Apr
Strawberry Lemon Yogurt Parfait
I’m back. Did you miss me? Did you even know I was gone? Okay, so technically I didn’t go anywhere…but it has been quite a while since my last post. I’m making up for it in a big way though. With two recipes in one! A tasty almond coconut granola that you will want to eat by the handful, and a fresh and springy strawberry lemon yogurt parfait. 
But before we get lost in a big ole’ serving of granola, yogurt and berries I need to tell you what I’ve been up to that’s caused me to neglect my poor little blog for over two weeks. Since the beginning I have tried to keep this space about food. Sure, sometimes I inject little bits about my life here and there, but in general I figure you don’t want to read about my trip to the eye doctor, or my day at work, or how excited I was when my husband replaced a part of the vacuum cleaner causing it to work like 100 times better. Or maybe you do, I don’t know…but I do know I don’t want to write about those things. I’m here to share with you my love of food, my passion for ingredients and my adventures as I try new recipes and taste new flavors. The funny thing about food and everyday life though is that you can’t have one without the other. Who I am, what I do everyday and where I live are all connected to the foods I cook and eat. Which is why this announcement is about my life, but also about my food journey and where it will take me next. 
So here it is -we’re selling our house…and will be living and traveling in our Airstream for the next two to three years. The above photo is where I live now- where I’ve lived, and gardened, and cooked for the past 9 years. Below is our 25’ Airstream where I’m sooo excited to spend the next several years. 
I told you this was big! Well, small actually. From a 2,300 sq. ft. home to a roughly 200 sq. ft. metal silver bullet. From a kitchen with big windows, ample counter space and enough cupboards to fit all my cooking utensils and gadgets, to a kitchen where the stove doubles as a cutting board and the only place to store my pots and pans is inside the oven. None of that matters though because what we loose in indoor living space we gain in outside living space. A whole wide world of it- wherever we want to go!
And yes, I will be continuing the blog. In fact, I have a whole new vision for the blog that incorporates my travels, new foods, new inspirations, and new adventures. I will continue updating you here on our travel plans as they progress. We’re also in the middle of renovating the airstream kitchen (as much as you can renovate such a tiny space) and I will share pictures very soon. So as you can see I’ve been busy. Painting, cleaning, mulching- all the things that will make someone want to buy our house. I have managed to find some time for cooking though. And my latest creation is a parfait healthy enough to eat for breakfast and tasty enough to eat for dessert.
This recipe was inspired by a strawberry lemon trifle I made for Easter. No I didn’t take any pictures, in fact I didn’t even write down the recipe. What can I say, I’ve been busy. It was amazing though- fluffy lemon mousse, tender angel food cake and fresh strawberries. Shoot…now I feel bad and I’m gonna have to recreate this recipe just so I can share it with you. How about we wait until it’s actually strawberry season somewhere besides Florida though? Which doesn’t happen until June up here in the chilly northeast, but I can never wait that long and as soon as these bright red berries appear in the store I have to buy some. I’m always kind of dissapointed though. Have you ever noticed that the bigger the berry the less the flavor? Which is why these early, and well-traveled, berries need to be combined with lots of other flavors… like lemon, and honey, and almonds, and coconut.
I used to make granola once a week. I would make a big batch, store it in a tupperware container and eat it everyday for breakfast. Since January though I’ve been on a smoothie kick and the granola has been forgotten. Until now that is. Feel free to play around with this recipe. Change the nuts, substitute dried fruit for the coconut, add chocolate, whatever you like as long as you stick with the same basic proportions.
Coconut Almond Granola
2 1/2 cups oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. On a large rimmed baking sheet combine the oats, almonds, coconut. Spread in an even layer and cook for 12 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
2. A few minutes before the oat mixture comes out of the oven combine the honey, oil, vanilla and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat just long enough to melt the coconut oil and soften the honey.
3. As soon as the oat mixture comes out of the oven pour the honey over it and mix well until all the oats are covered. Spread evenly in the pan and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. The more you stir the granola as it cools the less chunky it will be. If you want big pieces don’t stir it at all and and break into chunks when completely cool.
Strawberry-Lemon Yogurt Parfait
serves:2
1 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3-4 tablespoons honey
2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
1 1/2 cups granola
1. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, lemon juice, half of the lemon zest and honey to taste.
2. In two tall glasses layer a quarter of the granola, a quarter of the yogurt and a quarter of the strawberries. Repeat with a second layer of all three. Top with a dollop of yogurt and and a sprinkle of lemon zest.
Mar
Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Tarts
I wish I had a scratch and sniff computer…actually I wish you had a scratch and sniff computer. That way you could be as enchanted by the floral aroma of these wonderful little Meyer lemons as I am. These lemons are so fragrant that even before I zested the peels, sliced them open and squeezed out the juice a honey tinged, fresh lemon scent was wafting around my kitchen. I first used Meyer lemons about a month ago when I made Carrot Muffins with Meyer Lemon Glaze. They were good…in fact they were eat two in a row good. The moist carrot muffins studded with lemon zest and drizzled with a thin honey lemon glaze were perfect for my first experiment with these special, slightly sweet lemons. This time though when I brought home a bag filled with the egg yolk colored little cuties I knew I wanted to make something that really let the lemon flavor shine. I wanted a bust of pure lemon flavor in every bite. I wanted to make a recipe that used LOTS of lemon juice…
and lots of lemon zest. So naturally I turned to lemon curd. Curd is all over the Internet these days (could someone please come up with a better name for it than curd) – lemon curd, blood orange curd, grapefruit curd, key lime curd- you name the citrus and someone has made a curd out of it. 
For a long time lemon meringue pie was one of my favorite desserts which means that I’ve made quite a bit of lemon curd in my life time. Never with Meyer lemons though. And never with honey! I spotted this recipe over on the Cookie + Kate blog where she made both a blood orange and a Meyer lemon curd sweetened with honey instead of white sugar. Since I loved the honey and lemon glaze that I made for my carrot muffins I was eager to try it. It was totally the right choice. The honey adds just a touch of sweet to the floral-scented Meyer lemons and the result is a slightly sweet yet wonderfully tangy smooth curd. The other tip that I picked up from Kate was how to make lemon curd with no straining and no risk of cooked egg bites tarnishing the final product. Basically the idea is to cream the butter and honey like you would if making a cake, then incorporate the eggs and juice before cooking. It worked really well and will defiantly be the method I turn to from now on when making any kind of curd.
For the tart crust I decided on a sweet buttery shortbread type with lots of ground almonds. I love the nutty flavor that the almonds lend to the dough and they also provide a bit of crispy texture that compliments the silky smooth curd perfectly. 
I made mini tarts and blind baked them filled with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights you can use dried beans but be sure not to skip this step altogether. If you try to bake the tart crust without weights the dough will bubble up in the middle leaving no room for the delicious lemon curd. Believe me, I’m telling you this from experience.
Here they are fresh out of the oven. Almost good enough to eat even with out the lemon curd.
And here they are filled with sweet and tangy lemon curd and topped with fresh whipped cream.
Honey Sweetened Meyer Lemon Tarts
Adapted from Cookie + Kate and Taste of Home
Makes (3) 4 1/2 inch tarts or (1) 9 inch tart
Lemon Curd:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup honey
4 egg yolks
2 eggs
2/3 cup Meyer lemon juice (from 7-8 lemons)
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest
Almond Crust:
1 cup white unbleached flour
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons ice water
For the topping:
Whipped cream
Meyer lemon shavings
1. Make the crust: Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour, sugar, butter, almond extract and salt and pulse until combined. Slowly add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until a soft dough forms. Using your hands form the dough into a ball, place it between two pieces of parchment or wax paper and flatten to a disk shape. Wrap the edges of the paper tightly around the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Alternate directions: Since I only have a small one-cup food processor I used it to ground the almonds and then transferred them to my stand mixer where I finished the dough. I followed the same process; mixing all the ingredients together and then adding the ice water a little at a time until a dough formed. It worked perfectly, the only drawback was more dishes to wash.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap the sides of the dough, but leave it between the sheets of paper for rolling. This prevents the dough from sticking to the surface and your rolling pin without using flour. Start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, turning the dough 180 degrees and repeating. Continue rolling the dough into a circle about an 1/8th inch thick. If making small tarts, cut out circles slightly larger than the pans you are using (my tartlets pans are 4 1/2 inches wide so I cut out 5” circles) and press the dough into the pans. If you are making one large tart, place the entire dough circle over the pan, press it into the bottom and corners and trim the edges.
3. Cut pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil large enough to cover the bottom of the crust and extend out a bit over the edges of the pan. Place the paper or foil over the crust (s) and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the weights and paper or foil and continue baking until the edges turn a light golden color, about 5 –7 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let the crust cool.
4. Make the Lemon Curd: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a medium size bowl if using a hand mixer, mix the butter and honey until creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Slowly add the egg yolks and whole eggs; beat until combined. Add the lemon juice and mix briefly. Don’t worry if the batter looks lumpy, it will smooth out on the stove top.
5. Transfer the mixture to a medium size non-reactive pot (not aluminum or unlined copper) and cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken after about 5 minutes. Continue stirring until it it thick and jelly-like. Test for doneness by running your finger over the back of a wooden spoon coated in the curd- if it leaves a clear path it is ready. For me it took about 7 minutes for the curd to finish. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest.
6. Pour the lemon curd into the cooled tarts shells.* Before serving top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of shaved lemon peel if desired.
*If you are not using the lemon curd right away transfer it to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap over the top letting come in contact with the curd. Gently press the plastic into the top of the curd until it is completely covered. This will prevent air from forming a crust on top of the curd. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Mar
Peppermint Tea Dark Chocolate Brownies
Hmmm…tea or brownies? Tea and brownies? How about tea in brownies! If you love tea and you LOVE brownies (who doesn’t love brownies? ) this recipe is for you. Dense fudgy,dark chocolate laden brownies spiked with an earthy mint flavor reminiscent of your favorite cup of tea. It’s a chocolate and mint lovers dream. This special brownie was inspired by a recipe that I pulled out of a magazine years ago, filed away for future use and promptly forgot about. For ten years. Yup, the date at the bottom of the page says August/September 2002. Wow, I guess I should go through my recipe file more often. The funny part is that when I saved the recipe I didn’t know it had tea in it. I thought it was just your normal mint brownie made with peppermint extract. The main reason I saved it all these years was because of the pretty marbled white chocolate glaze that covered the brownie.
It wasn’t until I read through the ingredients and spotted the tea that I realized what a special recipe this was. Despite my initial excitement, in the end I used the tea portion of the recipe and a modified version of the glaze, but not much else. The reason? It called for 2 1/2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar!!! Granted, the recipe made a 9 x 13-inch pan of brownies which is pretty big, but even cut in half this recipe has more butter and sugar than any brownie would ever need. I have a brownie recipe from Cooking Light that I often use as a base for any brownie that I create. It’s thick and fudge-like with lots of chocolate flavor but only 5 tablespoons of butter and a mere 3/4 cup of sugar. Lots of indulgent flavor but no so many indulgent ingredients.
The tea I used was Yogi Purely Peppermint, but any herbal peppermint tea will do. I like the Yogi brand because they have a whole line of teas for specific aliments like Bedtime tea, Calming tea and my favorite Throat Comfort. I swear this is the best remedy for a sore throat out there. Beside their awesome teas, the other thing I love about the Yogi brand is that each tea bag comes with an inspirational message. And who couldn’t use a little inspiration with their tea…or their brownies?
The recipe instructions said to grind the sugar and tea leaves together in a food processor. Honestly, I’m not totally convinced that this step is necessary. My tea leaves were pretty well ground to begin with and I’m pretty sure that simply stirring the sugar and tea together would have produced the same result. But I did it anyway. I did it because when trying something new I‘m often struck with a debilitating fear that if I don’t follow the directions exactly I will be doomed to imminent failure. Let’s just say that in this case I took one for the team. I ground that sugar and tea so that you wouldn’t have to. Or go ahead and grind…who am I to tell you to break the rules? 
Grinding or no grinding, the end result is a thick, fudge-like batter laced with a refreshing minty aroma. 
I had mine with what else… a mug of hot steaming tea.
Peppermint Tea Dark Chocolate Brownies
inspired by Cooking Light and Fine Cooking
Makes 16 small or 12 medium brownies
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon peppermint tea (from 1 teabag)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces dark chocolate
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 egg yolks
2 ounces dark chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1 ounce white chocolate
~1 tablespoon milk
green food coloring (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Cut the paper long so it overhangs the edge of the dish on two sides. This will make it easy to remove the brownies before frosting.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flours, cocoa and salt. In a food processor grind together the sugar and tea, add to the flour mixture. (This step can be skipped if you don’t have a food processor, just add the sugar and tea to the flour mixture and combine).
3. Place 2 ounces of dark chocolate and 5 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces in a small bowl. Microwave on high for about one minute in 20 second intervals. Stir between each interval. When the chocolate and butter are melted stir in the peppermint extract. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the milk, egg and egg yolks. Add to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated. Fold in the chocolate mixture until just combined. The batter will be thick.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and tap on the counter to level. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. After about ten minutes pull the parchment edges and lift the brownies out of the pan. Let cool completely before frosting (about 1 hour).
6. When the brownies are cool melt the remaining 2 ounces of dark chocolate with 1 tablespoon of butter using the same method of 20 second intervals for about 1 minute total. Set aside and melt the white chocolate with a scant tablespoon of milk. Add more milk if needed until the white chocolate is the right consistency to drizzle over the brownies in a thin line. Add the food coloring one drop at a time until the desired green color is achieved. When both chocolates are melted pour the dark chocolate over the brownies and spread smooth. Drizzle the white chocolate over top in straight lines and drag a toothpick through the chocolate in alternating directions. Put the brownies in the fridge to cool for at least 2o minutes. Remove and cut into 12 or 16 pieces.
Subscribe by e-mail
Recent Posts
Tags
Archives
Tasty Reads
