SECRET RECIPE CLUB: CHOC-ORANGE MINI CAKES & A BONUS RECIPE

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club, Veggies by sallybr

(Reprinted with permission from Adrienne Hedger)

And here we are landing firmly in the month of May. This year is flying by, if you ask me… First Monday of the month means fun. It is Reveal Day for The Secret Recipe Club, that event in which bloggers are paired in secret and cook a recipe from their assigned site. This month I got a food blog that was new to me: Chit Chat Chomp, hosted by Leigh, who blogs from Melbourne, a place I would love to visit one day. Leigh’s site is a thing of beauty, very stylish, elegant, amazing photos, and great prose. Basically, a must-read food blog! She summarizes her approach to cooking in a delightful way:

Recipes inspired by my travels through France, adapted for everyday simplicity and filled to the brim with nutrition. Mostly gluten and refined sugar-free, my recipes lean towards food that inspires, heals and nourishes, but above all else, it’s fresh, organic and simple.

Recipes inspired by my travels through France… She’s got my full attention! In fact, she describes herself as a lover of all things French. You can imagine the smile I opened when I read that line, right? I spent quite a bit of time stalking her blog, but jumped on a recipe right away for a reason I will classify as “The Swedish Effect.” Small parenthesis is needed. We have an undergraduate student from Sweden in our lab called Olivia. She happened to mention that April 15th was her “name day” back home. I was puzzled, but then learned that in Sweden each day of the year is associated with a particular name, as you can see in this site. April 15th is the name day for Olivia (girls) and Oliver (boys). Olivia said that her Grandma always gave her a nice card on that day to celebrate the occasion. So, I thought it would be cool to bake something starting with the letter O and bring to the lab on that day. Orange-Chocolate mini-cakes seemed perfect! Obviously, I jumped on the recipe with no hesitation whatsoever. But, my decision had a small problem associated with it, which led me to make a second recipe for today’s reveal. Read on…

ORANGE-CHOC MINI CAKES
(from Chit Chat Chomp)

Makes 6 mini-cakes

1 orange
1 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
1 Tbsp rice malt syrup or raw honey
handful of raw cacao nibs
handful of sunflower seeds (I omitted for lack of sunflower seeds)

Heat oven to 320 F and line a mini cupcake pan with 8 cupcake papers

Place the orange in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Allow to cool.

Chop the cooked orange into chunks and place in a blender and blitz until smooth. Add all other ingredients (except cacao nibs and sunflower seeds) to the blender and pulse until combined.

Divide the batter between your cupcake papers, filling close to the top as they will not rise by much, and top with the cacao nibs and sunflower seeds. Pop into the oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

ENJOY!

to print the mini-cake recipe, click here

Comments: As Leigh mentioned, the only tricky part of this recipe is to boil the orange. Tricky in the sense that you need to dedicate one hour for that step. Essentially hands-free, though. The smell in the kitchen as the orange simmers…. wonderful! Once the orange is ready and cooled down, the batter will be ready in minutes. Now, let’s talk about the “small problem.” The recipe made six cupcakes, enough for each of our lab members to enjoy, but Phil and I could not have any. In short, I made a recipe for The Secret Recipe Club, but never got to taste it. I had only one way to restore my dignity as a blogger: choose a second recipe from Chit Chat Chomp, and make it too… and that’s what I did, so today you get two recipes instead of one. How’s that for problem solving?

Without further ado… my bonus recipe from Leigh’s great blog:

VEGGIE BREAD
(from Chit Chat Chomp)

1 + 1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 cups arrowroot flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 eggs
1 + 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 large zucchini, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pepitas.

Heat the oven to 325 F and line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the almond meal, arrowroot, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs lightly with the apple cider vinegar. Add zucchini, carrot and cheese and mix well.

Add the egg mix to the dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Pour the dough into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with pepitas.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top starts turning golden and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool for five minutes before cutting into slices.

ENJOY!

to print the Veggie Bread recipe, click here

Comments: We loved this bread! It is obviously gluten-free, no regular flour, but the texture reminded me of quick breads, except that this had considerable more moisture. Not too dense like some gluten-free breads turn out. Leigh said it freezes well, but we did not get to test that, in three days it was gone. I enjoyed a slice at lunchtime, and was surprised that Phil did that too, he prefers his bread to be loaded with gluten. This one had so much flavor that the lack of wheat flour was not a big deal. Once it sits in the fridge for a while, the best way to bring it back to life is toasting it… paired with juicy tomatoes, it was out of this world delicious!

I wanted to try to make croutons out of it. Not sautéed because I am afraid they would crumble, it is a very delicate bread. But maybe spraying the croutons with coconut or olive oil then toasting them in the oven. I bet they would turn out amazing on a kicked-up version of Caesar salad, or over a massaged kale concoction. Definitely a bread to play with.

I must say it was not easy to decide on which recipe to make as the bonus. I really wanted to make her Savoury Muffins, not only because the recipe enticed me, but for the write-up about it. You gotta go and read it… it has to do with France… And, if the weather was a little more appropriate, I would love a bowl of her luscious Carrot Soup… Another heavy contender was the Zucchini Noodle with Kale Pesto, which is pretty much my favorite type of meal these days.

Leigh, I loved getting your blog as my assignment this month, and feel sorry I could not taste those cute mini-cupcakes… Thinking back, I should have made a double batch, but I only thought about it after they were all baked and I had no time to boil another orange and start over. It was getting close to bedtime then… oh, well. Such is life!

Please make sure to click on the blue frog sitting patiently at the end of this post, so you can marvel at the posts that my virtual friends from Group A made for their assignments.

Adrienne, thank you again for allowing me to share your cartoon on the blog!
I love your work!

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, May 2015

TWO YEARS AGO: P90X3, a Review of Tony Horton’s Latest Fitness Program

THREE YEARS AGO: Pasta and Mussels in Saffron Broth

FOUR YEARS AGO: Triple Chocolate Brownies

FIVE YEARS AGO: Shanghai Soup Dumplings

SIX YEARS AGO: Bite-sized Chocolate Pleasure

19Mar2016

A SMASHING PAIR

Posted in Cookbook Reviews, Salads by sallybr

No, I am not talking about Phil and I, although the thought crossed my mind… It is actually a quote from my newest cookbook:

Have you tried roasted carrots and avocados together?
What a smashing pair!

I don’t think I ever thought of mixing carrots with avocados, but the other day a simple email with notification of a new post by Kelly arrived, and I dropped everything I was doing to check it out. She shared the recipe for a gorgeous quinoa concoction found in “The Clever Cookbook.” Cute name, almost as cute as the blog hosted by the author, Emilie: The Clever Carrot. I can see you’re smiling now, it’s impossible not to smile at the name. I need another cookbook as I need a third eye, but my will power for certain temptations is non-existent. I don’t even try to put up a fight anymore, just go to amazon and get the job done. Ordering the Kindle version minimizes the amount of guilt, in case you are wondering how I deal with my weaknesses.

That night I laid in bed for a long time reading the book, and could not wait to make this salad, because who could resist getting acquainted with a smashing pair? Less than 24 hours later the salad was part of our dinner, and it was a tremendous success! I urge you to try it too. I modified the recipe a bit, but you can find Emilie’s original in her book, which by the way is a total delight! You need to have it, so don’t even bother resisting.

SPICE-ROASTED CARROT AND AVOCADO SALAD
(adapted from The Clever Cookbook)
printed with permission from Emilie Raffa)

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 heaped tsp Southwest spice blend (I used Penzey’s)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
a few yellow grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe Hass avocado
Juice of ½ lemon
Pinch of salt
arugula leaves

Heat your oven to 425 ° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the carrots in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and sprinkle with Southwest spice, and a little salt. Toss well to coat. Spread the carrots out on your sheet pan. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are caramelized and tender. In the final 5 minutes, add the slivered almonds on top. Remove from the oven, add the tomatoes. Give it a good stir. Allow the mixture to cool slightly while you dice the avocado and drizzle the pieces with lemon juice to prevent browning.

Add the avocados to the carrots, and toss gently to combine. Place the mixture on top of arugula leaves on a serving bowl, drizzle olive oil and some more lemon juice, adjust seasoning with salt. Toss very gently and serve at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Talk about a delicious dinner! It’s not everyday that a salad draws enthusiastic compliments from my beloved husband. We both went crazy for this one, and Phil in particular thought that the grilled chicken was a perfect match, making the meal worthy of a fancy French style bistrot. On a slight tangent: the chicken was super simple. I marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs early in the morning in a mixture of yogurt, a touch of olive oil, lemon juice, paprika and turmeric. A smidgen of agave nectar just because. When it was time for dinner, I scraped the marinade off, seasoned the meat with salt and pepper, and grilled until done. The combination of sweet roasted carrots, the hint of spice, and the creaminess of the avocado was irresistible!

The salad has enough substance to stand proud on a fully vegetarian menu. Maybe paired with a hearty pasta dish, or next to crostini with mushrooms and cheese? Or you can skip the greens and use the smashing mixture over grains such as farro or quinoa. Your call.

Emilie, thank you for allowing me to publish your recipe…
I must say you are absolutely right, roasted carrots and avocados are “a smashing pair!”

Now, a little bit about the book…

The book is organized in a slightly unusual way. You won’t find chapters for Main Dishes, Appetizers, or even a particular kind of ingredient. Instead, her approach is to divide the book in strategies that make your life easier in the kitchen. For instance, the first chapter is called “Prep Ahead Vegetables”, and shows how if you invest a little time in prepping veggies they can help you out in many recipes. The chapter includes soups like 30 minute Broccoli and Feta Soup which immediately called my name. The following chapter, “Back to Basics” lists her “non-negotiable” items. Stuff that she always has around like toothpaste, chocolate, and the cell phone (yeah, she is adorably witty). In that chapter, you’ll learn how to make her Triple Duty Chicken Stock, Basic Tomato Sauce, and Master Stir Fry Sauce. Well, you get the gist of it. A little investment of time to make batches of those, and cooking on a daily basis will be a breeze. But my favorite chapter was one called “Process This.” Clever ways (it is a clever cookbook, after all) to use the food processor. I must try her Banana Cloud Cake included in the chapter, and the user-friendly No-Peel Butternut Squash Soup (sounds like a dream, right?). Two other chapters that I was quite fond of: “Batch Cooked Grains” and “Freezer Marinades.” The Clever Cookbook is definitely one that will not sit collecting dust in your shelf. If you are a busy person, with or without kids around, this book is a must-have. To order, follow this link. And while you are around the ordering process, go ahead and subscribe to Emilie’s blog too. I did, because I don’t want to miss her future culinary adventures…

Kelly, thanks for the heads up about Emilie’s cookbook and blog. Loved “meeting” her through you…

😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

TWO YEARS AGO: Crispy Chickpea and Caper Spaghetti

THREE YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung!

FOUR YEARS AGO: Chickpea and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

FIVE YEARS AGO: Double Asparagus Delight

SIX YEARS AGO: Sun-dried Tomato and Feta Cheese Torte

27Jan2016

WHEN THREE IS BETTER THAN TWO

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

Am I talking about the dogs again?
No, this time it’s a veggie thing…

As far as vegetable purees are concerned I tend to be very conservative to allow the main ingredient to shine in all its glory. Yes, I’ve been known to mix two veggies together, for instance Broccoli & Spinach, Carrot & Sweet Potato , or Cauliflower and Celeriac, but those are exceptions rather than the rule. However, the other day I was staring at the bag of parsnips I got with the intention of roasting them and faced a disappointing state of affairs. You’d think that those bagged creatures would all be more or less similar in size and shape? Don’t get your hopes high! They place one or two gorgeous specimens with a bunch of pencil-thin cousins. Pathetic. I learned a lesson, of course, will never buy bagged parsnips again. I’ll pick them myself, thank you very much, and they will be all chubby. But, I digress. I was staring at the parsnips and decided that they could work better in a puree of sorts. Since I did not have enough for a side dish, I also grabbed some carrots. And then, the tiny orange cauliflower winked at me. So there you have it, not one, not two, but three veggies cooked together in harmony. I must tell you, this turned out much better than I expected, especially considering I kept it very simple. No exotic spices, no garlic confit, not even chicken stock… I let the veggies sing, and the music was gorgeous!

PARSNIP, CARROT AND CAULIFLOWER MASH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

1 tablespoon butter + smear of olive oil
3 celery stalks, diced
1 small head of orange cauliflower, florets only
5 parsnips, cut in chunks
4 carrots, cut in chunks
salt and pepper (go heavy on the pepper)
2 cups water

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the diced celery, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until translucent and fragrant. Add all the other veggies and cook in medium-high heat stirring occasionally for a few minutes. If necessary, add a tiny amount of olive oil to prevent the veggies from scorching.

Add the two cups of water, season with salt and pepper again, and cover the pan. Simmer for 25 minutes in low-heat. When veggies are tender, remove them to a food processor, leaving most of the water behind. Process and add more water if too thick. Adjust seasoning, and serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: We were both quite impressed by how complex this puree tasted. I think parsnips adds a lot with their distinctive taste: spicy, peppery, a bit citric almost. They change completely the flavor of the carrots and cauliflower. This mash has great texture and just the right amount of sweetness. Plus, the color is not too shabby either… When processing, don’t go overboard, I think having some chunks here and there add a lot to the dish. You might even skip the processing and mash it all by hand, whatever rocks your boat…

Dinner is served! Simple grille chicken breasts, mashed veggies, and a salad.
Very delicious way to end a busy Monday.

ONE YEAR AGO: Mini-quiches with Duxelles and Baby Broccoli

TWO YEARS AGO: Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cakes

THREE YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Bolo de Fuba’ Cremoso

FOUR YEARS AGO: Citrus-crusted Tilapia Filets

FIVE YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, not just for Hippies

SIX YEARS AGO: Flourless Chocolate Cake

16Nov2013

POMEGRANATE CHICKEN THIGHS & CARROT MASH

Posted in Poultry, Side dishes by sallybr

I am feeling quite generous these days, so you’ll get two recipes in a single post. It turns out they went so well together, that it would be sad to separate them. The source of inspiration for the chicken was a blog I found not too long ago, and started following right away: The View from Great Island, hosted by Sue. Her photography is beautiful, and I’d be happy sitting at her dinner table anytime! The mashed carrot was in the latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine as an option for Thanksgiving side dish. Roasted asparagus rounded our meal quite nicely.

POMEGRANATE AND LIME CHICKEN THIGHS
(adapted from The View from the Great Island)

for the chicken
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 tsp salt
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

for the glaze
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

To marinate the chicken, put the yogurt, pomegranate juice, salt, and chicken in a large zip lock bag. Massage everything until well combined. Put in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Set the oven to 300 F. Remove the chicken from the marinade, place the pieces skin side down on a large baking dish, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at this low temperature. Remove the foil, if there is a lot of liquid accumulated in the dish remove most of it and discard. Turn the pieces skin side up, cover with foil again and bake for another 20 minutes. At this point, prepare the glaze by combining all ingredients together. If too thin, gently warm it on a small saucepan to thicken it a little. Watch it carefully because it can burn due to all the sugar.

Remove the aluminum foil from the baking dish, increase oven temperature to 425 F. Bake for 15 minutes, once the skin starts to get some color brush the glaze all over the chicken thighs and bake for 10 more minutes or until very dark. You can also broil the pieces at this point, but pay attention to prevent it from burning. Serve with lime wedges.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

CARROT MASH WITH ORANGE AND MINT
(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)

2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
salt
1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
2 Tbs. almond milk, unsweetened
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
Put the carrots in a large saucepan with enough cool water to cover by at least 1 inch. Add 1 tsp. salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and cook at a gentle boil until the carrots can be easily pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.

Drain well in a colander, letting the steam rise for a few minutes. Meanwhile, heat the butter, almond milk, oil, mint, orange zest, and 1/2 tsp salt in the saucepan over low heat until the butter melts.

Purée the carrots in a food processor until smooth and then add them to the pan, stirring well to combine.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My main modification of the chicken recipe was to adapt it to my favorite method of cooking chicken thighs: low and slow followed by high and fast. I like the way the meat gets super tender and the skin super crisp. You should stop by Sue’s blog and check her version too. She actually made the glaze from pomegranate juice, reducing it with sugar. Since I had a bottle of pomegranate molasses, I followed a slightly different path. The full idea is to have a reasonably thick glaze to coat the chicken.

The carrot mash: my only tweak was to use almond milk instead of heavy cream. I love almond milk and use it every chance I get. A lot more orange zest went into the recipe then called for, because the music playing got me carried away with the Microplane. Such a cool gadget! Phil thought it was slightly too orange-y and not enough carrot-y, but when we had leftovers next day that flavor had mellowed down considerably. As to a side dish for Thanksgiving, I was a bit shocked by how little puree 2 pounds of carrots produced… If you will be feeding an army of people, be ready to peel a ton of carrots and scale this recipe up by a factor of 3 or 4. 😉 Still, a delicious option, bright color, bright flavor, it will shine on your Thanksgiving table next to that big bird.

ONE YEAR AGO: The Many Faces of Kale

TWO YEARS AGO: Short and Sweet

THREE YEARS AGO: Ciabatta, a Classic Italian Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Magical Lamb Stew

9Jun2013

CARROT AND SESAME SANDWICH LOAF

Posted in Breads by sallybr

From the one and only Dan Lepard, a loaf to satisfy your cravings for a hearty sandwich bread, with the slightly nutty flavor of sesame seeds and a very subtle sweetness from grated carrots in the crumb. Very easy to make, very easy to love… You can find the full recipe on The Guardian site, by clicking here.

Here’s a little virtual tour of the process, starting with a quick preparation of your loaf pan. You might be surprised to learn that I am a complete disaster when it comes to using scissors. I cannot make a straight cut to save my life. So I was proud of my job here, although truth be told, it took me almost 15 minutes to do this.

You weigh your ingredients, and make a nice, smooth round of dough…

Thanks to the use of Rapid Rise Yeast (which is unusual for me, I normally go for the regular kind), you will end up with a shaped loaf that will threaten to escape its container, so make sure not to leave the house to run a few errands as the dough rises… 😉

The carrots are very evident in the dough, but they get baked into the crumb in a wonderful way. They won’t disappear, but you won’t feel any harsh bits of carrots as you bite into the bread. A very soft crumb, with a nice crunchy top given by the sesame seeds. Make sure to follow Dan’s tip on adding them: wet the surface of the slashed dough with a little water so that the seeds can stick better. He used black sesame seeds, for quite a dramatic look. I could swear I had black sesame seeds somewhere, but I could not find them, so I used regular, white seeds.

And I share with you a favorite lunch option: an open-faced sandwich made with this bread, slightly toasted, some smoked ham, and cottage cheese with enough salt and black pepper to make it all shine… Perfection, if you ask me!