently invert pan to remove cake and place on a rack to cool.

Serve as soon as you want..

Place in mouth, chew, and swallow…..Smile!!!

Last night had we had a couple littles (and my little sister who is not so little anymore) over for a cookout and watercolor evening.

It was fantastic. We set them up outside with paint, paper, and brushes and let them have at it. And while they were painting the mr took charge of the grill: cooking up potatoes, corn, and the tofu dogs. 

 I was cutting up fruit and making a special snack treat of popcorn (who doesn’t love popcorn?) consisting of almond butter, coconut, and chocolate….Almond Joy popcorn.

Addictive like crack.  But still safe for children

The littles were more or less indifferent to it ( they are not big coconut fans..I know, but i am making it a mission to make them like it), but the sister and the mr… Lets just say I had to pull out my outdoor voice on them a few times (STOP EATING IT ALL!!!!!)

I think we have a winner here!

The stuff. A large quantity of air popped popcorn, almond butter, chocolate chip, coconut flakes and coconut oil. We also have some extra chocolate chips and a big handful of roasted almonds.

Licking your lips yet?

Start by dumpling your popcorn into the larges baking sheet to pan that you have.. the more surface area the better. Now heat up the almond butter. You can do this on the stove or in the microwave. The trick here is to heat it slowly so you don’t burn it. If doing on the stove, put in a sauce pot and with a fork, constantly stir until a drizzable consistency. If in microwave, stick it in there for 10 second intervals. 

Note. I know from experience that there are many different types and consistency of almond butters out there.  If your butter seems really stiff and thick, add  a teaspoon of coconut oil. 

As soon as your almond butter is melted, drizzle all over the popcorn.

With the same pot (no need to clean) place teaspoon of coconut oil in it. Heat oil until hot. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips. Kepp string until the chips are melted.

And drizzle that all over

Then toss on the coconut chips, chopped almond bits, and the chocolate chip.

With your (clean) hands, give the popcorn a good toss, mixing everything all around.

And now place either in a big bowl or individual cups (great for littles) I happened to have some pink(beet juice stained) shredded coconut on hand, which made for a nice touch of pretty (totally not necessary,but it kinda was).  Next time maybe some sprinkles would look nice……

Anyway, be ready to lick you fingers!

And I am giving you ample amount of time to get the ingredients needed for this. Makes the perfect snack for a cookout, a party, or movie night(or Netflix binge)

Happy Day!!!

-C

• 6-7 cups air poppped popcorn
• 1/3 cup smooth almond butter 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2  cup chocolate chips plus a handful (use vegan chocolate chip if needed)
• 1 -2 teaspoon coconut oil
• handful of toasted almonds, chopped into pieces

 Feel free to play with proportion. You can adjust the amount and ratios of all the ingredients to your taste preference. 

Take  popcorn and dump on the biggest baking sheet or pan that you have and level it out. Either on the stove or in the microwave, heat almond butter until a melty a runny consistency. If doing so on the stove, make sure to consantly stir while heating* If in microwave, check ever 10 seconds. (burnt almond butter tastes like crap )

*Note. I find that all almond butters are not the same. IF you feel that yours is not melty and drizzable enough, add in a teaspoon of coconut oil.With a spoon or spatula, drizzle all over popcorn. .

Now take the coconut oil and melt  on stove or in microwave until hot.  Remove from heat, add in chocolate chips and mix around until fully melted. Drizzle all over popcorn .

And last but not least, take the coconut flakes, almond pieces, and the extra handful of chocolate chips  and toss those in too. With clean hands, give everything a good mix Dump into a big bowl or individual container. 

Eat with hands..lick your fingers clean..

Word of caution…Once you start, you will not be able to stop eating this.

       TGIF!!!! For reals, because Monday-Thurday were monster days. And now that its friday, I can dig a hole and hide in it until it’s at least 30 degrees with some sunshine. (I might never get to come out.)

A few things I will bring in my hole:

• food (lots of food and coffee, lots of coffee)
• a soft blanket and pillow
• a few books, preferably with pictures, on farming and gardening (think spring!)
• the entire series of the Fresh Prince of Bel-air and a device to watch it on
• toothpaste (I can use my finger to brush my teeth)

But before I leave for my hole in the ground, I made these little cake bites to get my people through the weekend. Sweet little lemony bites of rich dense cake dipped into bittersweet chocolate. (I am just so nice)  They have all the pleasure or cake without the need of a fork and are much easier to give away then a big slice of cake. Plus, they are fun to make. My little sister helped and did most of the chocolate dipping. Then she and another little used their mouths to clean up the chocolate mess. It was an afternoon of chocolate all over the kitchen fun day. 

So make some bites to have and to share. Or if you, like me, are digging a hole to hide in, make a batch of bites to bring with you. That’s the beauty of cake covered in a harden chocolate shell, they travel really well.Simple lemon cake stuff. Flour, baking powder and salt whisked together, Sugar and soft butter in a bowl. An egg, some vanilla, milk, and of course, the lemon. 

To make the batter, cream the soften butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Zest lemon(1 big or 2 small) into bowl with the juice of the lemon(s), the vanilla and the egg. Beat until combined. Now beat in the dry and then the milk. Keep beating for another minute until all mixed. Batter should be light and fluffy.

Batter goes into a greased and floured  9×13 baking sheet and stuck into a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes (You can use a 9×9 baking pan. Just bake fir another 10 minutes and you will end up with thicker bites). Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes and flip to remove cake from baking sheet. Cut cake into small pieces (I cut 4×6   to get 24 bites) and place bake into sheet and into freezer (I stuck mine outside, it was -2 degrees ) for at least 2 hours. 

Frozen bites ready for the chocolate coating… Bittersweet chocolate chips and a little bit of coconut oil. Melted together all nice and shiny smooth.Now dip and slather those bites in the melted chocolate. 

Oh what a lovely sister I have.. Look at her dunk….. like a boss!Fully coated and placed on a rack for the chocolate to harden. I  ended up sticking the rack in the freezer for 10 minutes…They harder really fast in there.

And now you have some it, bites of cake covered in chocolate. 1 bite, 2 bites…5 bites. Eat however many you want because its Friday and because there small little bites and just because you can.

Now if you need me, I’ll be in my hole. 

-C

Chocolate Lemon Cake Bite

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup  white sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) soft butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large or 2 small lemons
• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Add butter  and sugar to a large bowl and beat on medium unit light and fluffy. Ass in vanilla egg, the zest of the lemon and the juice of the lemon. Beat to incorporate. Now beat in the dry and lastly the milk.

Grease and flour either a 9×9 pan or a 9×13 baking sheet. dump batter in and smooth out.  Stick in oven and bake for about 3o minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out clean. Remove and let cool  for a few minutes on a  wire rack. Flip cake to remove from pan. Cut cake into bit sized pieces, 4×6 is a good size, and place back on baking sheet and stick into freezer for at least 2 hours.

When cake bites are as good as frozen, get the chocolate ready. Take the chocolate and the coconut oil and either melt in a double boiler or the microwave. Mix until smooth and make sure to full incorporate the oil. Now remove the cake bites from the freezer and dip each bite into chocolate, trying to full coat all sides. Stick onto a wire rack or a parchment lined pan to harden. They can be stuck back into the freezer to harden faster.

Once chocolate has harden, your good to go!

Because it is cold outside. Because I had an hour to kill before I needed to leave the house and because I wanted to make a sweet treat for the mister (who had been dealing with frozen pipes all day) and for the little littles that I was going to hang out with.  My original idea was to just make regular old snickerdoodles, but as  I was riffling around my tea drawer for a mid day tea (it’s usually coffee, but I am trying to cut back on drinking one thousand cups a day) I got hit with a little inspiration. Chai tea spiced snickerdoodles. Yes! a nice black chai, full of flavors or cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, allspice, and pepper. So many good time tastes.  And while I am at it, why not add some chocolate to that mix, because, well just because.

Chai, chocolate, and sugar equals….Bada da da….. awesome Cookies! And who doesn’t want awesome cookies?

The stuff…Flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice. Cocoa powder, brown and white sugar. Veggie Oil  (you can use butter, or vegan butter instead for a chewier cookie) vanilla, a little vinegar and a nice cup of  chai tea…  Also a little bowl of cinnamon and sugar to doodle the cookies.

    The sugars, oil, tea, vinegar, and vanilla go into a big bowl. Beat for a minute on medium, then add the rest of the stuff and beat some more until fully incorporated…. Simple simple. 

Preheat the oven to 375 and get the cookies all dressed up in a cinnamon sugar suit by taking globs of dough and kind of rolling it into ball (perfection is not necessary) Drop dough balls into the cinnamon sugar and toss around to fully coat. Place on cookie sheet and give a good smoosh to flatten the cookie balls out to about 1/2 inch thick. Now into the oven for about 9-11 minutes to bake. 

Aahhhh…….pulled from the oven and placed on a rack to cool. Fluffy, chewy, pillowy soft and spicy cookies. Oh the smell of so good!Made extra large to make extra little littles happy. The best part? I made each little sing me a song for a second cookie… I am the greatest!

Heres to a Happy Hump Day!

-C

Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles 

The stuff-

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• Chai teabag steeped in 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cups vegetable oil (can substitute butter or vegan butter for a more chewy cookie)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons each of cinnamon and white sugar to coat cookie balls in

Preheat oven to 375

In a cup, steep tea bag in 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Let tea steep for 10 minutes.

In  Large bowl, add sugars, oil, vanilla, vinegar and steeped tea and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (besides cinnamon and sugar for coating) and beat on low until everything is fully incorporated. 

 Add the cinnamon and sugar to a small bowl and mix together. Take globs of dough and roughly formed  ball then drop into cinnamon sugar and toss to coat. Place coated balls on cooke sheet and smoosh down so cookies are about 1/2 inch thick. Place in oven for about 9-11 minutes or until cookies are just barely cooked through. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

My suggestion for sharing….If they want one, make them sing and dance for it!

It hasn’t stopped snowing, the temperature is dropping fast (it’s getting to the point the dog doesn’t even want to be outside) and the mister is busy hand shoveling three long driveways. So I figured that in between all the laundry folding, plant watering , and all around sitting on my butt  that I am doing  INSIDE, that  I would be so super nice and crank the stove up and make my love some cookies. I love making cookies, especially when I have chores to do. I think part of it is that cookies are baked in batches which breaks up the chores and gives a sort of rhythm to things. Plus everything is nice when the house smells like cookies.  I was going to make chocolate chocolate chocolate cookies, but realized that I didn’t have cocoa powder, so I went with fresh cranberries (I just scored a pound of organic cranberries for 89 cents!) coconut flakes and chocolate chips. Plus I wanted to make them oatmeal because the mister likes oatmeal and oatmeal makes the cookies a little more hardy. (We need hardy when the temperature dips below zero) The verdict….. chewy, soft, slightly sweet oatmeal, bittersweet chocolate, nutty floral coconut, and the zing and pop of the fresh cranberries. He told me to hide them… hide so he will stop eating them….. because they be amazing!

The base of this cookie….We are using regular old fashion oats and flour.  Salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Vanilla, chia seeds in hot water, coconut oil  white and brown sugar…. You know, all the cookie stuff.  Then all the goodness.. Chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and fresh cranberries. Goodness. Oh yeah, and they are vegan…if that matters to you. Warm the coconut oil and mix with the white and brown sugars. Then add the chia seeds soaked in hot water.  Stir until nice and silky smooth. In goes some more stuff.  I just dumped all the dry right on in that bowl and mixed it up nice and nice. Chopped the fresh cranberries into chunks… One at a time…… Just kidding, I actually laid a cutting board on top of the cranberries, applied a little pressure and sliced through the cranberries.. Does that make sense? I hope so, because its is much easier and faster and the cranberries don’t all roll away. The chopped cranberries, coconut flakes and the chocolate chips go in to be mix all up.  I used my hands to form the balls and gave each mound a little smoosh, but not completely flat.  Then into a preheated 375 degree oven for about 13-15 minutes or until a nice golden brown. A cup of hot coffee and a plate of warm cookies… I am the nicest, right! (After his nice cookie rest I proceeded  to do a little nagging, so the day evened out) So today is probably a great day for everyone to make cookies. It’s freezing out,  its saturday and well, just cause. You might even be looking for a great recipe to make for that big party your going to. You should make these cookies.  Have a Fantastic Weekend!!! -C

Oatmeal Fresh Cranberry Coconut Chocolate Chip Coookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup old fashion oats
• 1 1/4cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon chia
•  4-6 tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cranberries
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 375 To start, take the chia seed and soak them in the 4 tablespoon hot water for a few minutes. Then in a large bowl, mix together the white and brown sugar with warmed coconut oil. Add in the gelled chia seeds and vanilla and stir until silky and combined. (the warm chia seeds will help everything mix together nicely)  Now mix in all the dry. I start with the oats, dump on flour, toss in the baking powder and soda and salt. Mix until fully combines. If the dough seems to dry, add in another tablespoon or two of hot water.  Chop the fresh cranberries into halves or smaller and dump them, the coconut and chocolate chips into the bowl of dough and mix. Using a scoop, spoons, or your hands, make little balls and place on a cookie sheet, giving each ball a little smoosh. Into the oven for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and cool on rack. Eat a few and hide the rest for later.

 All I want to do is make everything into hearts and turn everything pink…Is that a problem?

I’m going to admit it, I am one of those girls that love Valentines day! And no, I don’t love it for the flowers (although I do love flowers..but never roses..yuk) No, I don’t want a box of candy or the silly store-bought cards. I don’t want to get all gused up and go out to dinner, and I definitely would be pissed if the mister bought me any jewelry. What I love is a day of spending time with my lover. We always take the day to do something special together, and for each other, and to be happy……and there is always hearts involved. I love hearts. 

 I want to spread that loving love love feeling because no matter what your love situation is during this holiday..we should all be happy and spread love to each other and to ourselves… And what better way to spread happy and love then with a pretty heart shaped baked good?  Chocolate because almost everyone is into chocolate. Coconut because I can’t stop eating whipped coconut cream and pink coconut sprinkle because that’s what make me happy. (I am a little obsessed with sprinkling things) These little hand-held pies of love are  really easy to make and always a big hit, especially with the little ones.(I am thinking they are perfect for a Valentines Day school party)  And yes, they are vegan so you can share with all your vegan friends! 

So in the spirit of the coming Valentines Day holiday….Lets make WHOOPIE!!!! (pies)

 Flour, baking soda and powder, salt  and cocoa powder. Soy milk with  vinegar. Vanilla, coconut oil, and chia seeds jelling. Brown and white sugar…. you know whoopie stuff.

The dry in one bowl… sugar and all the wet in another. 

All the whoopie stuff mixed together and scooped into a large zip top bag. So fancy with my bag…a real pro here!

Snip the tip of the bag, do a little squeeze test, and have at it. squeeze hearts onto a lightly oiled baking sheet or use a piece of parchment paper.  

You might get a little  frustrated if you are trying for perfect. I was for the first two batches,  but once I stopped trying to hard, I really got into how cool some of the hearts came out. Embrace the funky lop -sided hearts, because any heart is a good heart.So lovely. Shadow hearts while the whoopie hearts cool.

Whoopies all paired up

Stuffed with a generous dollop of whipped coconut cream ( a cold can of coconut cream whipped with a splash of vanilla and a tad bit of sweetener)  and sprinkled with my home-made beet dyed coconut sprinkles…..

Are you happy now? Because I know that I couldn’t stop smiling when I was making these… they are just to cute!

A couple bits of advice… Try to assemble before serving.. I was trying to put them together  while a punch of kids were trying to eat them. Things got a little messy and sprinkles ended up everywhere. Also, The coconut cream should stay fairly cold, so my suggestion is to make the hearts and fill only when you are going to serve them. Or if you want to make far in advanced, cover and refrigerate to keep from coconut cream from melting….But other than that…

Have fun making Whoppies!

-C

Coconut filled Chocolate Heart Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup  soy milk or milk of choice
• 1 Tablespoon  apple cider vinegar
• 2 Chia eggs ( 2 tablespoons seed mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup  brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375

To start, make chia eggs( chia seeds in water) and add the vinegar to the milk. Let both sit for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda,baking powder, and salt. 

In a large bowl, mix together chia eggs, sugars, and coconut oil. Add in dry ingredients and mix while slowly adding in the milk and vinegar mixture until fully combined.

Scoop Mixture into a large ziplock bag or piping bag. Clip tip and gently squeeze out heart shapes onto a lightly oiled or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake each batch for 8-11 minutes, or until a toothpick come out clean.

Let hearts cool completely on a wire rack. Pair up like sized hearts and fill with desired amount of *coconut cream. If your feeling festive, dust sides and or tops of cake with sprinkles

* To make coconut cream, refrigerate a can or coconut milk or coconut cream for at least 4 hours. Open can, drain liquid and place the  remaining coconut cream in a large cold bowl. Beat with a splash of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the sweetener of your choice. …. (careful because this stuff is super addictive)

Now share.. and watch how happy everyone is when they receive a heart shaped whoopie pie!! That’s love!

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Another cold and blustery week… but it’s the middle of January in Vermont so its to be expected.( I just wish I could walk outside for more than 5 minutes without my nose ruining and having the snot freeze to my face) Yup, cold and busy. My Dad has come back to Vermont for a long visit (he moved to Michigan a few years ago… jerk)  So while he is here I have been trying to put in as much  time as possible with him  all the while trying to do 8 million other things,   I figured I owe him a little bit of my time (and lots of food) for helping to raise me…I am such a good daughter. (2 thumbs pointed at me with a big smirk..) 

 Let me take you through a few little happy highlights of my week. 

The father and I went for a little hike with the pup on one of the milder temperature days… I drove to the trail, locked the car doors and off we went. After getting cold enough where I couldn’t feel my hands-feet-face… we made our way back to the car. And I reached for the keys…and shuffled around in my pockets….and felt around in all my pockets again…. and again. Finally, I had to admit it, I dropped the keys. I got a little panicky (I was so cold and the car key is like 300 bucks to replace) but we did the only thing we could do. I stuff everything back in my pockets and off we went in search of the key. We got lucky, my dad found the key only a few minutes into the trail!!! Hooray! A happy hike with a happy ending.

Me and this little made some donuts, but screw the donuts(sweet potato with chocolate frosting).. look at the overalls! I decided a long time ago that when I have kids, they will be wearing nothing but overalls. Osh Gosh FOREVER! 

 FARM SHARE PICK UP!!! I was starting to go through veggie withdrawals.

 Shadow hearts for Valentines Day! I love Valentines Day..… or maybe I just love hearts and pink. Either way, I am getting ready for some V-day recipes! This one is a definite go….

 And beet dyed coconut sprinkles…I mean, talk about happy. 

 A late Christmas gift from Nicks mom. Every year she gives us s few of her hand thrown pieces….. love!!

 And I gave the mister a haircut!!! He has been asking me for about 2 months now to cut it, but  for some reason we just haven’t gotten around to it.  So finally this week it happened, and I can see his lovely face again!

How can you not be happy when your piece of ginger looks like a little man. (right after I took this picture I cut his legs off)

Flowers from our garden last summer….. Sunflowers are my favorite (these are teddy bear sunflowers)…. I love looking back at old picture, especially ones from opposite seasons, like flowers in winter or pictures of snow in summer. There like little glimpses of whats to come. I can not say it enough, I am so lucky to live in VT..we have excellent seasons so there is always something to look forward too!

So yeah, a few little happy happys…..

Hope you all have some happy happys too! 

-C

My motive for this drink…get rid of a few candy cane…..  And maybe make a little kid happy, but that was just a bonus… I would have made him drink this even if he didn’t like it. (I am awful like that)

I have noticed lately people are really into peppermint in their hot drinks and  I have an excess of candy canes in my house, so  this was the perfect drink to make. I was initially just going to make hot peppermint milk but added the cocoa for an extra treat. If you want, omit the cocoa and just make peppermint milk.. Or you might want to replace 1/2 the milk and add coffee! Or for those adults out there..maybe add a spash of vodka.. my version of .a hot black and white peppermint Russian(I just made that a thing)

A little advise ….check the temperature of the drink if you are giving it to a kid..What I thought was not too hot turned out to be a too hot. My little niece took a big gulp, and instantly sprayed the drink all over the kitchen and my clean hat, scarf and mittens… and then proceeded to cry….Hot chocolate is supposed to make the kids happy….so yeah…

All you need is a cup of milk(cow, soy, rice..whatever) a tablespoon of cocoa powder, a tiny pinch of salt and a candy cane. We don’t need to add any extra sugar because the candy cane is sugar. 

Peel plastic off candy cane and place in a baggy and smash with something hard (rolling pin worked great)Stick all ingredients into a pot on medium heat and whisk until the candy cane is melted and the milk is as hot as you like it.

It you want(we did) top with a dollop of whipped cream(or whipped coconut cream) and sprinkle with a little more crushed candy cane…..Best served after a long afternoon of playing in the snow!

Go for it, watch your tongue and enjoy!

• 1 normal sized candy cane
• 1 tablespoon powdered cocoa
• 1 1/4 cup of milk(cow, soy, rice, hemp…what ever milk you want)
• pinch of salt

Place unwrapped candy cane in baggy and smash.  Place all but a sprinkle of the candy cane, the milk, and the cocoa in pot on medium heat  and whisk until candy cane is fully melted and the cocoa is you preferred temperature.

Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed candy cane.

My winter farm share is coming to an end this week. One more pick and then a three week stretch until the summer share starts… WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!! Stock up as much as I can is what.

I have been strategic about the roots and veggies that I have chosen to bring home the past few weeks.(My farm lets you pick what you want)  I know what I can buy at the store, things like carrots and potatoes, so I have been passing those up, but the roots like beets and celeriac… I have been bringing home baskets of those and hoarding them in the fridge and basement in preparation for the laps in farm fresh food and knowing that if I want to by these at the store it s going to coast me a million dollars  a pound. (a for real million dollars)

Yup, lots of roots around here, especially celeriac root which is fantastic. I am kind of obsessed with celeriac, with its fibrous, knobby exterior, soft but almost meaty texture inside, and a flavor that  is close to celery but so much better.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to do a posting featuring this amazing root vegetable  (I eat it almost every day)

So here, an amazingly tasty, hearty but not heavy, celeriac recipe.  Perfect for spring and the change into summer…. Mustard roasted celeriac with an fanatic split peas gravy that will have you licking you bowl clean.

 The stuff….For the split pea gravy we have a carrot, a parsnip and a large onion chopped into small chunks.  Salt, thyme, a bay leaf and of course the split peas. Then there is the celeriac root* sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds and some plain old yellow mustard .

*Note. I don’t peel my celeriac root. I really enjoy the fibrous exterior but realize that some don’t(The mister does not like it) so peel it if you want. 

Toss the chopped parsnip, carrot, onion and the spices into a pot on medium heat and let veggies sweat a few minutes until tender.  Add in the split peas and enough water to cover everything.  Turn pot on high and bring to a boil, then cover and turn to low. Make sure to give the pot a good stir ever few minutes and add more water if needed 

While the gravy is cooking,  take the celeriac rounds and brush each side with yellow mustard, sprinkle with pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Stick into the oven to roast for about 25 minutes, flipping the rounds after about 10 minutes.

Once the peas have soften, remove the bay leaf and puree until smooth and oh so creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you find that the gravy seems to thick, just add in more water until it’s the consistency that you want. The gravy is made, the celeriac is roasted… now we are ready to eat!! Stick the celeriac on a plate and dump good amount of that gravy right on top. Feel free to add a bed of spinach, or a grain or anything you want, because why not, and also some chopped tomatoes for a little acid and prettiness.

Serve with the fanciest knife and fork you can find. Extra yellow mustard and sriracha sauce are great condiments to have close by.

Happy Tuesday!

-C

Mustard Roasted Celeriac with Split Pea Gravy

• 2 medium celeriac roots
• 6 tablespoons mustard
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium parsnip
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2/3 cup split peas
• 2-3 cups water 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons thyme or italian spice mix
• salt and pepper
• spinach (optional)
• diced tomatoes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Small dice the carrot, parsnip and onion and throw into a large pot. Spinkle with salt and pepper, add in the thyme and bay leaf and add a splash of water. Stick on stove on medium heat and stir. Let cook until the veggies become soft and fragrant. Now add in the split peas and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn heat down to medium low. Let cook until the split peas become tender (about 25 minutes) string on occasion and adding more water if the peas are not completely summered while cooking.

Once the peas are tender, let cool for a few minutes, remove bay leaf, and either dump into a blender or blend with an immersion blender until nice and creamy. If gravy seems to thick, add in more water. 

Scrub or peel celeriac roots and slice them into 1/2 inch think rounds. Place on a baking sheet and brush mustard on both sides and spindle with pepper. Stick into oven for about 10 minutes, flip, then back into the oven for another 15 or so minutes, or unit the celeriac is tender.

When the celeriac is done remove from oven and  stick a few rounds on a bed of spinach (or not, or any kind of grain or green you like) Top with a hearty helping of the gravy and toss on some chopped up tomatoes.

Eat with at knife and fork like a fancy person.

This past weekend, the mr, the pup, and I grabbed our stuff, chucked it into the back of the car and took of to the wood. 

We ended up in Waterbury, at Little River State Park. Campsite 77 (the last one they had available!!) And from that we think, the best spot in the park. 

First things first, set up camp. which involved the mr. popping up the tent and me making coffee and setting up the table.. Just cause we are in the woods doesn’t mean we can’t have a fruit bowl, right.

Then we spend the afternoon kicking around.. Into the woods we went. This place had so many hiking trails, we just let the pup lead the wayHe usually knows where he is going.

After a long afternoon of hiking and romping, we make our way back to our outdoor home for food. Dinner consisted of potato and sweet potato, squash and onions, kale, salsa and beans.  It couldn’t have been any better. We did forget plates, but no matter, we managed.

Of course we needed to take an after dinner hike to the river and swim the pup. (We think he might be part fish)

He spent about an hour fetching stick and making sure that he couldn’t possibly smell any worse.

Playing with my camera and sticks. Then off to the tent for the three of us. (holy hell did the dog smell like shit)

Another morning hike and some time spent just hanging on the river. The mr fished, the pup swam and I collected rocks.

And then we went home, washed off the filth, and assed out…Then Washer got sick, but that’s a whole other story.

Camping is the best. I could live in a tent all year long. (not really all year long.. I would surely freeze to death)

So if you are thinking of camping, I highly recommend going to Little River State Park.

-C

The Mr. and I went and took ourselves on a rainy day nature adventure. He did some fly fishing (worst day ever for fishing) and I did some wondering.  It was fantastic. And the Mr, only lost one fly and I managed only about a dozen mosquito bites!   Nature days are the best!

And then as we were leaving, the clouds broke and the sun came out. It was kind of perfect.

This time of year, there are so many reasons for popsicles, but I think that main reason is that I don’t want to willingly turn on the oven for any amount of time. It’s just to f-ing hot.

Lately, it’s been hot. And humid. And gross. Just way too hot to make anything in the oven. So when I grabbed the rhubarb out of the fridge, knowing that if I didn’t use it soon it would go bad, I immediately thought to make pie. Then I was like,” hell no, not going to happen. I need to freeze this shit”. And freeze it I did..into the greatest, slightly sweet, slightly tart, bright pink popsicles of happiness. They are really the perfect little frozen treat. Not overly sweet and sticky, have a lot a fresh clean flavor, and takes the edge off of the super summer heat and humidity, even if only for a few minutes. 

I love popsicles. 

But sadly this is probably the last rhubarb for the season (Or maybe the second to last..I think I saw some for sale at the coop a few days ago)

So get it while you can and make these popsicles! 

The stuff. Rhubarb, a lime and a little bit of honey (or any sweetener you like). Plus you are going to need some water, but I bet you have some of that on hand.

Chop the rhubarb into inch chunks and toss into a big pot with the water. Stick on the stove and bring to a boil then turn heat to low and let simmer. 

Once the rhubarb is so soft that it falls apart, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

With a fine mesh stainer, strain juice into a large jar or bowl. 

Now you have the juice for the popsicles and the left over rhubarb stuff is the rhubarb butter.

Place the rhubarb butter into a jar, adding a little honey(or whatever) if you want and eat with anything and everything  ( I’ve been adding  it to the mr’s yogurt and just eating it with a spoon)

And now add the juice of the lime to the rhubarb juice and add a little honey or whatever sweetness to taste.

And add the rhubarb juice to your popsicle molds and stick in the freezer with sticks tops or wait two hours and add wooden sticks.

When frozen, run the mold under a little hot water and pop those suckers out.

A two for one deal here. And timed perfectly. You  have the rhubarb butter to eat while you wait for the popsicles to freeze. So smart

Happy Tuesday.. Keep it cool!

-C

makes 6 4oz popsicles and about a cup of jam

• 3 cups chopped rhubarb
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 lime
• Anywhere from 4 tablespoons honey (2 for popsicles and 2 for jam)

Chop the rhubarb into inch ish chunks and stick into a big pot with water. Turn on high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low and simmer until the rhubarb is so soft its falling apart. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Take a big jug or bowl with a fine mesh strainer,strain the liquid from the solids. You can use a wooden spoon to stir around to help get the juice flowing. Place remaining solids into a jar and add as little or as much or as little honey (any sweetener you like) and give it a stir. Thats your jam

Now for the popsicles. Add the juice of the lime and a tablespoon or two of honey (or whatever sweeteners you like) and mix around. Pour into popsicle molds and stick into freezer.Know your mold.. if you need to insert a stick, do so after about 2 hours. 

When pops are frozen, remove from mold and eat your heart out.

This past weekend was the annual Stem family reunion and I had signed up to bring a dessert to the circus, (circus being an event with lots of my family)  I went out of my way to get the nieces, sweetest, most delicoius peaches and  was planning on making them into some type of epic peachy peach cake, but being that the weekend turned into a shit storm, I didn’t get a chance to make that epic peach cake. So come Sunday morning, a few hours before we were suppose to leave for the reunion, I was deesertless. 

So I did what anyone that has a bunch of the fruit, little time, and doesn’t want to make a big mess should do. I made a crisp.  

And it was good. Gooey sweet and  cardamon spiced peaches under a slightly sweet, oatie topping. A perfect dessert for a late summer afternoon. Served warm or at room tepature, add a little whipped cream or ice cream and a cup of coffee. Dessert time is perfect. And any left over makes for a fantastic breakfast treat….or just make it for breakfast, it’s totally a breakfast food too. 

 I am almost glad that I didn’t get a chance to make that cake.(although I really wanted to make a cake, just for shits and giggles) I’ll just make one later. But until then.

To the crisp!

The Stuff.  Peaches of course and some old fashion rolled oats and a pinch of salt mixed with gluten free flour*. Some earth balance*, honey*, cardamon and cinnamon and a tiny bit or arrowroot powder 

Notes.. You can totally use regular all purpose flour in place of gluten free. Also can sub regular butter for the earth balance and use maple syrup instead of honey.. 

In a bowl, mix/mush  together the oats, flour, honey, half the cardamon and cinnamon, and earth balance. The mixture is going to be a little gloppy and wet, but that’s how you want it to be.

Toss the other half of the spices into the peaches with a bit of arrowroot powder or corn starch and mix all around. 

If you peaches are not super yummy sweet, you can always drizzle in a little extra honey or maple here too.

Now place the peaches in a well greased oven safe skillet.

Distribute the topping all over. 

And into the oven it goes..

After about 45 minutes, check for doneness. When top is all golden brown and nice… you are there!

. Ooey gooey peaches underneath all that golden crispy goodness….

Nailed it!

Have great day you guys! Crisp away!

-C

For the filling

• 4-5 Large ripe, but firm peaches
• 1 tablespoon corn or arrowroot starch
• 1  teaspoon cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• tablespoon honey or maple (optional if peaches are not really sweet)

For the topping

• 1/3 earth balance or butter plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 1/2  cup old fashion rolled oats
• 1/2 cup gluten free flour or all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cardomon
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2  cup honey or maple
• dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350

Slice peaches in half, remove pits, and cut into pieces and toss into a bowl with the cinnamon, cardamon and starch, In a large oven save skillet, smear or melt 1 tablespoon earth balance and cover bottom and sides of skillet. Add in the peach mixture. In a large mixing bowl, (using your hands if you don’t mind), mix together oats, flour, salt, spices, earth balance and honey. until a combined. Evenly disptuipt to the top of the peaches. Now place skillet into oven to bake. When the top golden brown and all crispy, remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes and serve.

Some type of creamy situation  like ice cream or whipped coconut cream would be extra nice here…but not necessary . 

I was informed yesterday that if I was going to make tortilla chips, that I better make some sweet ass dips to go with them.  I kind of agree… tortilla chips need dip… or better yet, two dips. Queso and guacamole. It’s what needed to be done, and so I did it.

Guacamole is amazing… anything avocado is amazing…this guacamole is amazing. White bean guacamole is amazing. And not that we really care, but this guac is half the fat then straight up guacamole.  Plus it’s packed full of protein making it a kind of super duper, must eat all of it, kind of dip.  And sweet potato anything will make me happy.  Making queso dip with sweet potato and cauliflower is probably one of my best food combos so far. (after eating a butt load, I felt like I was a genius and made an amazing discovery) Again, not that we need it to be, but this is also a fat-free, vegan, gluten-free, super healthy, packed full of B12,  fiber and nutrients, dip for all kind of dip.…. just another reason why you cannot feel bad when you finish off half a batch before you get a chance to stick it in a serving bowl. (I might have done that)

 Here is what you need for a good time:

−These tortilla chips ….Check.

−Some  Chopped Veggies (I want the veggies)…..Check

−Cauliflower Sweet Potato Queso.…Check.

−White Bean Guacamole…Check. 

You are now ready for it. It being this party, that party, the Super Bowl, or a Wednesday afternoon.  

To the left we have the makings for the cauliflower sweet potato queso.. Steamed cauliflower, a baked sweet potato, nutritional yeast, garlic, and chopped up red onion, red bell pepper and jalapeño. To make all you need to do it take the chopped peppers, onion, and garlic and sauté for a few minutes just to slightly soften and bring out flavors. While that’s going on, take the steamed cauliflower and sweet potato(skin off..but eat it, or save it for soup or feed it to the dog) and puree together with a blender or food processor. Add in nutritional yeast, about a tablespoon or two of hot water and, salt and pepper to taste. Blend for about 5 minutes until super creamy smooth. Add in sautéed stuff and pulse just enough to incorporated the veggies but not complete blend in.  Stick in a bowl.

To the right we have white bean guacamole stuff.  Two cups (or one can) rinsed white beans, one ripe avocado, a lime, a few cloves of garlic,(I also added a bit of garlic powered…I like my garlic) and some chopped up red onion and tomato.  Place beans, garlic, avocado and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste and toss in the chopped tomato and onion. Blend for sec to mix that in…Stick in a bowl 

Perfect…

To think that both of these dips took about 10 minutes total to make. (I had pre baked the cauliflower and sweet potato)  And for real, I would spend much more time if I had too because both of these dips are so freaking good, I definitely will be making these on the regular.

So there , dips for those sweet ass chips or whatever you want to dip or them spread them on. 

And he guys…It’s FRIDAY! Have a fantastic day!

-C

White Bean Guacamole 

• 2 cups white beans (or 1 can) rinsed and drained
• 1 ripe avocado
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lime
• 1/4  small red onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1-2 teaspoons salt

Finley chop onion and tomato. Set aside. Place the beans, avocado, garlic, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and the juice from one lime into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add a splash of water if needed to help keep things moving. Taste and add more salt if needed. When smooth, add  the onion and tomato and pulse a few times to mix in. Scoop into a serving dish and finish with a squeeze of lime and a bit of chopped onion and tomato. 

Cauliflower Sweet Potato Queso

• 1 1/2 cups pre cooked steamed or roasted cauliflower
• 1 medium pre baked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 a small red pepper
• 1/4 small red onion
• 1 jalapeño
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper

Finely dice the red pepper, jalapeño, onion and garlic and sauté in a skillet for a few minutes until slightly soften and fragrant. Take the pre-cooked cauliflower, sweet potato (skin removed), and nutritional yeast and place in a blender or food processor. Blend for about 5 minutes until creamy and smooth. Add in a tablespoon  of water  to keep things moving. When completely smooth, add in sautéed veggies and pulse a few times to combine. Scoop into a serving dish. If your feeling it,  top with scallions and cracked pepper.

Serve dips with chips, veggies or anything you want. Also make great spreads for sandwiches and crackers too!