025 - Panna Cotta

Well, food photog I am not.  The important thing is that I tried.  Right?  Feel free to back me up on this.

My sister in law loves panna cotta.  She often orders it for dessert when we are out to dinner.  It always seemed like such a daunting endeavor.  I have been meaning to make it at home for her for years.  I've always found an excuse not to.  I decided to bite the bullet and just do it.  Now, we've not eaten it as of the time of this post.  But I did taste what remained in the pot after pouring it into the individual dessert cups and it was mighty tasty.  After refrigeration, it has just ever so slightly stratified, so I know I didn't get it exactly right.  Either that or almond milk isn't the best option.

My rambling point is it was a super easy, I mean super easy recipe to make.  It just takes ingredients that I normally don't have around the house, ie whipping cream.  And Mister and I don't really do dairy ... I do on occasion, but Mister doesn't stray from that rule.  So, there are many reasons I may never make this again. If in the future someone asked me to make it, I wouldn't find an excuse not to.

Panna Cotta

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 pkt (1 Tbsp) unflavored gelatin
• 3 cups whipping cream
• 4 T sugar
• 3 T honey
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise

Place milk in heavy saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over milk and let stand for 5 minutes to soften.  Turn on heat to medium and stir until gelatin dissolves, about 5 minutes. Make sure not to boil the milk.

Scrape the insides of the vanilla bean and put into milk mixture together with the vanilla bean pod.  Add cream, 3 Tbsp sugar, honey and salt.  Stir until sugar dissolves, about 2 - 5 minutes.  I whisked lightly until the vanilla seeds were dispersed evenly.

Remove from heat.  Let cool slightly then pour into 1/2 - 1 cup dessert cups.

Refrigerate until set, at least 5 hours.

Serve with fruit topping, or other topping, or no topping of your choice.  I plan to serve it with fig compote (as seen above) and strawberry compote (which will really just be my homemade strawberry freezer jam thawed) letting each person decide which flavor topping they desire.

Buono Appetito!!

Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread

Do you ever find a recipe, print it out, plan to make it, but when you get right to the moment of truth, you punt and do something completely different?  No?  Is that just me?

The original recipe started out as Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread.  When it came down to mixing and baking, I decided I wanted gluten free.  I then realized I didn't have the right GF flour on hand and I didn't have any yogurt in the house.  What's a girl to do!  The last bit I felt needed to be changed was the original recipe called for mixing water into the topping, which so was not what I wanted to do.

Punt.

Here's what I made and I can honestly call it an original recipe, given I changed, well, just about everything.

Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup GF pancake mix - I used Bob's Red Mill
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (or yogurt)

Topping

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Icing

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• dash salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch loaf pan with coconut oil.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt  In a separate bowl, combine sugar, egg, milk and mayo.   Mix in the flour mixture until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared baking pan.

In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients.  Sprinkle evenly over batter.  Use a knife and gently swirl into the top 1/3 of the batter.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the bread cools for 15 minutes or so, whisk the icing ingredients together until smooth.  Pour over warm bread and let cool.

Slice and devour.

It was really delicious.  Mister approved.

Post Mortem:  This recipe was super delicious after having cooled in the pan for over and hour.  Mister and I had it for dessert (yum!).  The next morning as I tucked into a slice with coffee for breakfast, I still thought it good, but, I wish I would have warmed it up.  It seems to have lost some of its initial "wow factor".  Also, the next time I make this, I will fiddle with the topping.  I'll cut in some butter or butter like substitute (i.e. Earth Balance) and/or add some oats or flour.  Something to give the topping more of a crumble texture rather than just sugary spices.  I think a really good alternative may be to pour half the batter into the pan, then pour in the topping then pour on the last half of the batter, swirl a few times with a table knife.  With the icing on the top and the "topping" in the middle, it may balance out a bit better.

Just my thoughts.
Ciao!

Cilantro Corn Tortillas

I have been 'mostly' gluten free for about a year now.  Not 100%.  Its  HARD!  I mean, Bread.  Come on!  Still, I endeavor to leave most of the gluten out of my day.  I just feel so much better without it.  I'm not celiac, but I seem to have an aversion to it.  Or, well my body does.  I would eat bread in so many forms each and every day if I didn't feel so horrible each and every time.  In that light, Mister and I have eaten mostly corn tortillas during that time, leaving the softer flour ones in the grocery store for others to enjoy.

I have had no desire to make my own tortillas.... until I saw THIS recipe for Cilantro Corn Tortillas on Make it Naked's (MIN) blog.

I immediately put these on my food bucket list and printed out the recipe.  Then serendipity stepped in and Mister needed Pho this weekend.  He bought all the ingredients which included cilantro and cooked up a mean pot of soup.  He is a bit of the soup master for some unknown reason.

Anyway, we had leftover fresh cilantro, so instead of waiting for some unknown date in the future, I made these tortillas.

Of course, no photos.  Mine were no where near as pretty as MIN's.  I think there might be a knack to making tortillas and since this was my first attempt, they were just ok looking.  I think I must have used more oil than she did as mine were darker.  Live and learn I suppose. 

I made the dough and fried up one, just to taste test.  I then added a bit more salt and some cayenne to the dough and left it at that.  They were very, very good.

I will try them again at some point.  Maybe the next time we have leftover cilantro.

Ciao Bellas!

PS - If you are looking for a non-gluten tortilla, we have recently discovered Teff tortillas.  They are our solid go-to now.  I prefer them over the corn actually.

Ok, night all.

Honey Mustard Baked Pork Chops

Hey there!
How are you?  Long time no see.  I'm still around.  Just not <> much.  I loved when I blogged regularly.  But, I burned myself out on it.  I don't know how other people sustain a daily/weekly blog for such long periods of time.  I'm glad they do though.

What's been up with me?  Well, I started a "list" of foods I would love to create in calendar year 2013.  I took several categories (breakfast, soup, pastries, etc) and am off and running.  So far, I've butterflied a chicken... have you ever done that.....weird and well, easy and delicious.  I made jambalaya, it was just ok.  I may try that again.  I've made cinnamon rolls twice, different each time and have a function in a couple weeks to which I will take the perfected version of those cinnamon rolls.  (shhhhh..... it has fig butter as an ingredient.... heavens and mercy me!!)  What else, oh, I cooked mustard greens on new years day.  A tradition in some parts of the world.  I found out, I prefer someone else to cook my mustard greens.  They take way longer to cook than say kale or spinach.

So, I have brined chicken for years.  It just takes chicken from, "oh, its chicken" to "mmmmm chicken" for me at least.  I had never brined pork.  I tried it for the first time last night.  The results were fantastic.  But, the precooked texture, strange.

Anyway....


I came across THIS recipe for Maple Glazed Chicken.

I decided it would be really good with pork chops.  As life works in my world, I only had about a tablespoon of maple syrup and since I keep it in the fridge, it was thick and stuck in the bottom of the bottle.  As per my usual, I punted and came up with the dish below.  It could have been that I was hungry by the time it came out of the oven, but I thought it was really good.  You could easily use the same amounts of sauce and more chops.  I only needed three.

Honey Mustard Baked Pork Chops

Chops

• 3 bone in center cut pork chops

Brine

• Water, enough to cover your chops
• Kosher Salt, 3+ Tbsp
• peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp red pepper flakes

Brine your chops for a couple hours.  After that, drain then pat dry.

Season the chops with s/p then brown in a dutch oven over medium high heat in a bit of olive oil.  Remove chops as they brown to a plate.  No need to cook through, we just want a nice crust.

Sauce

• 1/2 cup (or more) chicken broth
• 3 - 4 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp thyme
• 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
• 2 Tbsp honey

Once the chops are all browned and removed, add all the sauce ingredients to the hot dutch oven and bring to a boil.  As soon as that is reached, place the chops back in the pot, cover and bake until cooked through.  I baked at 375 for just over an hour.  Timing will depend on your pot, your oven, your temperature, well, you name it.  It can depend on a lot of things.

I served this with baked potatoes and a green salad.

Yum!  I'm looking forward to leftovers in my lunch.

What have you been up to?
Ciao bellas!

York Brownies

So, I told you I'd probably tell you about these one day. That day is now.

You can use your favorite brownie recipe.

Basics: 
Spread half your brownie batter in a pan, arrange unwrapped peppermint patties - the small snack sized ones - over the bottom layer.  Then spread the remaining brownie batter over that. 

Cook, cool, slice them up and heavens to mergatroid! those are some tasty minty brownies. You'll be a hit not matter where you take these puppies.

Granola

I decided to make homemade granola after reading THIS post on Two Tarts. I changed my version up a bit (of course) and the results were super - D - licious.

Here's what I did - I opened up my freezer and cupboard, saw what I had on hand, asked Mister his thoughts (he comes down on the "no raisins" side of that argument, other wise there would be raisins in this mix) added in my own thoughts on the topic (Mister suggested chocolate chips, I nixed that idea immediately) and here's what we got: (not a lot of exact measuring here, its how I roll...)

Granola 

Mix together in a large bowl, then set aside:

• 4 cups raw rolled oats
• 1 cup(ish) of toasted sliced almonds
• 3/4 cup(ish) raw pecan pieces
• 5 oz large flake coconut
• 1/3 cup flax seeds, milled a bit in the coffee grinder

Stove top, melt these together:

• 1/2+ cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup(ish) honey

When that is melted, pour over the dry ingredients and mix until its all coated.

Spread on 2 large baking sheets and bake at 350. I used the convection cycle of our oven, set the timer for 7 minutes - at that time I stirred up each baking sheet and swapped their position in the oven. I set the timer again for 7 minutes, again I stirred each baking sheet and swapped their position in the oven. I then set the timer for 5 minutes. (About 20 minutes total baking/stirring time.)

After that, I took both sheets from the oven, and let the granola cool before putting it in a large glass jar for storage.

You could literally add in anything you wanted. Craisins, raisins, cashews, hazelnuts, sliced dried apricots, any thing!!

Go crazy with this, its delicious!

English Toffee

Actually very very easy to make. It does take some patience - of which I have little - so you will probably have no problem.

English Toffee

• 1 cup butter (the real stuff)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cups sugar
• 1/2 lb chocolate of choice, melted
• 1/2 cup nuts of your choice chopped finely

Prepare a cookie sheet (or other) with parchment paper, or a silpat, or by just oiling it. Set aside, but near the stove top.

Bring the first three ingredients to a simmer then to a boil, stirring continuously. When the color turns a golden to deep brown (approx 15 minutes or 289 degrees on a candy thermometer, if you want to use one, although not necessary), pour it onto the prepared pan.

After it cools, spread on 1/2 the melty chocolate and immediately 1/2 the nuts. Put that in the fridge. After its all set up, flip/invert that candy as best you can onto another cookie sheet. Don't worry if the candy breaks, you're going to break it up in the end anyway. Spread the remaining melty chocolate and nuts and refrigerate again.

Break it up, serve it up, eat it up.

1 million variations can be made with the these basics. I have used all manner of different nuts, chopped candy canes are delicious, white chocolate, let your imagination take you away to your personal favorite combination.

Happy Holidays.

Current Obsession: Squash

Its that time of year when our CSA overwhelms us with squash of every variety. Delicata, Pie pumpkins, butternut, acorn, kabocha, ambercup, buttercup, etc. Seriously. At least one of each of these and quite a few of them several. Mister doesn't eat squash which makes eating them up a challenge.

When we get them, I put them in the cool basement storage until I have enough of them to fill a baking sheet. I then roast/bake them, and whir them into a delicious puree in the food processor. I place 2 cups into each quart sized freezer bag and keep out a couple cups for immediate consumption. I've been sharing this with my mom-in-law too. She didn't think she liked squash, but when I gave her the pureed version, she realized she just didn't like the consistency of baked and not pureed squash. Anyway....

So my latest obsession is this: In a bowl, I place 1/2+ cup pureed squash, 1/2 cup vanilla coconut yogurt, a tsp+ brown sugar and a couple pecans (chopped). Really great and pretty healthy dessert. It reminds me of pumpkin cheesecake. I've pondered sprinkling crushed graham crackers in there too, but don't have any in the house and don't feel the need to buy them just to feed my current obsession.

There you go. Try it. Vary the ingredient amounts to your personal tastes. Try honey instead of brown sugar. Blend it all up, pour into a prepared cookie crust and refrigerate. Seriously, its delicious. I think kids might like it too. I could be wrong on that though.

I made some cookies

I had a hankering for soft and chewy molasses ginger cookies I made THESE from the Pioneer Woman's site. With some modifications, of course.

I used half brown sugar, half white sugar.

I tripled the amount of ground ginger - I love me some ginger.

I added about a 1/3 cup, finely chopped candied ginger.

I rolled them in turbinado sugar prior to baking.

They were delicious and the house smelled awesome!

Mister, who doesn't really want anything sweet unless is contains or is dipped in chocolate, liked them a lot too.

This Applesauce Spice Cake from TwoTarts might be created in my kitchen soon.

These Apple Pie Cookies from Smitten Kitchen look delicious, but way too much work for me personally. And while I'm a crust person (and believe those who aren't have half asleep taste buds), I like the gooey pie filling, its what 'makes' pie for me.

These Rolled Cocoa cookies look like they would be the life of a party, alas, chocolate isn't my thing. I would much prefer a vanilla frosted sugar cookie, or a snickerdoodle, or a lemon cooler.

TGIF

Recipe: Ka-Lu-Ah

Yes, I know, I've spelled it differently than you might see it in stores. It was intentional. I made a batch of this Kahlua early in the summer and gave it (mostly) away. In quart jars at that. Very informal and well, not well reasoned. My friend Hannah, one of the lucky recipients, took her quart Mason jar and put pretty stickers on it and a cute topper with the label "Ka-Lu-Ah". Its a play on the original spelling with my nickname "Lu" in the middle and a nice sigh "Ah" at the end. I liked it so much I stole it. And then improvised a bit. I may be late to the game, but I play nicely in the end. This recipe is so very simple and so very delicious. Much more delicious, and inexpensive, than the original. If you are a coffee liqueur drinker, I highly recommend this recipe. And if you aren't, its probable you know people who are and let me tell you, this is a really fun and personal gift. You can get all crazee and make your own funky labels too. Go on, you can do it. I did.

Ka-Lu-Ah

• 12 cups brewed strong coffee (make it decaf if that's what makes you happy)
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 fifth Everclear
• 2 Tbsp good quality vanilla
• 2 tsp baking soda

In stock pot, stir the sugar into the hot/warm coffee until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let stand until it cools to room temperature. Stir in the remaining ingredients, pour into clean bottles or jars.

Store for about a month (if you can wait that long - longer is better though).

Enjoy!

I've never accurately measured the final volume of this recipe. I usually end up making several trips to the pantry for quart or pint jars because I nearly always don't have enough of them cleaned and ready when I start the process. This time, however, I did (sort of after the fact) measure and my yield from this one batch was approximately: 156 ounces, or 6.24 fifths, or 4.875 quarts, or 9.75 pints, or 19.5 cups. But don't quote me.

Adapted from a recipe I got from the mother of a friend more that 20 years ago.

Alton Brown Yeast Donuts from Crepes of Wrath

Wow, that's some title for a post. Felt true, but convoluted.
Anyway... I have a feeling I'll be trying out these yeast donuts from Crepes of Wrath some time soon. Mister has something to do Sunday and I may just find myself with some "free" time. Making donuts sounds so much better than cleaning things that need cleaned or laundry or bills or filing or well, just about most things.

Maybe I'll even get out my camera and taking some photos.

Novel idea!
What are you doing / baking / cooking / crafting that's fun these days?

Lemon Coolers

One of my most favorite cookies is the Mexican Wedding Cake Cookie. There might be as many variations on this as there are on the chocolate chip cookie. I have yet to find one I do not like.

You pick one powder sugar coated cookie and as soon as it touches your tongue that sugar coating starts to melt and your mouth starts to water. Then biting into the delicate cookie, often with nuts, and it simply falls apart in your mouth. Mmm! Mmm! I wish I had some right now!

Anyway, when I came across this recipe for Lemon Coolers (another cookie I like quite a bit) on the Pioneer Woman's website, I knew I would be making them. They seem to me just a Mexican Wedding Cake, only Lemon. How could that go wrong?!

Now, I've made Mexican Wedding Cakes several times and never had an issue with the recipe - no matter what version I was making. I did have some trouble with the Lemon Cooler recipe. The first batch I made, well, wasn't all that lemony. I am certain it was just me, but, when you've invested that much time and ingredients into a baked good and you hit a snag, you punt and see what happens. So, I changed things up, a couple times, and ended with some quite delicious cookies.

Before I baked the cookies, I prepared a few things: I had a separate cookie sheet which I had dusted with powdered sugar ready and waiting. I took fresh lemon juice and zest and mixed it into powdered sugar (no measuring). Just mixing until I had a lemon drizzle/frosting/coating (whatever you wish to call it) the consistency of, well, thicker than maple syrup, thinner than ketchup. I also had a sifter with more powdered sugar laying in wait.

As soon as the cookies were pulled from the oven, using a fork, I immediately dipped each one into the drizzle then placed it on the powdered sugar lined cookie sheet. I dipped about 4 cookies, then I sifted a generous amount of powdered sugar over the dipped cookies. I repeated until all the cookies were dipped, placed and sprinkled.

The result was deliciously lemony delightful cookies. I would make lemon coolers again. I would make my own version of the recipe though next time and skip this recipe altogether.

I know, no photo. Half of the cookies were a disaster and the other half was eaten post haste.

Two Tarts

I came upon this blog, Two Tarts, and in scanning it quickly, I am in love. Both with the photography and the recipes.

I started reading this blog, Going Slowly, oh, quite a while ago. Its a blog / website created by two people, Tara and Tyler, who decided one day to embark on an epic bike ride across Europe and Asia. They sold most of their belongings, spent more than a year preparing and then set off on their bikes. I think the journey was something like two years. I can not tell you how envious I am of their moxie. I've always had a bit (well a large bit) of wanderlust in my soul. I want to travel everywhere and see everything and talk to everyone who will stop long enough to tell me their story and experience all manner of different and crazy food and sleep under the stars and not have to be anywhere at any particular time for any particular reason. I want to wander and ruminate and breathe deeply of what this planet has to offer.

At the exact same time, and in just slightly incrementally more strength, I have a need to be settled and in a groove with routine and security (whatever THAT means these days). I need to have my furry Harley to snuggle and to see my family and closest friends on a regular basis and feel the connection of love that comes from knowing each other deeply.

Its an internal struggle for me nearly daily and hourly of late. I've run across THIS BLOG about a guy who is currently hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (something that has always, always intrigued me). The BFF of one of my bestest's daughter has THIS BLOG while she travels Europe. I drool every time she posts something new or updates her "hometown" on Facebook to wherever she happens to land.

I know that most people aren't independently wealthy or have won the lottery, they just make a decision about what they want from this life and act upon it. I seem to have concrete encasing my feet and legs as I feel powerless (too wussy) to act on that half (two-fifths?) of my pshche that feels the pull of the open road/forest/ocean.

Yes, I digressed, way off the beaten path (which I'm ok with - see above). Two Tarts, the blog, it was a link inside the Going Slowly blog I happened to click on and found what looks to be (upon a quick scan) abounding deliciousness and pretty photos and food ideas that I just would never have (i.e. freezing a mint leaf in your ice cubes for pretty cocktails or lemonade). I've printed out several recipes to try out already. Homemade almond paste and the accompanying coffee cake; Mint Gin Ricky; and Lemon Thyme Dressing; just to name a few.

So, check out Two Tarts and let me know if you find something delightful to your eyes or palate.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

• Red potatoes, cooked and cooled
• Hearts of Palm, sliced
• Artichoke Hearts, chopped
• Green Olives, chopped
• White Onion, chopped
• Celery, chopped

Dressing

• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Good Quality Olive Oil
• Garlic, smashed
• S/P
• Dijon Mustard
• Thyme, Dill, Parsley, Paprika, Sugar-if desired

I prefer a vinaigrette on potato salad over a mayonnaise based dressing. Use basic vinaigrette making instructions and add whatever flavorings you think will go with your particular salad. A pinch of sugar can cut the vinegar if its too tart. I'm partial to some lemon in the dressing, but as this particular salad is for Mister and that's not one of his favorite things, I left that out.

I sometimes will also add chickpeas to my salad - oh my, that is delicious and they go very well with a vinaigrette dressing. Its sort of a bit like a Greek potato salad, kind of, sort of. That's where my taste buds go.

Here is the bowl and some misc ingredients. I adore green olives (good ones) with pimiento.

Do you eat hearts of palm? I was introduced to them forever ago and just think they are divine. They are pickled (but its really lite tasting - to me anyway) and go so very well in all manner of salads. ALL manner of salads, or just sliced and snacked upon.And here are some of the dressing ingredients after they were used and left laying around to be cleaned up later. No, I didn't put Lawry's in the salad. Its still sitting there from my breaksfast eggs. Oh, and the wire trivet for my tea pot is on the left side of the shelf.... and some balsamic vinaigrette there on the back of the stove, ready for my salad at dinner.There you go. Random instructions (if you can call them that) for the potato salad I made for Mister's Mancation this weekend.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I saw this recipe last week for LA Schools Sour Cream Coffee Cake. I made it substituting vanilla coconut milk yogurt for the sour cream. It was delicious! No, I don't have a photo. You'll have to click the link for the photo. Just be warned... you may need to make it once you see the photo. Or, that could just be me, I'm a coffee cake junkie.

So, as we shared this delicious and tender cake with my mom-in-law, we chatted about the possibilities for changing up the recipe. (Its what I do.) Some of the possibilities born from that conversation over cake were:

• caramelized bananas layered in the middle with the topping
• blueberries mixed into the cake batter
• a drizzle of light vanilla or maple icing
• diced then sauteed and maybe spiced up apples incorporated into the topping

I could go on and on. The cake, as is, was super delicious but it seemed to lend itself to being very versitile. You could do just about anything with it. One of the things that, for me, really made the cake (you know, aside from the brown sugar/walnut topping) was the use of cake flour. I rarely use it, but am glad I happened to have some one hand and remembered I had it in the house and then actually used it. That can actually be a stretch for me at times.

Anway...

Recipe: Tiramisu French Toast

I ran across this recipe for Tiramisu French Toast last Friday. It was just before I was planning on eating lunch and was hungry. Not a good time to check out decadent recipes on-line. I immediately printed out the recipe and made a grocery list. Its not something I would ever make for just Mister and me at home. But, Mister and I were going to spend the weekend with my family and it would be a perfect time to try out a new and hopefully delicious recipe.
It was really good. I made some tweaks though, you know how I am. I mixed up the mascarpone the night before to allow the flavor of the espresso powder to meld with the cheese. And I only used about half the amount of espresso powder and tripled the amount of the honey. I used almond milk instead of cream in the egg mixture and again halved the amount of espresso powder. For us, it was plenty of coffee flavor. Oh, I sifted the cocoa powder with 1/2 cup powdered sugar for sprinkling on top and served with strawberries and blueberries. I also warmed up real maple syrup. Mister didn't eat the mascarpone and thought it was really good. I spread just a bit of the coffee'd cheese on mine and was in heaven. My brother and his wife spread a bit more and said it was delightful. We actually made enough for two entire loaves of challah bread. We placed the leftover fried up bread in the fridge and later that night, it was really good cold (or warmed in the toaster) with the cheese spread across it. De-lish for either breakfast or dessert.
Oh me! Oh my! Decadent and heavenly.

PS - Just for fun (fun for me anyway) this bottom photo is the original of the top photo. The top photo being photoshopped. A bit of fun contrast for this Friday in April.
Ok, so here's my version of the recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Tiramisu French Toast 

serves 4

• 1 loaf challah bread
• 8 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp instant espresso or coffee powder
• 4 Tbsp butter (for frying French toast)

TOPPING FOR AFTER FRYING: [make this the night before]

• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 ‐ 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp instant espresso or coffee powder

FOR SERVING:

• 2 tsp cocoa powder sifted together with 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• warmed maple syrup
• sliced strawberries and blueberries

DIRECTIONS:
The night before serving the French toast, mix mascarpone cheese with honey (amount depending upon your personal taste) and 1 teaspoon coffee powder.
Slice one loaf of challah bread into 1‐inch thick slices.
In a large baking dish, combine eggs, cream, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder and whisk together. Lay bread in dish and let soak in the egg mixture for about 30 seconds each side.
Heat a skillet on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Add French toast and fry until golden brown. Flip (adding more butter if needed, use your judgment) and fry on other side. Repeat with remaining slices of bread and tablespoons of butter.

Spread the mascarpone/honey mixture on French toast slices while warm. Sprinkle with cocoa/powdered sugar and serve with berries and warmed syrup.

What I've been doing

Well, dealing with some stuff in my life which requires time. Time. And mental energy. And focus. And some relaxation. And taking a small, short, eensy-weensy sabbatical from blogging has relieved just enough stress from my being that dealing with the 'other' stuff has been far

more manageable.

Anyway, I've found a few recipes you should check out. Peppermint Patties. Oh my!! And how delicious do those dipped marshmallows in her blog header look?!? I'm a sucker for a good marshmallow.

Check out the beautiful bakerations (I may have just made up that word, but don't quote me on that) on I am Baker. I linked in from another blog and saw her hydrangea cake. Dear me! I not only want to eat it, I want to take its photo, desperately even. I made dairy free cheese cake using this formula. You can make any combination with the basic recipe. Its just a matter of choosing what flavor combo you are into on whatever day. I used vegan cream cheese. I was making it for Mister to enjoy (more than for myself - if for myself, it would have been plain vanilla with some sort of fruit). I added espresso powder to the filling and used regular flavored and chocolate filled Newman-O's for the crust. I also sprinkled those crumbled cookies on top before baking. Mister liked it and it was actually better around about day 3. Hopefully you get the gist of the article.

I've also been missing my photography. I inadvertently put my camera down and haven't really picked it up. Its on my list of things to bring back into my life.

And.... I think I forgot to tell you. Two of my submitted photos were selected for the publication I asked you to help me with a while back. These are the photos which were selected. One was the mushrooms from THIS post. And the other was this bird photo. I can't wait to get my copy of the publication.

Juevos Rancheros

Disclaimer: (You know how/who I am.) The first photo of the finished dish, not all that pretty as far as food photos go, but I don't care. So there! When this was prepared for us in Mexico, by a professional, the two tortillas were stacked exactly on top of each other, the finished,cooked eggs were exactly the same diameter as the tortillas and the ranchero sauce was exactly poured on top of the entire thing. It was so pretty. At home, its pretty much, you are lucky you are even getting this food, so eat up and don't worry about it being pretty. Its tasty, and that is what counts. There you go, my disclaimer.
Ok, read on. Enjoy ;)

Have I told you how much I love juevos rancheros?

When we were in Mexico last November, we had the opportunity to have authentic juevos rancheros and boy-howdy, we went back for more nearly every day after.
I had never ordered them for breakfast before. I'd seen them on the menu, watched other people order it and though that it just wasn't my thing to have eggs on corn tortillas with some salsa and cheese melted on top.
Much to my jubilation, the authentic version is nothing like that. It is a delicious treat you'll want to eat every week. Here's the idea and the recipe for the ranchero sauce.

HUEVOS RANCHEROS

• 2 eggs per person
• 2 corn tortillas per person
• 1.5 tomatoes per person
• ½ onion quartered
• 2 green chiles (serranos, but you can use whatever you want, jalapenos??) Cut off the tops, seed if you want them less spicy, but mainly, leave them as intact as possible.
• 1-2-3 cloves garlic, leave these whole
• 1/8 bunch of cilantro - don't over do this. You can always add more later for flavor, but you can't take it out that easily.
• pinch (+) Knorr powdered chicken broth (this is the salty part, and you want that, so don't go low-sodium here)

Find a skillet that you don't mind being blackened - in a good way. Spread a tablespoon, or so, of olive oil over the bottom of the skillet. Turn up the heat to medium to medium-high. You'll just need to watch and adjust if things get to smoking. Place in the skillet the tomatoes, peppers, onion and whole garlic cloves.
Keep a watch and turn these ingredients as they blacken. You want the blackening to happen. That's the roasting and its delicious. Once all the veggies are roasted with a decent blackening of their skins, transfer them to a blender or food processor. Add the cilantro and chicken broth and puree the heck out of it. Taste. You may want salt and pepper. You may want more cilantro. You may want it to have more heat. Just adjust the flavor to your personal tastes, but the basics of it are there and your kitchen should smell amazing. Pour this pureed and tasty ranchero sauce into a saucepan and keep it warmed over low heat. Taste occasionally, just so your mouth will keep watering. Seriously, delicious!

I digress. Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds, or so. Test for flexibility/tenderness, but don't overheat and dry them out. You can also do the whole 1/2 inch of oil in a pan and fry the tortillas. That is a super tasty alternative, but, I usually opt for less oil. Whatever your heart desires!!

In a bowl place 2 eggs at a time, season with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick skillet with a drop of oil and a tablespoon of water. Once the pan is ready place the eggs in it and and cover with a lid, cooking until the yolk is done to your liking. I like mine over easy. Just so you know.

Ok, I think we have all the components.

To serve, place two tortillas on a plate, top with eggs then the ranchero sauce. We usually serve with warmed up pinto beans on the side and steaming hot coffee.

You can also put cheese on top, we don't, but you know that.

Here's K being an amazing chef. Do you see how blackened the bottom of that skillet is? That is naught but flavor my friends.

I hope this all makes sense. Our bestest's, K&H, went to Mexico with us. K and I drooled all over the woman who made this for us. We pestered her until she gave us the recipe. I've made this recipe once since then (not counting last weekend when K and I got together and made it) but apparently K has made it 5 or 6 times and has perfected it.

Recipe: Pasta Carbonara (my way)

I am working on my photos of food. They kind of suck. Its harder than you think to take those amazing photos you see of delicious food. This bowl was actually, in real life, so pretty and tasty looking. You'll just have to trust me.

So, I am sure if anyone Italian ever saw this version of pasta carbonara, they'd have a heart attack and say it really wasn't worthy of the moniker. Too bad. My blog, my bad food photos and my version of this classic Italian dish.

Here goes.

1 lb pasta (whatever you have, I used partial egg noodles and partial brown rice pasta - its all delicious in the end). Start the water for these noodles and keep it hot. Throw your pasta in the water to cook, timing it as best you can to be done to your liking at about the same time your saucy topping will be done.

1lb brocoli florets. Steam these. When done to your personal taste, immediately rinse them with very cold tap water. Just a quick shower to stop the cooking process. We'll warm them back up again later. Set them aside.

• 1 lb bacon, chopped
• 1/3 lb ground burger
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 4 eggs
• large handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup white wine, whatever you have around and open (oh, is that just me?) I used prosecco this last time, just because
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 - 3 scallions, sliced
• olive oil
• pepper
• salt

Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add S/P and parsley and beat it to a nice froth. Let it sit until we need it in a few minutes.

In a large skillet, brown the bacon and burger until crisp and crumbly. Careful not to burn it. Remove this to a papertowel lined bowl, disgard any remaining grease left in the skillet. Leave those brown, stuck bits in the bottom of the skillet though. Pour in a couple Tbsp good quality olive oil and let that warm up a bit. Toss in the onions with S/P. Once those have started to soften, put in the garlic and saute this until the onions are completely translucent. Pour the onion mixture over the meat and set aside. Leave that browned skillet on the stove with the temp on.

Next, we need to deglaze the skillet of its deliciousness. Take the white wine (you could also easily substitute chicken broth here) and pour into the hot pan, wisk, scraping the bottom to get those browned bits up. (As an aside, I believe those browned bits actually have a name, its "fond".) So, once the browned bits are up and the wine is bubbly, pour in the chicken broth. Once that is up and bubbly, pour back in the browned meat/onions and the brocoli. Heat this up and let the fluids reduce. I actually like when nearly, but not all the fluids have evaporated leaving mostly only flavor.

Ok, we're ready. Take that steaming hot pasta (it must be very hot to cook the eggs) and put it into the beaten eggs. Mix, mix, mix until the eggs are no longer runny. They'll turn, oh, let's say saucy. Then pour in the meat/veggies and toss. Taste, add S&P if needed. I sprinkle on the scallions after its plated up. Not only tasty, but pretty too.

Last night, when I made this, my pasta wasn't quite hot enough, or I had too many eggs to pasta ratio, not exactly sure. I didn't quite have 1 lb of pasta so I should have reduced the number of eggs, but didn't. Or, I didn't reduce the liquids enough so when I poured them into the pasta it got a bit, juicier than I wanted. Anyway... I didn't feel like (or know if) the eggs were quite done. So, I took the entire bowl and dumped it back into the skillet and warmed it all up until I felt the eggs were definitely done cooking. My point, its all good.

Mister and I usually have plenty of freshly ground pepper at the table, but, we're just like that.

Options: If I don't have brocoli around, I will throw in 2 - 3 - 4 large handfuls of fresh spinach (or chopped kale or swiss chard, any greens that you like and/or have on hand, which only makes sense, why would you have something on hand that you didn't like... I digress) at the end. Just toss until it wilts, which won't be long.

Oh, parmesan cheese, if you want. 1/2 cup, or more, mixed in with the beaten eggs before the pasta goes in. Then some for sprinkling on top.

The Classic version obviously doesn't have 'burger' in it. I've made it without and find that its just not quite.... enough. I need a little more protein than just the bacon.

There you go. Dinner.