Jewel Yam Walnut Bread (and The Need to Bake)

It's already fall and I haven't posted for more than a season! Things got a little bit out of hand here with all summer activities, travels, volunteering, designing a new blog, and beginning of school. So I had to take a forced break - but not at all of cooking or developing recipes.

Darienne was the brave one who managed to post a wonderful thing in the middle of summer, a souvenir from Hawaii. And then, that was it. But then, faster than I thought, October arrived. Silently and not even the deciduous trees know it yet. Here in the San Francisco South Bay Area the weather is still on dog-hot days. And I needed to bake.

Yes, because above all, Autumn is, for me, is the baking season. I like to test new recipes, create my own, bake with the seasonal ingredients and... have a quiet baking morning while surfing the web sipping nice Italian coffee. So, in total disregard of the outside temperature, I wen there and baked my first seasonal bread: this time, with Jewel Yams.

The result of my experiment - based in one recipes from the web and one from my library- was moist, flavorful and silk-textured bread, perfect to eat for breakfast and to perfume the home wit its spices. I shared slices with friends, and kids suggested that I should cover it with dark chocolate. Which I will do soon for Halloween treats. It looks like it will be a wonderful combination.

Jewel Yam Bread

It's a very free adaption of Epicurious recently published Sweet Potato Bread with Caramel and Aleppo-Spiced Pecans and a Brazilian traditional recipe. 

1 medium jewel yam, baked and puréed (to make about 1 cup purée)
1/2 cup apple juice (I think orange juice would work as well)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Korintje cinnamon (my favorite, but any good cinnamon will do)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cup all purpose non bleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts (save a few to top the loaf)

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper (or grease it and flour it). Preheat oven to 325 F. In a bowl whisk jewel yam purée, apple juice, eggs, oil, sugars, vanilla and spices up to a very creamy and well blended mix. Add flour and baking powders on top and whisk again lightly on the surface to mix. With a spatula integrate the flour to the wet mix on the bottom. When mixed let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then add walnuts and finish mixing with spatula.  Top with some whole walnuts if you like, sprinkled with sugars. Transfer batter to pan and bake it for about 50 to 75 minutes or up to when it is golden on the top and a knife comes out of it clean.  

Brazilian Coconut Corn Bread (Gluten Free!)

Every year we have a special day to show off a bit of our countries of origin at the International Faire at school. Years before we brought brigadeiros, ants house cake and even Carioca black beans to share with the students. This time we brought Bolo de Fubá,  one of the traditional foods prepared in the month of June – and sometimes throughout the year in some regions – in most parts of Brazil.

This corn bread is one of the corn-based staples of Festas Juninas. It's a time to celebrate the harvest of the corn, to dance to old folk songs and to dress up like a caipira – a peasant style which includes a raffia hat, some makeup to pretend that we are country people, and gingham shirts. It's also the month of Saint Anthony, Saint John, and Saint Peter.

Baking this cake was a great opportunity to share stories and food with my children and their colleagues about this very special time of year which makes part of my childhood. It was so much fun that we even improvised a little fishing game, also typical on those parties. Kids "fish" prizes from a decorated cardboard box with a bamboo rod with a magnet on its end. That way they all had to fish for cake!

Bazilian Cornbread with Coconut

I chose yellow cornmeal, and I used unsweetened coconut to make sure that it wouldn't be overly sweet, a common taste in Brazilian cuisine inherited from the Portuguese traditions.

For cake:

4 cups yellow fine cornmeal
2 cups unsweetened dry coconut flakes
1tbsp baking powder
2 cups milk
1/2 cup melted butter or canola oil
1 cup sugar
4 eggs

For topping:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Mix eggs, sugar, and oil (or butter) in another bowl. When the mix is creamy, add milk gradually. Add dry mix to the wet ingredients, mixing with a spatula. Pour batter in prepared baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes or up to when it gets a golden crust.

For the topping, melt butter in a skillet and add coconut, stirring as it toasts. When the coconut is toasted, add condensed milk and spices, then reduce it over medium heat, stirring constantly. When mix changes to a custard texture, pour over the cake right after it comes out of the oven. Enjoy!

So bring me a Figgy Cake... And a Happy New Year!!!

It's my first post of the year and yet it's something I baked last year... . But this is not your average end of the year celebration cake! It was so good that I had to stop all my fourth day of the new year activities to post it. Maybe you will want to bake sometime to celebrate something other than Christmas. If you are a grown-up who drinks, it's a perfect pairing for a bubbly. But a warning: it's so delicious that I had to make an effort to freeze a slice to be able to replicate it later, once it was a very improvised recipe.

The project was to bake a original British style figgy pudding so to go with the song, as my sons are always repeating "So bring me a figgy pudding"asking me when I was going to bake one. The problem was that I was crazy busy as most of you guys, and had to improvise the steaming for something like "wet" baking. I will explain myself: Once I came across this recipe that recommended to bake normally adding a water filled pan to pretend it is also steaming. And it worked. Happy 2014!!!

Almond Figgy Cake

This recipe is vaguely based on Simon Rimmer's Figgy Pudding, published in Something for the weekend, and online at BBC.

2 cups chopped california dried figs
1/3 cup cognac ( I used Remi Martin)
3/4 cup hot water
1 cup flour
1.5 cups almond meal (ground almond)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup concord grape raisins soaked overnight in1 cup of your favorite wine
1 orange, zest and juice
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F, with a large baking pan filled with water on the lower rack of oven. Start soaking figs in cognac and hot water for about 15 minutes, or overnight, if you have time. Mix flour, almond meal, baking powder and nutmeg in a bow and set aside. In another bowl mix brown sugar, eggs, olive oil and whisk up to when you get a creamy texture. Slowly add cognac and water mix from the figs. Add figs and raisins to flours and mix up to when they get fully coated. Add liquid mix to flour mix stirring with a wooden spoon. Let it rest for 5 minutes, mix again and pour batter on a flutted tube pan.  Bake in the oven from 45 to 55 minutes (still with the water filled pan in there, refill if necessary), or up to when crust is golden and core dry. Serve it hot with vanilla ice cream, or cold for brunch with a latte. 

Farro with Sweet Potato and Black Garlic

As the holiday break neared, Anna and I commiserated (with good humor) about how busy we were. "Eh, it's going to be a Trader Joe's week, right?"

I knew exactly what she was talking about. I had already planned for a Trader Joe's week to make the busy season a little easier. My menu plan was based on whatever good stuff TJ's had to make meal time as easy as possible.

Here's one of the dishes I made, perfect for the post-holiday detox. This grain salad makes up for the stale holiday cookies we're all still nibbling. Delicious warm or cold, it's on the sweet side — a nice bridge as I retrain my taste buds to be happy with less sugary fare. It's filling and full of good-for-you ingredients. The photograph doesn't do it justice. I'm not sure it's possible to take a good photo of farro.

Everything in it can be found at Trader Joe's: fast-cooking farro, sweet potato, pomegranate vinegar, and — my favorite! — black garlic.

If you're unfamiliar with it, black garlic is simply fermented garlic. It's savory-sweet, garlicky without the bite. TJ's just recently started carrying black garlic, but it isn't always easy to find. I didn't see it the last time I was there and was worried they had already dropped it. The manager admitted "it's been sort of a dog for us," but they do still stock it. You can find it in specialty stores and online (including Amazon).

If you can't find it, no problem. Just sub some regular garlic. And if you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, of course you can find these ingredients elsewhere.

Farro with Sweet Potatoes and Black Garlic

If you can't find black garlic, you can leave it out or substitute a clove or two of minced garlic, sautéed in a bit of oil. A bit of cooked sausage also would be a tasty replacement. Farro is one of my favorite grains, but if it's out of your comfort zone swap brown rice.

1 package Trader Joe's 10-Minute Farro (or 1 1/2 cups raw farro)
1 sweet potato, diced
1/2 head of black garlic, chopped
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
olive oil

Dressing:
4 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons pomegranate vinegar (or other fruity vinegar)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Cook farro according to package directions (if you're using raw farro, cook it however you do that — I've only used TJ's!). Whisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Warm a spoonful of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced sweet potato and cook until soft and slightly browned.

Combine farro, sweet potato, garlic, walnuts, and dressing in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If salad is too dry for your taste, add a splash of olive oil and stir.

Persimmon Cranberry Tea Bread (Vegan)

Persimmons and cranberries look like colorful jewels in these golden-colored little loaves. These make lovely gifts for neighbors, hosts, teachers and more during the holiday season. You can freeze them and thaw for gift-giving, or as a treat for your own holiday table.

Persimmons are one of my favorite California fruits and they’re plentiful and inexpensive. If you don’t have them near you, you can substitute apples or pears. I made one batch pairing persimmons with cranberries, with just a bit of candied orange peel, and a second batch with sweet potatoes instead of berries.

I’m baking vegan, nut-free loaves to minimize any awkward gift-giving issues. Don’t let the V-word scare you! These treats are perfectly tasty, though I admit they’re a little more crumbly than they would be with egg. You can substitute butter and egg for the vegan alternatives in the recipe if you prefer.

This is riffing off Mark Bittman’s master recipe for quick bread made with almost any fruit or vegetable. It’s a terrifically versatile recipe, much like buttermilk quick bread. You can tinker with fruit, veggies, and mix-ins as you like, and bake a full-size loaf, mini loaves, or muffins to brighten a wintry morning. If cranberries aren't your thing, try the sweet potato variation.

Persimmon Cranberry Tea Bread

Based on Mark Bittman’s Fruit-and-Nut or Vegetable-and-Nut Bread. To make the flaxseed egg replacer, blend 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons water, and let sit 5 to 10 minutes until gelled. 

4 tablespoons Earth Balance spread, or butter, chilled
1 cup white whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamom or cinnamon
3/4 cup apple or orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon zest
flaxseed egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg (see note), or 1 egg
1/2 cup persimmon, peeled and diced
1/2 cup cranberries, chopped
optional extras: ½ cup chopped nuts, raisins, or other dried fruit (crystallized ginger would be tasty too)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three mini loaf pans or a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Combine dry ingredients — flour through spices — in a bowl, then cut in Earth Balance until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I do this in a food processor, pulsing it a few times. Or you can rub the spread in with your fingers until no large lumps remain.)

In another bowl, blend the juice, zest, and flaxseed egg replacer. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened — don’t overmix. Fold in the fruit and any extras.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake about 40 minutes for mini loaves or an hour for a full-size loaf, until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool before removing from the pan.

Persimmon and Sweet Potato Tea Bread: Substitute ½ cup grated, raw, peeled sweet potato for the cranberries, and ½ teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon for the cardamom.

Muffins: Bake at 400°F for 20 to 30 minutes.

Grandma's pumpkin bread

Going to lunch at Grandma's was often a mixed bag. She served foods way outside my comfort zone — I recall a lot of gravy and canned green beans — but there was a chance she'd make pumpkin bread. Moist and sweet, it was the best thing on earth. It's long been a star at my family's Thanksgiving dinner, and it's my go-to baked gift for the holidays. It's also one of the recipes I'm asked to share the most.

I've given up on tinkering with this basic recipe. Attempts to swap in white whole wheat flour or applesauce have just made a mess of a good thing. Sometimes I scale back the staggering amount of sugar, but only by a mere half cup. I don't fully understand why there's both baking soda and baking powder, but I've never dared experiment to find out if that's truly necessary. I don't question this recipe, I just bake it. A lot.

It is what it is, and it's delicious.

This makes two beautiful loaves. The bread freezes well, so you can bake ahead of Thanksgiving or gift-giving season. I usually slice one as soon as it cools, because it's irresistible, and stash the second loaf in the freezer before we inhale both loaves.

Last week I recruited my sons to help bake pumpkin bread to share. It's so simple, they're ready to begin committing this recipe to memory.

Thanks, Grandma.

Grandma's Pumpkin Bread

You can substitute fresh pumpkin purée for canned — I stick with canned because of fairly consistent moisture content and reliable flavor. You also could stir in chopped nuts or chocolate chips, but be careful with added chocolate, as this is already very sweet.

3 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 cups pumpkin purée
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend oil and sugar in a large bowl, then whip in eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Stir pumpkin into the creamed mix, then stir in the dry ingredients. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans and bake one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a loaf comes out clean.

Fresh Pumpkin Muffins

One of my favorite things about the arrival of fall is pumpkin season. With the falling golden leaves and cold weather comes the inspiration: Halloween is almost here and all the parties that surround it invite me to bake.

This recipe is a good old-fashioned one that calls for freshly puréed pumpkin. Yes, no cans here, please. It might be good not just Halloween but also for Thanksgiving. My children, who are mostly averse to pumpkin pies, loved them. I can't wait to have another excuse to bake another dozen of these delicate-flavored muffins.

Fresh Pumpkin Muffins

I used a medium-size sugar pie pumpkin, cooking it in chunks with a bit of water for 30 minutes in the pressure cooker. If you're not familiar with a pressure cooker, just bake the pumpkin in the oven at 350 degrees for about one hour or until it is tender. 

1 cup sugar pumpkin, cooked and puréed
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup oat bran
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a big bowl mix pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and oil. Let the mix rest for about 15 minutes and then whisk again.

In another bowl mix bran, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and spices and mix well with a whisk. Gradually add the dry mix to the wet mix with the help of a spoon just until you get an even batter. Slowly add walnuts and chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into baking cups, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Bake about 25 minutes until the top of the muffins are golden. Enjoy for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. 

Skillet Cookies

Something to celebrate with your mom this weekend? These cookies are the perfect fit for a surprise breakfast, brunch or tea, and so easy to make. Ask your dad or older brother or sister to help you, if that's the case. If you're mom, please read this to your kid(s) for inspiration. If you are not a mom, not a child, but still want to make something different for the weekend — and are not concerned about carbs — that's a cute and delicious project.

This recipe was adapted from many griddle cookies from the web, with the added benefit that it's suitable for vegans and those who are gluten intolerant or allergic, as it was tested many times at the Cooking Club at school.

The beauty of all these is that it can be mess-free, using a freezer plastic bag (like ziplock)  to prepare, so that the dough is kneaded inside the bag, avoiding spills.

And, please, don't forget to wash and reuse the bag after, or to recycle it. It would be great to save our big mother, Earth, from more trash.

Skillet Cookies

Use a electric griddle, like we did at school, or a large skillet. 

1 cup unbleached flour (or 1 1/2 of gluten-free flour, like the one from Trader Joe's)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon ( I love Organic Saigon Cinnamon)
1/3 cup vegetable spread (I use Earth's Best, vegan)
1 tablespoon oat bran mixed with 1/3 cup soy or almond milk
1/3 cup raisins (or any other dry fruit, or none)
Vegetable oil to spray or brush on the griddle or skillet surface

Mix all dry ingredients in a gallon-size plastic bag like the ones used for freezing. Close it and shake it many times. Cut the vegetable spread into tiny cubes and add to the bag. Close the bag and squeeze it until the mix looks like crumbles. Moisten the dough with the milk and oat bran mixture until the dough forms a ball.

Roll out dough on a floured surface (you can use parchment paper to cover the surface) until it's 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes. Heat the skillet to medium-low heat or 320 F if using an electric griddle. Spray or brush oil on the skillet or griddle surface and carefully transfer the cookies to it. Flip them when they are golden on one side (about 3 minutes each side), and grill for another 3 minutes. Wait for cookies to cool before tasting. Enjoy!

Fruit-and-yogurt cups for quick, healthy breakfasts

This first week back to school hit like a whirlwind!

After a deliciously long and lazy year-end break, it's back to routine this week. It always takes us a few days to regain our rhythm under the best of circumstances. Pile on an unusually busy few weeks ahead, toss in some curve balls, and I know I need to simplify where I can and focus on keeping our energy and spirits up.

To that end, I'm trying to keep our fridge stocked with homemade grab-and-go yogurt cups. The base is a simple fruit compote that simmers briefly while I do dishes or prep lunches. Once it's cool, I fill eight half-cup containers with fruit compote and yogurt.

I stash the cups in the fridge next to a jar of granola and a shaker filled with flaxseed meal for fresh, crunchy toppings. And that's breakfast for two for most of the school week, done in minutes. (I'd happily make enough for all four of us if the kids would eat it. They'll come around.)

This time of year, my favorite is warmly spiced Persimmon Compote, but follow the same template with fresh or frozen berries or stone fruits — this week's stash is made with frozen blueberries.

To make it, just combine chopped fruit or berries with a bit of water and a squeeze of honey in a saucepan. Bring just to gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Combine a spoonful or two of cornstarch in a small bowl with water and stir it into the cooked fruit until it thickens, then finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Once it's cool, spoon it into individual containers and top with yogurt. I like creamy non-fat Greek yogurt, with its extra protein boost.

Too much work? Swap jam or just honey for the compote.

Feeling ambitious? Make your own yogurt.

Reindeer's Oat Cookies

 
Maybe Santa is already too full to eat more cookies, but who remembered the reindeer pack?  I bet they will be tired and very very hungry. And... with that little story I convinced the boys to get interested on mixing the ingredients and being happy about eating flax seed and some fruits and nuts they don't usually care for.
    These cookies are good not just for reindeer,  and the left overs are a great way of starting off Christmas day with a bit of something slightly healthier than sugar cookies. It's the perfect pairing for hot chocolate or a cup of nice coffee.
    The recipe is easy and you can bake them on the night before Christmas to have that wonderful smell   to attract the good cheers of the Season. Happy preparations for Santa's landing!

Reindeer Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar (brown or turbinado)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose non-bleached flour ( I used organic White whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup white or dark chocolate chips or almonds (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups quick oats (uncooked)
1 - 2 tablespoons water, if needed to moist the dough

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix oil and sugar with a whisk in a large bowl for about 2 minutes or up to when creamy. Add eggs, whisk more, then bring flax seed meal and then vanilla. In another bowl mix flour, baking soda, spices, raisins and chocolate chips or almond slices. Mix well up to when dough is forming small clutters. If too dry, sprinkle water up to when mix is gooey enough. With the help of an ice cream scooper or spoon, drop 1 tablespoon of dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for about 12 minutes or up to when cookies are golden in the bottom. Cool them in a wired rack. And make sure to leave some for Santa's transportation guys !

1 1/2 Apples Pancakes

While it's all about the omnipresent pumpkin, this month and beyond, we were also thinking about one precious gift from the season: Apples.
We tested this recipe with kindergartners of our first session of the Cooking Club at school, and it was a hit. Not just because they were having fun chopping apples and mixing ingredients, but also because they just loved the book that went along with the recipe: Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie, by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynne Avril. The cute story also brings a recipe, but we had to decide for something simpler and faster, something almost like a pancake. Like this book suggests, it's always important to be flexible, and kids were happy enough to try something different, but also something they made. Just like the hilarious and sweet Amelia Bedelia!

Apple Quick Cakes

This recipe was adapted from the New York Times recipe, Apple Griddle Cakes. I mostly substituted some ingredients to make it possible for all kids to taste it. It became vegan, and also safe for kids allergic to eggs and dairy.

1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cups vanilla soy milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon flax seed meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1 granny smith apple, diced in small pieces
1/2 Gala,  Fuji or Gravenstein apple, also cut in to small pieces
Cinnamon (optional)
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Heat a electric griddle, or skillet, to medium heat (350 F). In a large bowl mix dry ingredients, and whisk to mix them all. Add pieces of apple to coat them with mix. In another bowl mix wet ingredients and whisk. Pour the wet mix on the dry ingredients bowl.  Stir with a wooden spatula up to when is mixed. Batter should be thick, enough to be scooped to the griddle. Brush or spray vegetable oil to the hot surface and scoop batter. Flip after about 3 minutes or when surface is already showing signs of becoming golden. Allow other 3 minutes for the other side. Enjoy with powdered sugar, maple syrup or vanilla ice cream on top. 

Chia Seed Verrines

Sometimes I have the impression that everything is more elegant when said in French. While we were in Paris, the sight of the blackboard menus (oh la la, les ardoises!)  was always enticing. And among the many wonderfully named handwritten with chalk, I found one very special: verrine in the dessert menu. Mostly they were composed with  fromage blanc and some fruit  preserve or coulis on top.

Back in California a couple of weeks ago, I had this little obsession with composing one verrine (little cup, little glass?) of my own. It was with joy that I found a little bag of affordable chia seeds in my favorite grocery store, with a little inspiration of recipe for chia seed pudding written on its back. I fused it with other interesting recipes from the web, and finally made my own with the help of my 5-year-old boy.

We made two recipes, and found that this one, with lots of variations, was the best. But you can certainly play with your creativity and add other twists, such as fruit compotes and other extracts to add flavor. Invite your little ones to play with you like mixing wizards, if you feel like it, and enjoy together for a healthy snack or dessert.

Chia Seed Verrine with Blueberry Honey

We topped the little cups with some cute champagne grapes. Next time we will cover them with chopped macerated berries, like the ones we used in this recipe. Chia seeds are an amazing ingredient that holds the power of fiber, protein and omega-3 in its tiny and nutty seeds.

1 cup coconut milk (from a refrigerated carton) or almond milk
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup blueberry honey (or regular honey), add more if you want more sweetness
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or rose water)

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl and distribute among as many little glasses you can. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or more if using almond milk. Serve very cold with your favorite topping.

Mom's Fruit Salad and an Open Letter to my Sons

Dear sons,

I really love to think that you're planning something awesome to surprise me on Mother's Day. Yes, Mother's Day is coming this Sunday!! And please, don't forget to remind Daddy, as he might be a little distracted with the final game of his soccer team in Rio.

But as you know I am a bit picky, and if you are thinking about bringing me breakfast in bed, here's a suggestion: a fruit salad. Yes, forget all the croissants, pies and pastries.

Please  choose some organic sweet strawberries, juicy apples, and that little orange called kumquat and one nice lemon from a neighbor's tree. On the side I really would appreciate if you can serve a little portion of Greek non-fat yogurt. Some coffee would be great. And just a slice of toast with some honey on it would give me happiness.

P.S. Don't forget to take the pajamas off the living room floor, brush your teeth and, if you want, put a flower in a vase, and design some crazy cards, before waking me up at 8 a.m. But if you don't have time, just read this little recipe ...

With my (everyday)  love,

Your Mom

Strawberries, Apples, and Kumquat Zest Fruit Salad

4 strawberries, sliced
1/2 Fuji apple
1 kumquat, sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cut all fruits with a plastic knife, to avoid cutting your little fingers. In a little bowl squeeze lemon and mix with the kumquat zest. If you don't know how to take the zest, watch this little tutorial. Sprinkle the zest and lemon juice over the other fruits.

SpongeBob's House Mini Pineapple Muffin

First a confession: I've never watched an episode of that strange creature's show with its square pants, and my kids were never attracted to it.  I learned about its popularity while making this recipe with the kids at school at our weekly Cooking Club.

"Please, don't destroy Bob's house," said a very animated first-grader after seeing a whole pineapple being peeled and sliced, a novelty for some kids in real life, but very well known by its role in the show.

This is a very easygoing recipe that can be prepared with the kids and to be enjoyed by the whole family — including those who don't want to increase their cholesterol intake.

Kids — or venting grown ups — might have a blast "destroying" SpongeBob's home. That happens after the fresh and fragrant seasonal pineapples are cut into square shapes. The pieces are put in a sealed plastic bag. The bag, on a table, is then pounded by hand up until the pineapple squares are crushed. Like some kids said during the class: "Just make sure that Bob is not home before you start preparing this."

These muffins were a hit because of the moist texture and delicious taste, paired with a coconut milk smoothie mixed with pineapple juice, or a Coconut Frappé.

SpongeBob House Mini Muffin 

Fresh pineapples from Ecuador or Costa Rica that abound in the groceries stores are ideal for this, but if they're unavailable or hard to find you can always used canned ones in their own juice.

2 cups unbleached white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut
2-3 cups fresh pineapple, crushed manually or in a food processor
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almond, soy, or coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
More dried coconut to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line mini-muffin pan (or regular muffin pan) with paper cups.

In a bowl whisk all liquid ingredients together and reserve.

In another bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add pineapple bits and coconut to the dry ingredients, mixing carefully with a wooden spoon to coat the bits with the flour mix. Add sugar to the mix.

Pour in the blended liquid ingredients and stir delicately until all ingredients are combined. Scoop the equivalent of 2/3 of a cup of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle tops with dried coconut. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the tops look golden. Remove from muffin pan to cool.

Eggs almost Benedict

History says that one day a certain Benedict was bored with her usual breakfast and then decided to create something new. The other  version also involved a Benedict, but the story is slightly different, as you can read here. Both have something in common: creativity and New York.

My oldest son, who was born in New York, is the one who asks me to prepare Eggs Benedict when everything else on the weekend breakfast menu sounds boring to his 7-year-old ears: cereal, smoothies, cereal bars, yogurt, pancakes and waffles somedays just won't make it to his plate.

It all started when we were meeting with friends at the California Village Cafe, and he was interested in what I've ordered and not his kids' blueberry pancakes. Since then, brunch means eating Eggs Benedict. And since then I've had to find my way on poaching eggs to the perfect texture and carefully piling it up over Canadian bacon, the round bottom of a burger bun and maybe something else on the top. You can use any bread, the traditional English muffin, or brioche. I've even seen eggs over a round nest of puff pastry.

Happy Sunday!

Eggs Almost Benedict

I just use free-range eggs from vegetarian-fed hens, and I use every opportunity to advertise the benefits of a great quality of life for the chickens. Hollandaise sauce is optional. There are plenty of easy recipes online, like this one by Alton Brown that I might use if I have plenty of time.  I am searching for one that takes something other than eggs, like tofu. There are tons of recipes of how to poach an egg around cookbooks and the web. For me, this is the one which worked better.

free-range eggs
water
white wine vinegar or lemon juice
Canadian bacon or Smoked Nova Salmon Slices
halves of whole wheat hamburger bun
kosher salt to taste
favorite fresh herb to sprinkle

Slowly grill Canadian bacon in a skillet and toast bottom of a burger bun.

In the meantime, fill a medium skillet with water. When the water is boiling, add some drops of vinegar or lemon juice. Vinegar will help the egg white hold together, giving a firm texture to the egg. Lemon juice will not have the same results, but it makes the white softer.

Carefully crack the egg into a small dish and transfer it at once to the water. Lower the heat to medium-high. It takes 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for the egg to be ready, with a soft yolk. Take the egg with the help of a slotted spoon or a ladle and pour off the excess water, then transfer it to a plate lined with a kitchen towel.

Compose the plate with the bun, Canadian bacon and the poached egg. Very important: Do everything fast so to taste the egg while it's still very hot! Sprinkle herbs on top, if desired.

Leprechauns and Hass Avocado Kiwi Muffins

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This time it's a sweet treat, light green and it can be the perfect company for a St. Patrick's Day high tea party. Or maybe just to help the leprechauns to mess up with crumbles ... But a warning: It's not your grandma's traditional muffin and it might take some bites for you to come to like it!

As you might have noticed, I am slightly obsessed about the idea of coloring food with natural ingredients. And one of my ideas was to get rid of the tons of kiwis I have in my seasonal organic delivery and use a reference from my childhood. In Brazil, avocados are served mainly with sugar. Guacamole was not very popular when I was growing up, so we used to have this delicious cream made of avocados, a dash of milk, drops of lime juice, and a pinch of cinnamon ...a nd shameless spoonfuls of white sugar folded in.

Leprechaun Cake

I found few recipes for avocado cakes on the Web, and finally mixed my own blend. I don't yet consider it perfect — but I am close to making these cakes more similar to the taste I remember from my childhood. Avocados should be really ripe! 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh Hass avocados, mashed to a creamy texture
1 kiwi, mashed
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons milk (or milk substitute)
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
dried mint (to sprinkle on top)

Glaze
1/2 cup lime  juice
Enough powdered sugar to make a thick glaze

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin pan lined with paper cups. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.

Remove flesh from ripe avocados and kiwis and mash or blend them with a electric hand blender in another bowl. Add eggs, lemon juice and oil and whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, folding delicately, until it's a moist batter. Spoon into prepared muffin cups and bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops are golden and the center is dry.

Blood Orange Cupcakes

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Here's a cheers to hearts, sweetness ... and pink food. This is a little recipe that might trigger your love for something different than the artificial color Red 40: Blood orange juice with powdered sugar, covering a cupcake with lemon zest and dry raspberry powder.

This is my second experiment with natural colors to celebrate today: The first was the pasta with passion sauce, pretty but not easy to love if beets are not in your repertoire of loved foods.

But if you're still have time to prepare more than a treat for your Valentines, here are some suggestions from our collection f recipes, as romantic as a flower: rose ganache, rose meringue clouds,  lavender and chamomile truffles, all from Darienne's collection of delicacies.

Oh, and of course, Happy Valentine's!

Blood Orange and Raspberry Dust Cupcake 

Blood oranges are in season in California. It's possible to freeze the juice if your cake will be celebrating other dates other than Valentine's.

1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons blood orange juice
2 tablespoons dried raspberries, ground
2 large eggs
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted with the flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Glaze:
Juice from 2 blood oranges
Enough powdered sugar to make a thick glaze

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a bowl, mix sugar and canola oil until it's a creamy texture. Gradually mix in eggs, juice, milk, and zest. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Pour batter into baking cups, filling until two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

To prepare glaze, stir powdered sugar into blood orange juice until thick. Spoon glaze over finished cupcakes. 

Cocoa and Cinnamon Biscotti

My 7-year-old and I were extremely bored last Monday. It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we were trying to find something else to do with our free time at home, apart of dreaming about traveling to snowy places.

That's when Darienne's latest series of posts and somehow one chapter of An Everlasting Meal, by Tamar Adler, started to act as a magic potion on my motivation.

We headed to the kitchen and I invited my son to make an experiment. At this point I have to add some background to the story: Science is highly appreciated here and anything related to mixing things and heating them to see what happens is welcome, especially by the older kid.

So he announced he wanted to try to bake a "I have a dream kind of cake" to celebrate the reason for the school day off. We started putting ingredients on the dining table and he helped choose his favorites: cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla. He asked me what to do. I declared that we would bake with no recipe, using our intuition and mixing things and adjusting the quantities. While I would add the ingredients, he would take notes. Then he mixed all the liquid ingredients with Mr. Whisk — a very lovely kitchen tool (in the photo).

Flour, eggs, milk, canola oil, baking powder, cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate chips were added gradually. We both stirred everything with the help of a vintage wooden spoon as we dared to make an "old times" cake, with no electricity wasted. The batter was looking beautiful and uniform, ready to go and be baked. He decided to include a secret ingredient, so to make the recipe unique. We did.

After 40 minutes the cake was ready — perfect taste and not so perfect texture — too dense. But the boy didn't care about the texture and enjoyed a big slice of it with a tall glass of milk. After one day of sitting on the countertop I just decided to give it a second chance. I sliced it with a sharp knife, and baked the sliced cake for about one hour. That's how these wonderful biscottis were born! And they made me think if somewhere in Italy biscottis were created like this — by chance. Or if it was just a way of giving a longer life to a once-upon-a-time cake.

Cocoa Cinnamon Biscotti

I see this recipe as a reference and a "freedom license" to create something out of it. For sure we will revisit it sometime to achieve the texture I would love to have. Darienne had a sample and called the biscotti a cross in between biscotti and brownies. 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon your secret ingredient

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all dried in a bowl. In another bowl whisk all liquid ingredients. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. When blended, add chocolate chips and fold them to the batter. Transfer mix to a 9-x-13-inch cake pan and bake for about 35 minutes. When cold, slice it and bake the slices for about 30 more minutes at 375 F.  

Persimmon Compote

It's been a very sweet holiday season in my home, with a cross-country cookie exchange, experimental fudge recipes (mixed results), and our first attempts at caramel squares and turtles (both wildly successful). I make no apologies for the astonishing amount of sugar we consumed: we enjoyed every bite. And I didn't feel at all guilty ignoring the fruit bowl overflowing with gorgeous persimmons, generously shared by a friend ... until yesterday. Then I felt guilty. Very guilty.

After polishing off the last of the leftover Christmas cake, I was ready to give the persimmons the attention they so richly deserve. I chopped them up and simmered them with honey, spices, and a burst of fresh lemon. After the mixture cooled a bit, I spooned some into a cup of Greek yogurt and topped it with dates. I'm happy to report it tastes like Christmas, without the collateral nutritional damage.

I'll devour this batch with nonfat Greek yogurt for protein-rich, guilt-free breakfasts, but it would be equally fabulous stirred into piping-hot oatmeal. If you're not ready to turn your back on sweets yet, pour some over a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. I imagine a shot of candied ginger would be spectacular, but I left it out in deference to my dear but ginger-loathing husband.

If you're looking for more creative ways to enjoy persimmon, try Winter Jewel Salad, with persimmon, pomegranates, and dates in a cinnamon-orange dressing that tastes like fall, and Persimmon and Fennel Salad, a crunchy and colorful salad with greens.

Persimmon Compote

This makes a generous cup of soft, sweetly spiced fruit perfect for stirring into yogurt or hot cereal or pouring over waffles or ice cream. It keeps up to a week in the fridge and freezes well.

4 persimmons, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons water, divided
2 tablespoons honey
A tiny splash of cider vinegar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger
Pinch of cardamom
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Squeeze of lemon

In a small saucepan, combine chopped persimmons, 2 tablespoons water, honey, and cider vinegar, if using. Bring to a boil over medium heat (about 4 to 5 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low, add spices, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining two tablespoons of water. Add to fruit in pan and stir until thickened. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Remove from heat and cool before storing in refrigerator for up to a week.