NRW 17: Baked Potato Slices

New Recipe Week 17: Baked Potato Slices

I got this recipe from my very near and dear friend Dr. Goldi Jacques-Maynes. She's the one who's talking me into gardening and I've always looked to her for her wonderful home healthy cooking. She's a very strong proponent of the 100-Mile Diet especially from your own home sources. I love seeing her chickens in their amazing coop and all her yummy planter boxes with beautiful rows of green, red, yellow, purple, orange and every color you can eat! There's nothing like going out your back door and picking your dinner fresh!

This year she's growing potatoes so I thought this recipe would be wonderful to mark her talking me into growing some too! It's very simple, the outcome is wonderful and oven warmth spreads through the house. This is definitely a cooler day recipe!

Baked Potato Slices
Serves 2

2 Russet Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

-Scrub & Clean the Potatoes, then slice very thinly along the width but not all the way through.
-Drip Olive Oil over Potatoes and season with S&P.
-Bake @ 425 for 1.25 to 1.5 hours.
-Let cool a little before eating.

Coffee Cozy

I'm a coffee nut, especially for local coffee roasters. So when I came across this DIY coffee cozy, I had to make it.

I made 3 of them with left over scraps from other projects so it took a while to cut all the pieces. The project probably took about 3 hours! Here's a pic of the project mid-stream:

After all the time & effort, these turned out great. I enjoyed making them and I'm excited to give them as gifts!

NRW16: Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Rolls

New Recipe Week 16: Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Rolls

Another Pinterest idea, these Asparagus rolls were so yummy, I ate 3 like nothing. I did only put one stalk in each roll, so next time I'll bump it up to two. I left out the egg, extra cheese and spices cuz you really don't need them and I wanted to keep it on the healthier side. You do need to either steam or blanch the veggies first, but then the bake time is only 8 minutes, so total cook & prep time is only 20 mins which makes these a super quick side dish that you'll love!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Rolls
Serves 4

1 pkg. Crescent Rolls 
1 lb Asparagus (woody stems removed) 3 oz. Goat Cheese
4 Slices Prosciutto (Halved)


-Steam: Asparagus for about 7 mins., remove  & dry with paper towels. OR Blanch: In a pot of boiling water, add Asparagus for 4 mins, remove, drain & dry with paper towels.
-Un-wrap Crescent Rolls and place a Half Slice of Prosciutto, a Crumble of Cheese and then 2 cooked Asparagus Stalks.
-Roll up the rolls, starting from thicker side rolling in towards thinner side.
-Place on lined baking sheet and Bake @ 425 for 8-10 mins. 
-Serve Immediately.

Peanut Butter Nut Eggs-Oat Ball Variation

So to get ready for the Sea Otter Classic Cycling Festival, I made a batch of my Peanut Butter Nut Eggs but as Balls, and without the chocolate covering, which the original recipe has them as.

These were perfect for a day walking all around in the sun and even better for the recovering athlete. I was also pleasantly surprised on how well they traveled (never fell apart in my baggie!) You could stuff a bag of these in your jersey pocket and I'm sure they'd still keep form, especially if you shape them into bars...Enjoy!

Oat Balls (Originally from Sunday Baker)
~2 dozen 2 inch Balls

1.5 C Rolled Oats
1 C Crushed Pretzel Pieces
1/2 C Hazel Nuts
1/4 C White Chocolate Chips
1/3 C Cranberries
1/3 C Peanut Butter (Natural & Creamy)
1/3 C Honey
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Vanilla

-In a food processor, pulse Oats, Pretzels, Nuts & Chips until grainy (corn meal consistency).
-Add in Cranberries and pulse until also grainy.
-Add in PB, Honey, Cinnamon & Vanilla, pulse until combined.
-Scoop out about 2 Tbsp dough and roll by hand into a ball, set on cookie sheet lined with wax paper, repeat with remaining dough.
-Freeze for about 1 hour then place in bag or container and refrigerate or eat!

Happy Birthday to my Honey!

Yesterday was Anastasio's Birthday and we celebrated properly with a babysitter and romantic dinner night out for the two of us at Oswald's in Santa Cruz!

But before our evening began, I wanted to celebrate with the baby too, so I made a birthday cake for the mister. This Chocolate, Cheesecake & Nut Crumble recipe comes from the Brown Eyed Baker. I choose this, instead of one of my basic cakes, because I really don't like cake very much so I thought I'd try something different.

This came out really moist and only slightly rich, which was perfect! I used neufchatel cheese (less fat) instead of cream cheese, and pecans & hazelnuts instead of walnuts. Other than that, I followed the recipe as is, oh ya, the other exception was the eggs:

One very important and common mistake in baking is that when butter or cream cheese is suppose to be at room temperature people often forget that the eggs also have to be at room temperature. This is because you want the eggs to blend well into the butter/cheese so you want them at the same temp. Otherwise a cold egg mixing into a warmed (room temp) butter/cheese won't completely blend and will not get as fluffy as it can be!

Definitely a keeper!

Maiyo Helping with the Candels

NRW15: Mozzarella Sticks

New Recipe Week 15: Mozzarella Sticks

We've been eating a lot of cheese sticks lately, so much so that I started getting tired of them. So I decided to try and make fried mozzarella sticks for the first time. They came out pretty darn good!

Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Serves 2

Mozzarella Sticks:
3 sticks of String Cheese (cut in half)
1/2 C. Panko-Style breadcrumbs
1 Tsp. Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Egg
1/4 C. Flour
Oil for frying

-Place the Flour & Bread Crumbs in two separate, shallow bowls.
-Add the Italian Seasoning, Salt & Pepper to the breadcrumbs and mix well.
-Place Eggs in another small bowl and beat lightly.
-Drop a piece of Cheese into the Flour and roll it around until it is well covered. Shake off the excess Flour and dip the Cheese into the Egg mixture then into the Breadcrumbs until well coated. Repeat with the remaining Cheese Sticks.
-Once all of the Cheese Sticks have been breaded, freeze uncovered until the breadcrumb coating is firm.
-Pour enough Oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot to come to a depth of at least 2 inches. Heat oil until it reaches a temperature of 350°. Fry the Cheese Sticks in batches, being careful not to overwhelm the oil, until crispy and browned on the exterior, about 5 minutes.
-Drain on paper towels & repeat with remaining Cheese Sticks.

Dip:
1/4 cup buttermilk (1/3 C. Milk with 1 Tsp. White Wine Vinegar)
2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese (Softened)
1 Tbsp. Plain Yogurt
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Ea. Basil, Shallots, Parsley & Mint (chopped fine)
Salt & Pepper to taste

-In a small bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

NRW14: Chicken Saltimbocca

New Recipe Week 14: Chicken Saltimbocca

Always looking for a new way to make chicken breast, I had this recipe from Epicurious.com in my recipe box for a couple of years. It's pretty similar to what I've already made many, many times before, but distinct in it's own way.

It came out petty good, my only comment is that the sauce was too tangy so I'd probably omit the lemon next time around.

Chicken Saltimbocca
Serves 2

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
4 Fresh Sage Leaves
4 Salami Slices
1/2 C Flour

1 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. White Wine
2 Tsp. Flour
1/2 C. Chicken Broth

-Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap on work surface. Using mallet, pound chicken to 1/3-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

-Place 2 sage leaves atop each chicken breast half. Top each chicken breast with 2 prosciutto slices, pressing to adhere.

-Spread 1/2 cup flour on plate. Turn chicken in flour to lightly coat both sides.

-Melt butter with oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, prosciutto side down; cook 4 minutes. Turn chicken over and cook just until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to platter and cover to keep warm; reserve skillet.

-Whisk wine with remaining 2 teaspoons flour in small bowl. Add broth and lemon juice to same skillet; bring to boil. Add wine mixture; whisk until sauce thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Very Moist Zucchini Bread

My favorite veggie bread use to be pumpkin bread until I found this zucchini bread recipe last year. It really just blows every other sweet bread recipe out of the water. The moistness is mouth pleasing, the sweetness is just right and the density is perfect.

I like the sweetness of this bread though you could lessen the amount of sugar if you want, but don't skimp out on the crumb topping as it really completes this bread. This recipe makes two loaves, we usually eat one right away and freeze the second for a later time (though it doesn't last very long cuz we love it too much!) I made only a couple of small changes to the original recipe found here at Allrecipes.com

Zucchini Bread
Makes 2 Loaves

3 C Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
3 Tsp Cinnamon
3 Eggs
1 C Vegetable Oil
1 C Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
3 Tsp Vanilla
3 C Zucchini (Grated)

Crumb topping (Combine all in bowl):
1/2 C Oats
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Flour
1/4 C Butter (Melted)
1 Tsp Nutmeg
  
-Prepare two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans. (Butter & Flour or Non-stick Spray)
-Sift Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Soda, & Cinnamon in a bowl. 
-Beat Eggs in a separate bowl then mix in Oil, Vanilla, and Sugars. 
-Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and mix well.
-Stir in Zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. 
-Bake for 15 min @ 335 then remove from the oven and top with crumb mixture. Bake for an additional 50 min, or until tooth pick test clean. 
-Cool for 20 min. Use a knife to release sides of bread from pan, remove and completely cool on rack. 

Peanut Butter Nut Eggs

There have been countless number of recipes on how to make homemade Reece's Peanut Butter Eggs around the interwebs this Easter season. While I'm addicted to those yummy evil candies, I really didn't want to make them at home cuz I'd eat the whole plate in one sitting.

SO instead, I came up with a healthier version (heavily adapted from Sunday Baker) than the typical peanut butter, sugar & more sugar recipe.This one has Peanut butter, rolled oats, nuts, honey and other yummies that  give it a consistency close to the regular ones, but not as super sweet. Unfortunately, I can eat a whole plate of these in one sitting...at least I don't feel as guilty!

These were also super easy and quick to make (except for the refrigeration periods) and would be fun to do with kiddos, especially the molding part. And they came out tasting fantastic! I must say, I out did myself this time:-)

Peanut Butter Nut Eggs
Makes 18-20 Candies

Filling:
1 C. Rolled Oats
1/2 C. Broken Pretzel Pieces (put pretzels in a baggie & smash)
1/4 C. Hazelnuts
1/4 C. Pecans
1/4 C. Peanut Butter (Natural & Creamy)
1/4 C. Honey
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/4 C. White Chocolate Chips

-In a food processor, process Oats, Pretzels & Nuts until they are a cornmeal consistency.
-Add Peanut Butter, Honey & Vanilla and pulse until combined.
-Add White Chips & pulse until they break into small pieces and are combined into the mixture.
-Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a small cookie scoop, form a ball and place in your hand, add another 1/2 scoop of filling and form into egg shape. Place on wax sheet and repeat until all filling is shaped.
-Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes or freezer for 15 minutes.

Coating:

1 C. Milk Chocolate Chips
1 Tbsp. Shortening

-In a double broiler, over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water, melt Milk Chips & Shortening.
-Working quickly, but one at a time, place an Egg in the melted Chocolate and coat entirely, using a fork to turn over.
-Lift egg out with fork & let chocolate drain a little, then place back on wax sheet. Repeat with remaining eggs, then chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or freezer for at least 30 minutes

NRW 13: Sweet & Spicy Salmon

New Recipe Week 13: Sweet & Spicy Salmon

This recipe is from my ever-trustworthy food site Epicurious.com. Not a huge fan of salmon, Anastasio brought some home this week and so I was pressed to find a recipe that would be flavorful enough for me. This one definitely hit the target although it did need some lemon juice to top if off.

Sweet & Spicy Salmon
Serves 4

1/4 C Sweet Chili Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 lb Salmon Fillet (with skin)
1/2 Lemon (sliced)

-Line rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil or coat foil with nonstick spray. 

-Whisk Chili Sauce, Soy Sauce, and Ginger in small bowl. 

-Place Salmon Fillet, skin side down, on prepared sheet and spoon chili sauce marinade over and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

-Broil salmon without turning until browned in spots and almost opaque in center, 20 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet.

-Serve with Lemon Slices.

Lasagna with Artichoke Pesto

With all the Artichoke Pesto I made this week I was eager to use the sauce in a way that I use regular pesto, so I decided to make a lasagna.

I usually make cream pesto lasagna because I've had a severe intolerance to tomatoes my entire life so I have to be creative with traditionally tomato based dishes. I'll post my cream pesto recipe at another time...but for now this artichoke pesto lasagna came out absolutely deeelish!

I had some shredded chicken breast and grated zucchini (left over from zucchini bread which will also be posted soon:-), that with some baked cauliflower, spinach and jack cheese, this lasagna was very different yet so yummy my hard to please Mom even liked it!

Artichoke Pesto Lasagna
Serves 4+

1 box Bertolli No Bake Lasagna Pasta (I used 8 Pieces)
1+ C Artichoke Pesto
1 C Chicken (Boiled & Shredded)
1 1/3 C Shredded Cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
1/3 C Zucchini (Shredded)
1/2 C Pre-Cooked Cauliflower
1/2 C Fresh Spinach

-Soak Lasagna Pasta in water about 10 mins.
-In an 8x8 baking dish, coat bottom with a couple of spoonfulls of pesto then line with Pasta.
-Coat top of Pasta with 1/4 C Pesto then sprinkle with 1/3 C Chicken, 1/3 C Zucchini & 1/3 C Cheese.
-Layer with Pasta and coat with 1/4 C Pesto then sprinkle with 1/2 C Cauliflower & 1/3 C Cheese.
-Layer with Pasta, coat with 1/4 C Pesto then sprinkle with 1/3 C Chicken, 1/3 C Cheese and 1/2 C Spinach.
-Layer final Pasta, coat with remaining Pesto, sprinkle with remaining Chicken & Cheese.
-Cover with foil and bake @ 350 for 30 mins, remove foil and continue baking for 15 mins.

Artichoke Pesto

Anastasio is currently working in Big Sur which means he passes through the Artichoke Capital of the World, Castroville, on his way to and from work. This week he stopped off at Pezzini Farms to pick up a big bag of Baby Artichokes.

I was very excited to have my 6 month old try artichoke hearts so I got to work on these babies, washing, trimming and boiling them. Once they were done, I pulled off the hearts (which he loved!) and was left with the rest of the artichoke trying to figure out what to do with them...then I remembered our vineyard stay in Tuscany and knew exactly what to make: Artichoke Pesto!

I had never thought to make pesto out of anything other than Basil until our stay in Tuscany last spring when we were served Arugula Pesto, which was amazing! So I thought why not try it out of the baby artichoke leaves? The outcome was wonderful and I hope you enjoy this little concoction of mine.

This sauce went wonderfully with baked chicken, but would also work great as a pizza sauce or even as a dip with crackers, especially rice crackers!

Artichoke Pesto
Makes ~3 Cups

2.5 lbs Baby Artichokes (Regular size artichokes will NOT work with this recipe)
1+ C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C. Hazelnuts (Chopped)
3 Tbsp Shallots (Diced)
Salt & Pepper

-Bring a large pot with 3 quarts Water to boil.
-Prep Baby Artichokes by removing the first 3 layers of leaves, trim about 1/2 inch off the tops, cut off stems, then slice in half lengthwise. Add to boiling water and boil for about 20 mins or until soft (you can also steam them instead).
-Drain and let cool about 10 mins.
-In a Food Processor, process the Hazelnuts until grainy, then add remaining ingredients and process until desired consistency. You may need to add more Olive Oil to achieve the right thickness.
-OPTIONAL: Divide sauce in 1/2 cup servings and freeze for future use!

Hula & Charras

I was very fortunate to have a friend of mine act as my Doula for the birth of my son Maiyo. It was wonderful to have someone there purely for support for Anastasio & me, especially someone so experienced as Dionne and her 200+ births! I was lucky in that I had no complications and the birth went relatively smooth, albeit long. And it did wonders for my mind & stress level to know Dionne was there and she will forever have a special place in my heart for that.

To thank her for her generosity I thought it would be wonderful to design a quilt specific to her interests and background. Dionne is an extraordinary person. Not only is she a fabulous doula, she is also the founder of The Wahine Project, an amazing non-profit dedicated to helping young disadvantage girls learn how to surf.

So I was very excited to find some wonderful fabrics from Heart's Fabric that fit perfectly with Dionne's surfing and Mexican heritage:

Surf Board Floral

 

Hula Dolls Grey 

Charras Folklorico Women

 

I made this a Queen size (72x96) using Irish Chain blocks measuring 12x12, and full fabric panels measuring 12x12 and 24x24. This is a non-traditional color match because it was the fabrics that where important to me. It took me several weeks to make and was my first attempt at binding!


Here's Dionne with the completed quilt:

I bought a queen size sheet set to use for the backing and also made matching pillowcases:

This shows the back side sheet fabric:

NRW 12: Mini Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

New Recipe Week 12: Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

Another Pinterest find, this recipe is from the Cake Pop Queen, Bakerella. What an interesting thing to do with pancake batter by pouring it into a mini muffin pan and make pancake muffins. So simple, so fast and so sweet. I'll definitely be making these for Maiyo when he gets bigger!

Of course I made a few changes, most notedly was the change to use Honey instead of Maple Syrup, not such a huge difference, but does change the taste slightly. I would not dip these in more syrup as suggested in the original recipe, they are pretty sweet as is.

Mini Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins
Makes 24

1 C Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Sugar
2/3 C Buttermilk (I used 2/3 C Non-Fat Milk with 1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar)
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Honey (warmed)
2 Tbsp Butter (melted & cooled)
1/3 C Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

-Generously grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick spray or line with min-muffin papers.
-Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk.
-In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
-Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined, then add in the chocolate chips.
-Bake @350 for 10 minutes.

NRW 11: Marbled Yogurt Bread

New Recipe Week 11: Marbled Yogurt Bread

This is the first recipe I've tried through Pinterest, an online pin board where you get to 'pin' different things you find on websites that interest you. Kinda like tearing out a page (a recipe, deco idea, etc) from a magazine for you to remember. The cool thing about Pinterest is that it's interactive so you get to see other peoples 'pins' and re-pin them, or better yet, try them for yourself!

I've been pinning lots of recipes, quilts, craft and remodel ideas for a start, I plan on pinning bike and run stuff later, but for now, here's the bread recipe I re-pinned from another user and actually baked up for myself.

The creator of this recipe calls it her Chocolate-Vanilla Marbled Bread but after I made it and tried a piece, I didn't really taste the vanilla and mostly tasted the chocolate and yogurt because I used Greek yogurt which is much stronger in taste than simple yoplait yogurt (which I hate) and I try never to use sour cream (which is an option of the original recipe). Not that the taste was bad, I just wanted to let you know the reason for the name change...Also, baking time was more like 60-65 mins.

Marbled Yogurt Bread 
Makes 1 Loaf

1/4 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 C Milk, divided (I used Half & Half)
1 1/2 C Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 C Plain Greek Style Yogurt (or Vanilla Flavored!)
1/2 C Unsalted Butter (room temp)
3/4 C plus 2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

- Butter and lightly flour a loaf pan then line the bottom with a strip of parchment paper.
-Melt the Chocolate with 1/4 cup of the Milk in the microwave, on high, stirring every 15 seconds until smooth. Set aside.
-In a separate bowl, whisk the Flour, Baking Powder and Salt.
-In a small bowl, whisk the Yogurt, 1/4 cup Milk, and Vanilla.
-In another bowl beat Butter and Sugar until light and fluffy. Add Eggs one at a time. Then add the Flour mixture and Yogurt mixture, alternating.
-Spoon half of the batter into a separate bowl and add the melted Chocolate mixture and fold in.
-Pour half of the Vanilla Batter into the loaf pan, then pour all the the Chocolate Batter in, and finally top with remaining Vanilla Batter.
-Run a knife through the two batters, without over mixing, to make a marbled effect.
-Bake at 325 for about 60 - 65 minutes or until toothpick test clean.