broccoli quinoa salad

 This is a quite tasty salad from the NYT found here. Broccoli was looking good at the farmers market so it came home and I had just read this recipe on-line, so now it's made.  It's good.  A little strange, and we'll see how it is in a few days because it makes a lot.  I'll probably stuff it in a pita for breakfast, as I'm liking my days better when they start with vegetables. 

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings 

• Kosher salt
• 1cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1lemon
• 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3tablespoons Dijon mustard (maybe start with 2 - it seemed a little mustard heavy)
• (recipe called for 2tablespoons honey but I deleted that and added some extra ACV)
• 2tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1large bunch broccoli (about 1½ pounds)
• 1medium tart and crisp apple
• 4ounces sharp Cheddar
• ¾cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
• ½cup dried cranberries (I used dried cherries)

Preparation

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil on high and season aggressively with salt. Add the quinoa, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer; cook until plump and tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a fine-mesh sieve; rinse with cool water and drain well.

2. While the quinoa cooks, finely grate the zest of the lemon into a large bowl then cut the lemon in half. Add the olive oil, mustard, honey and apple cider vinegar, plus the juice of ½ lemon; whisk together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   
3. Peel the stem of the broccoli and trim off the dry end. Finely chop the entire broccoli and add to the dressing. Core the apple then finely chop the apple and the cheese; add to the broccoli and toss to combine.

4. Add the cooked quinoa, nuts and cranberries and toss to combine. Taste and add more salt, pepper and lemon juice, as needed. Store, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

energy balls

 I'm on a no refined sugar, no refined grains, no industrial seed oil kick, and it's making eating tough.  A stop at Whole Foods led me to something like these, and I'll make my own from these ideas.

Chocolate energy balls from here.

• ¼ cup raw almonds, or other unroasted nut of choice
• ¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2–3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 10 ounces medjool dates
• 1–2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Place almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add oats, ground flax seed, and cocoa powder. Pulse until well combined.

Add dates and pulse for 30 seconds, or until mixture is combined and crumbly. Drizzle 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil over mixture and pulse for a few seconds, or until the mixture is sticky and holds together. If still crumbly, add more oil and pulse again.

Roll into 24 1-inch balls and place in a baking dish or on a tray.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until firm. Enjoy immediately, or keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

 

Strawberry energy balls from here

• 1 cup dates without pits
• 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 T chia seeds

coconut flakes, as desired

Slice dates and strawberries, chop almonds.  Put everything (except coconut flakes) in food processor and blend until almonds are finer but not paste.  Put in the fridge for an hour, then shape into balls and roll in coconut.

 

Peanut butter energy balls with extra protein and fiber

• 1 cup (100g) rolled oats
• 1/2 cup (125g) smooth natural peanut butter
• 1 cup (180g) white beans, rinsed and drained
•  7-8 medjool dates, soaked (or more if deglet noor)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  
• Soak dates 5-10 minutes in warm water.  Pulse oats in food processor until like flour and remove.  Process PB, beans, and dates.  Then add in vanilla and oats, and form into balls. 
•  

Chocolate date energy balls

• 1 1/2 cups (162 g) pecans or walnuts  
• 1 c (188 g) dates, pitted (if not soft, soak in warm water 5-10 minutes)
  
• 1/4 c (24 g) cocoa powder (or 1/3 c)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt

Grind nuts until a fine meal, then add the rest of the ingredients to food processor until sticky and uniform.

 

date cocoa nut balls

 These are terrific.  Not too sweet, with lots of "superfoods" like nuts and dark cocoa and dates.  Also a good way to use up some old dates and nuts and nut butter that is too solid to combine by hand.  I needed a powerful snack for an upcoming intense day and these are so much better than any kind of packaged snack. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans (toasted)
  
• 1/2 cup pitted dates (about 7 to 8), cut into quarters
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• Scant 1/2 cup maple syrup (more like 1/3 c)
  
• 1/2 cup nut butter
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• I also added in some chunks of dark chocolate with blueberries at this point
  
• 1/2 cup whole almonds (toasted)
  

For topping/rolling the balls:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 Make the date balls: Place the walnuts and dates into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, and pulse several times until well combined. The pieces should look like a rough crumble.

Add the cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, and sea salt and pulse until the mixture is smooth and thick; it will start to peel away from the edge of the bowl.

When this happens, stop the food processor; if it keeps whirring away, it may get stuck because these ingredients are, well, sticky! Keep a close eye on this, as it will come together quickly.

2 Add the almonds: Add the almonds and pulse a few times to incorporate them. You want them sort of irregularly sized, so that some pieces are still pretty crunchy and offer a variety of textures.

3 Roll the date balls: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Place the coconut in a small bowl and the cocoa powder in another bowl.

Scoop out the mixture, roll it into golf-ball shapes, and roll in the shredded coconut or the cocoa powder (or leave plain).  

4 Chill and store the date balls: Transfer the date balls to a baking sheet with wax paper and chill them for a few hours or overnight, if needed. Once they've firmed up, transfer to a plastic lidded container and keep in the fridge.

blueberry feta salad

 Obviously I can just toss things together, but this recipe gives good ideas.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups spinach and arugula salad mix
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (about 1/2 pint)
• 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

How to Make It

Toast pecans in 400 oven about 5-7 minutes, until slightly browned and fragrant.  In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, balsamic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add spinach and arugula mix, blueberries, pecans, and feta cheese, tossing gently to combine.

 

apple goat cheese crisp

There is a bakery in New Orleans that makes apple-goat cheese king cake, which I love.  I was speaking of this and a coworker brought me an apple-goat cheese croissant, which was such a lovely gesture.  And then Braeburns were on sale for a good price and I grabbed a backpack full (only slight exaggeration), and I have Costco goat cheese as I wanted it for a recipe and now I have approximately 26 pounds left.

And so I contemplated how I wanted to eat this apple-goat cheese dish, and I read approximately 8,000 recipes.  Nothing clicked.  Truth is, I don't much care for flaky doughs, so filo isn't really for me.  What I really wanted was a kuchen, but I needed something strong to make sure the goat cheese wasn't too overwhelming.  I looked up and thought of a lot of doughs, but nothing was really striking me.  The kuchen problem is that I lived in Germany for a couple of years and ate SUCH great desserts that inspire me but I remember them through 30 years of distortion. 

And then yesterday I went to a talk and the artist served a kuchen with rhubarb and gooseberries, and that sort of satisfied the kuchen, so I realized I wanted something else strong ... like pecans. 

So I came to this recipe, and it's very nice.  The only bummer is that I wish I'd had maple syrup (how do I not?!) and used less sugar (I already cut it, but I think it should be cut more).  Because it is between the apples and the pecan-oat layer, the goat cheese works really well. 

Ingredients

TOPPING

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (recipe calls for 1/2 c)
• 3/4+ cup coarsely chopped pecans (recipe calls for 1/2 c)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted

FILLING

• 5 baking apples such as Granny Smith or Braeburns; I chopped into chunks
• 1/4 or less cup packed light brown sugar (recipe calls for 1/3 c)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or some honey)
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces goat cheese cut into small pieces
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6-8 slices

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.

TOPPING

• In a small bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and salt until completely combined.
• Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and stir until butter is evenly dispersed and all of the oats are moist. Set aside.

FILLING

• In a large bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, maple syrup, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir together until everything is evenly dispersed. There will be a lot of liquid at the bottom-- this is ok. Set aside.
• Heat a 9" cast iron dutch oven over medium-high heat. When skillet is adequately heated, pour apple mixture evenly into it. When apples begin to steam, begin stirring to evenly distribute the brown sugar sauce. It will start to thicken. Cook while stirring until sauce is thick and evenly coats all of the apples, approximately 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the skillet on the burner.
• Place the butter and goat cheese pieces over the top of the cooked apples, trying your best to evenly distribute them. Top everything with the oat topping
• Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until crisp and brown on top, an additional 20-25 minutes. After that time, turn off the oven and allow crisp to sit in the oven with the door cracked until the sugar stops bubbling and you can safely handle it.

beet farro feta greens salad

This salad is FANTASTIC and I've made it a number of times.  Recipe for Farro Salad With Beets, Beet Greens and Feta found here.  Below with my modifications.

Ingredients

• 2-3 beets (any color), roasted  
• Beet greens or chard or kale, de-stemmed and washed well 
• 1 cup farro, cooked
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
•  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil (may substitute walnut oil for up to 2 T of it)
• ½ cup broken pecan or walnut pieces 
•  4 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled
• Herbs if you like (I don't generally add because no need) 

Preparation

1. Roast the beets, cool, chop.
2. Blanch beet greens/kale for 2 minutes or saute until slightly tender.
3. Cook farro to package directions. 
4. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegars, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil(s). Add to the farro. Peel and dice the beets and add, along with the beet greens, feta or goat cheese, herbs and walnuts. Toss together, and serve warm or room temperature with a little more cheese sprinkled over the top if you wish.

orange yogurt

I picked up some incredible blood oranges at the Farmers Market on Saturday - they picked like mad before the freeze, and I don't know how much longer we'll see any citrus this year. I wanted to do something special with them, and I just made some yogurt, and as usual Ina Garten has good ideas! From here. It's super yummy - tastes like orange sherbet/vanilla ice cream without the chemically residue that leaves in my mouth. I omitted the honey (because it was all solid and I didn't feel like liquifying it), and that was fine, though it would also be good with! This feels like a special treat and would be great to serve at a brunch, etc.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (2 pints) plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup good honey (or less)
  
• 1 orange, zest grated
• 1/2 to 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• Orange, orange zest, raisins and walnuts, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels (or a tea towel) and suspend it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the sieve and allow it to drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight.

Place the thickened yogurt into a medium bowl and stir in the raisins, walnuts, vanilla, honey, and orange zest. Thin with orange juice until it is a desirable consistency. Garnish with sections of orange, orange zest, raisins, or walnuts and serve.

***

Truth: This stuff is like crack to me. It tastes like a creamsicle or an Orange Julius but without all that nasty chemical aftertaste. It is SO GOOD. I will not ever be taking it to a brunch because it would disappear long before I could get to my destination. Maybe it wouldn't be so magical without the blood orange, but DANG it's good now.

Hague Cookies =)

Mr. Hague's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Mr. Hague makes these gigantic cookies regularly for our staff at Sierra, and he shared the recipe with me years ago. =) Though they're still very, VERY good and the ONLY chocolate chip cookies I ever make (I know it sounds snooty, but really...I've not had another chocolate chip cookies better than these! ^_^), they're always better when Mr. Hague makes them, just because. ^_^

They're not the most photogenic, aesthetically beautiful cookies, but they're probably one of the best tasting. You simply can't beat that rustic, homemade cookie taste. ^_^

Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Cup of butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2.25 Cups flour (AP or whole wheat flour)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup of coarsely chopped nuts (pecans for me)
- 12 ounces (or 2 cups) of semisweet chocolate chips (I use bittersweet Ghirardelli because I'm a dark chocolate girl...)

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Mix the sugars, butter, and egg in a large bowl well.

3) Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

4) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (or, if you're Mr. Hague, rounded palmfuls, hee hee...), about 2 inches apart onto the baking sheet.

5) Bake 8-10 minutes (I find 8 minutes is fine for my oven; as the oven stays on for each batch, by the 3rd batch, I usually go down to 7 minutes) or until light brown.

6) Cool slightly, and then remove from the cookie sheet. I like to put them up on a wire rack to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container, but you can also eat them at this point, hee hee hee...^_^

Lemon Pecan Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Lemon Pecan Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Originally uploaded by gummychild

I didn't looove how these came out, but they weren't too bad, and others might have liked it more. The recipe came from Henry's Market, which is where I get the recipe for that very tasty Citrus Salt that the Chris H. loves, hee hee...=)

Ingredients:

- 1/3 c. powdered sugar
- 1/3 c. butter, room temperature
- 1 Large Egg
- 2/3 c. honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 Tbsp. lemon zest
- Juice of one lemon
- 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts (*I used pecans)

For the Glaze:
- 2 c. confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Cream together sugar and butter at low speed. Add egg, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice. Mix until smooth.

3. Sift together flour with baking soda and salt. Mix flour mixture into margarine mixture, until just combined. Fold in walnuts.

4. Dust work surface lightly with flour. Roll dough into an 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Using cookie cutters of choice, (I just used a cookie dough scoop, and didn't shape them), cut out cookies and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 1-inch apart.

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

6. While the cookies cool, mix together 2 cups confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice and lemon zest to create a spreadable glaze. Spread glaze over cookies and top with lemon zest, or chopped nuts.

Sugar-Coated Pecans

Adapted slightly from Allrecipes.Com

INGREDIENTS:
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves
1 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease one baking sheet, or just use parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy and stiff. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

3. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven, and let it cool. If you like cinnamon, go ahead and sprinkle a bit more cinnamon onto the pecans, and mix them well.

6. Let the pecans cool to room temperature, so that they're crisply, sweetly glazed. ^_^ Store in an airtight container and enjoy alone, sprinkled on top of ice cream, or on top of warm desserts. =)