Strawberry Muffins

Almost every morning, I have yogurt with some kind of fruit, maybe a bit of homemade granola. And I confess, I can be a tad picky about my yogurt. While I would love to eat the full-fat French yogurt every day, it might be a detriment to my waistline and overall well being. So I have found a compromise with Stonyfield Farm. They make a very nice, creamy, fat-free plain yogurt that you can gussy up with fruit, jam, honey. And last week, there was this recipe in the lid. I am not, in general, a big fan of fruit in my muffins. Throughout my childhood, my mother made what were certainly delicious blueberry muffins in the summer months, but I would not eat them. No, I would only eat the blueberry-less blueberry muffins she made just for me. Picky child, I know. But now, I LOVE the blueberry muffin (and, in fact, cannot wait for farmer's-market-fresh blueberries so that I can make a batch to share with you!) and decided that strawberry muffins might not be such a stretch. While they cannot hold a candle to the blueberry muffin, these were tasty, not very sweet - and definitely healthy. If you want to make them a little more special - or just want a healthy dessert - slice them in half horizontally, pile fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream on the bottom, pop the top back on, and enjoy!

Strawberry Muffins
from Stonyfield Farm

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (*I used fat-free)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and baking soda. In another bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, butter, and vanilla. Toss chopped strawberries into the flour mixture. Then pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and stir. Spoon batter into buttered muffin tins (or you can use muffin papers, if you like!). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are puffed and golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

- e

chunky monkey brownies

for some reason i have a really difficult time veganizing brownie recipes on my own. they just never come out quite right. sure they taste ok (i mean...they're chocolate) but the texture isn't there. anytime i make brownies from a vegan recipe that someone else has sorted out i'm all good (and so are the brownies). there must be some little trick that i'm just not catching on to. but that's fine. as long as there are others looking out i'm happy to use their recipes and devour the results.

every week (i think) i get a little treat in my inbox thanks to vegnews magazine's online recipe club newsletter and that's where these beauties came from.

so. delicious.

i was a little skeptical as they went into the oven..not of the taste nonono but the texture again...this batter was really thick and sort of difficult to spread in the pan (well, kris's mom did that part but hey, it looked like a difficult task!). don't worry. they puffed up in the oven but still came out a little chewy and fudgy and not overly cakey. and the crunchy nuts and banana chips on top were a real treat. and coconut. what more do you need? make these.

chunky monkey brownies

(from vegnews recipe club)

ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup safflower oil

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon arrowroot

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup dried banana chips, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup chocolate chips, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup cashews, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons dried coconut, shredded

preheat oven to 350 degrees. lightly oil a 9-inch square pan and set aside.

in a medium bowl, stir together sugar, oil, water, and vanilla. sift in flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder, and salt. stir well to combine.

pour batter into prepared pan. evenly scatter banana chips, chocolate chips, cashews, and coconut over top and press gently with hands.

bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set in the center. allow brownies to cool completely before cutting with a sharp knife.

-d

creamy herbed potato soup

My brother recently had his wisdom teeth out, the day after his 33rd birthday . . . and for a week was unable to eat solid food. That's right, no chewing. So, being the ever-thoughtful sister, I made him some soup. And liked it so much that I made a second batch for myself. The garnish of mushrooms, potatoes and watercress is of my own invention, designed to make the soup a bit heartier (my brother received an extra pureed version. Remember the no chewing thing?) But really, it is lovely on it's own - deliciously creamy and filling!


Creamy Herbed Potato Soup
from The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special

for soup
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 chopped celery
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter (or oil)
3 cups cubed red potatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
1 cup milk or cream

for garnish*
sliced, cooked mushrooms
baked or fried potato cubes
handful of watercress


In a soup pot, saute the onions, celery, and salt in the butter (or oil) for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, water and dill, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

In a blender (or using an immersion blender) puree the vegetable mixture with the milk (or cream). Gently reheat before serving.

* to serve, I made a mound of the mushrooms, potatoes, and watercress and ladled the soup around.

- e

farro with asparagus, canellini beans and spinach

A few weeks ago I made lunch plans with a friend - we have lunch about once a week - and decided to forgo the usual lunch spots and make something instead. I wanted something healthy and tasty that both of us would enjoy. I remembered that I had farro in the cabinet, from a previous farro salad experiment, and thought I would use the grain to make a one-dish meal. Spring and asparagus go hand-in-hand (plus, my lunch friend loves grilled asparagus) and beans make it extra hearty and add protein. I served this with a really nice, crusty bread and it made the perfect light lunch! The only really exact part is the farro. Everything else you can improvise!




Farro salad with asparagus, canellini beans and spinach

1 1/4 cups semi-pearled farro
1/2 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (I prefer the oil-packed variety)
1 eight-ounce can cannelini beans
2 cups spinach
chopped basil
chopped parsley
olive oil
salt and pepper

Rinse farro and put in a medium saucepan with 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until grains are tender and water is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, drizzle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill (or roast in the oven) until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from pan, and chop into 1-inch pieces.

In a large bowl, combine asparagus, drained beans, chopped sundried tomatoes and red onion, spinach, and cooked farro. The heat from the farro will wilt the spinach slightly. Drizzle with good-quality olive oil, sprinkle over fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

-e

ps - my apologies for the tiny pictures on a few of these posts. I was tinkering with settings on my camera, and accidentally changed to a smaller photo setting. It has been remedied for the future!

fennel slaw

we've been eating a lot of slaw lately. it's a nice alternative to regular salad and it's quick and easy and there's so many different ways to switch it up with different flavors. i bought a fennel bulb at the farmer's market with the intention of roasting it (cause oooo i do love roasted fennel) but then kris had the brilliant idea to slaw it up. as you can see we used red cabbage but green would work just as well. this was very easy, very crunchy, and very very delicious.

fennel slaw
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, halved and sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped up fennel fronds

toss it all up in a bowl and eat it!

-d

cauliflower patties

kris's mom and brother visited us last weekend and, as usual when we have guests, it was a delicious few days. we took them to firefly where one of the highlights was a cauliflower appetizer that i ordered. it was browned and involved fennel and orange zest and almonds. when it came time to plan a fun menu to cook on sunday we still had cauliflower on the brain. this recipe comes from olive trees and honey. these were tasty but the recipe doesn't give them a ton of flavor. i would definitely make them again but i think next time i will play around with different spices to give them a little more oomph. it's a great base recipe though cause you can really take it in any direction. the original called for eggs but i did away with those and added some tahini to hold it all together.

sephardic cauliflower patties
(from olive trees and honey)
ingredients:
1 medium-large head cauliflower (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut into florets
1 onion minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup (about) bread crumbs (we used panko) or matza meal
tahini (about 1 tablespoon)
soymilk (maybe half a tablespoon)

coating (optional):
soy milk, for dipping
vegan mayo*
flour, for dredging

in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the cauliflower, uncovered, until tender but not mushy, about 12 minutes. do not overcook. drain. finely chop or mash with a fork.

in a medium bowl combine the cauliflower, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. add the soymilk and tahini a little at a time and mix to combine (i used my hands to really get it mixed in, plus then you can kind of tell if you're going to need to add more). add bread crumbs gradually until the mixture is thick enough to mold.

shape the cauliflower into patties and dip into the soymilk mixture then dredge in the flour.

in a heavy skillet over medium heat, heat a thin layer of oil. in batches, add the patties and fry, turning, until golden brown (about 3 minutes per side). keep warm in a low oven while preparing the remainder. serve warm or reheat is a 250 oven for about 20 minutes.

we enjoyed these with some roasted fennel and leeks and the bbq black eyed pea collard rolls from veganomicon.

*we had some leftover vegan mayo that we made for something else. we used it as a thickener and to make the coating stick a little better, but you could certainly add another thickener of your choice (more tahini? cornstarch?).

-d

tiramisu

This past weekend, I offered to make Our Number One Fan (aka Jill) risotto for dinner. Jill was visiting from Nebraska, and it has been many moons since we made dinner together. So for dessert, continuing with the Italian theme, I opted to make tiramisu. And I must admit, I would never have thought to make tiramisu if not for the suggestion from another friend and dinner party attendee. Once the idea of tiramisu was planted in my brain, I could think of nothing else. But wait . . . I had never actually MADE tiramisu. I have eaten plenty of it, given that I live in a predominantly Italian neighborhood, and need only walk down the street to one of my favorite places on earth (Caffe Vittoria) to consume heavenly tiramisu. So, you see, I have never really needed to make it. But I relish a challenge. And let me tell you - tiramisu is rather easy to make. Honestly, one of the less complex baking projects I have tackled. And the results . . . delicious! Creamy, just sweet enough. Utterly perfect. Now I am trying to come up with excuses to make it again!

As a note - I used a recipe from Gourmet (January 2009) as a starting point, but adapted it very liberally. The Gourmet recipe uses Tia Maria (or any coffee flavored liquer) in the espresso soak and adds Marsala to the zabaglione. Feel free to do your own experimenting!


2 cups freshly brewed espresso
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
4 large egg yolks
1 pound mascarpone (2 1/2 cups)
1 cup chilled heavy cream
36 savoiardi (crisp Italian ladyfingers; from two 7-ounce packages)
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Mix espresso with 1 tbsp sugar.

Beat egg yolks remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water using a whisk or handheld electric mixer until tripled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove bowl from heat. Beat in mascarpone until just combined.

Beat cream in a large bowl until it holds stiff peaks.

Fold mascarpone mixture into whipped cream gently but thoroughly.

Dipping both sides of each ladyfinger into coffee mixture, line bottom of a 13- by 9- by 3-inch baking pan with 18 ladyfingers in 3 rows, trimming edges to fit if necessary. Spread half of mascarpone filling on top. Dip remaining 18 ladyfingers in coffee and arrange over filling in pan.

Spread remaining mascarpone filling on top and dust with cocoa. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Let tiramisu stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving, then dust with more cocoa.

- e