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A trip to the farmer’s market…

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

… left me with slightly more strawberries than I intended to eat and a pound of ground bison.  The bison went quickly, and the strawberries followed suit… all the way up until the last pint or so.  Those just sat in the fridge for days.  I would open the door to get milk for my cereal in the morning, contemplate for a few moments whether I wanted to add strawberries to my bowl, notice their many bruises, and shut the door with only a gallon of milk in hand.  There’s something so very unappetizing about fruit that is past ripe.

This recipe was my attempt to deal with that.  The basic cobbler recipe (this minus the cinnamon) is something I got from Rebecca.  Where it came from before that, I cannot say.  I added the cinnamon because cinnamon and strawberries are on of the best food combos of all time… right up there with orange juice and cheez-its.  Don’t judge.  We served with strawberry ice cream, another excellent food combo.  Enjoy!

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Strawberry Cobbler:

  • Strawberries
  • 1 stick butter, melted (8 Tablespoons)
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 c. flour
  • 1 c. milk
  • 1 Tbs. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.  Chop up strawberries.  Set aside.  Mix remaining ingredients.  Pour into a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Place the strawberries over the batter.  Bake 35ish minutes or until golden brown.

Posted in Comfort Food, Desserts, Recipes | 1 Comment »

The Silly and Serious Sides of Dessert

Monday, April 19th, 2010

I made some fun desserts these past two weekends!  One was definitely “grown-up” and sophisticated, while the other was more whimsical and fun.

French Baguettes with Brie and Raspberry Sauce

Baguettes look good coming out of a paper grocery bag.

Baguettes look good coming out of a paper grocery bag.

I tried my hand at making homemade baguettes after finding this recipe.  I made them for my Mom’s birthday party.  We actually ate the bread as dessert rather than cake.  To go with it, I bought some brie and made raspberry sauce:

  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • 4-6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • a few mint leaves, torn into small pieces

I put the raspberries into a small saucepan with the water and sugar and cooked them over medium.  While they were cooking, I continuously stirred them and added the honey, lemon juice, and mint leaves.  The raspberries quickly lost their shape and became part of the sauce.  I brought the sauce to boiling for a short time, but mostly I let it steam and cook down until it thickened a bit.  Taste the sauce to see if it needs more sugar – the raspberries can be really tart!

I served this by slicing the bread and placing a couple of pieces on each plate with slices of brie and a serving of raspberry sauce.  Everyone had fun combining the pieces as they ate.

Candy Sushi

Colorful array of candy sushi

Colorful array of candy sushi

I simply had to try this when my friend tweeted about making Rice Krispy sushi.  I used this recipe (using Fruit By the Foot instead of fruit leather), which made a lot of pieces!  I thought it would be too sweet with all that candy, but the Rice Krispies helped to balance out the strong flavors.  Besides, it was really cute, and that’s all that matters in this case!

Posted in Breads, Desserts, Recipes | No Comments »

Monkey Muffins

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

There were old bananas sitting on the counter when I got home from work last night.  I was in a baking sort of mood, and everyone was asleep upstairs.  I was well on my way before I was inspired!  Fear not with some of the more bizarre ingredients, and trust me just long enough to mix and bake the batter.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups lightly sweetened cereal (I went with Life and store-brand Honey Bunches of Oats)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup instant potato flakes
  • 2(ish) overripe bananas
  • 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 2 cups milk

Procedures:

  • Preheat oven to 350.  Grease muffin tins.
  • Pour cereal and milk into bowl to soak.  Set aside until mushy.
  • Mash bananas and mix with butter.  Stir in cereal mixture.
  • Add dry ingredients and mix until lumpy.  Do not overmix.
  • Pour batter into muffin tins, and bake for 20(ish) minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

Posted in Breads, Recipes | No Comments »

Cinnamon Chip Scones

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

This recipe has been in the works for quite awhile.  I’m finally happy with it, so I’m ready to share.  I’ve found these to be a hit at parties, especially since they’re not “too” sweet, but still satisfy your sweet cravings.  I’ve also found them to be a hit for Nathan’s late night coding parties.  …and of course, nobody at breakfast this morning complained.

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Photo by Nathan Clendenin

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 egg, beaten

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in butter.  Slowly fold in sour cream.  The dough might seem a bit dry, but keep working it.  Kneed on counter.  I like to mold into a circle about an inch thick, then I cut into wedges.  I’ve also used an ice cream scooper to make little round scones.  Brush with the egg, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

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Spinach and Shrimp Crepes

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

More experimentation with seafood!  Tonight I improvised a recipe for crepes, and I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.  This was yet another adventure answering the question “what can I do with the food I already have?”  The shrimp came from the same former roommate who left us the tilapia.

First I mixed up the crepe batter, which I refrigerated while I prepared the other ingredients.  Here’s the recipe I used:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 c milk
  • 1/2 c water
  • 2 T butter, melted
  • 1 c flour
  • 1/4 t salt

Mix the wet ingredients together first: that makes it easier to stir in the flour.  Beat until smooth, then put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.  You may need to add more milk to get the batter runny enough.  My first couple of crepes were more like pancakes.

Shrimp ready to be peeled

Shrimp ready to be peeled

Next I boiled the shrimp (I boiled 2 pounds, but used less than half a pound) and sautéed the spinach just until it was wilted.  I peeled the shrimp and diced it, and cut the spinach into smaller pieces.  I made a creamy filling out of 3 ounces of softened cream cheese and about half a cup of sour cream, which I mixed with powdered garlic and ground mustard.  Mmm the mustard made the filling slightly spicy.

I prepared the crepes (I don’t want to go into detail about that process).  Next I spread the filling on them and placed various combinations of spinach, shrimp, and feta cheese on top.  I rolled up the completed crepes, and they were ready to eat.  Yummy!

This crepe had fresh spinach, feta, and the creamy filling.

This crepe had fresh spinach, feta, and the creamy filling.

Posted in Recipes, Seafood | No Comments »

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