Cranberry Hazelnut Bread

I've waited an entire year to make this recipe. It wasn't by choice either, or because I just never got around to it, or because I think cranberries should only be enjoyed in November. The problem was, cranberries are very difficult to find at any time of year other than this one. Not finding fresh cranberries at the market in August is something I would expect. But even frozen? Maybe it's just me, or where I live, but frozen cranberries are not something grocers stock around here off season (and by off-season, I mean anytime other than the Holidays). So when I finally saw fresh cranberries at the market, I grabbed some. Then I went to the freezer department and - lo and behold, they were there too! I grabbed a couple bags, and now I'm primed to bake with cranberries whenever the impulse strikes.

The thing is, cranberries are great all Winter long. Moreover, this Cranberry Hazelnut Bread is great all Winter long. I sampled this particular version at a family dinner about a year ago, and was surprised by how much I liked it. I couldn't place what it was I liked so much about it, until it occurred to me that it was the hazelnuts!
While pecans, or walnuts seem to be the more popular choice in most cranberry bread recipes, hazelnuts are by far the winner in my book. Even better if you leave them on the coarser side of "coarsely chopped".

I don't bake with hazelnuts much. For one, they're pricey, and two, they're a pain to peel. But with this recipe there's no need to be too particular about getting every inch of skin off. I used the method I usually use, which is to roast them and then rub the skins off with a dish towel. I would estimate that I managed to get about two thirds of the skins off this way.
If you'd like, you can try dampening the dish towel slightly. I've heard that does a good job as well. Or if you're really seeking perfection, you can try this method I found here, from Alice Medrich via an episode of Julia Child's cooking show.

Strawberry, Granola & Yogurt Parfaits

I've been wanting to post this delicious, healthy treat for a long time now. I actually almost didn't, because things like this don't really require a real recipe, right? They sort of don't. But even though it's not a technically challenging meal to make, hopefully this post will serve as the inspiration you need to go make one!
The inspiration I needed to finally get this post up here for you was my son's fourth grade class. This past week and a half the students at his school have been busy taking their Connecticut Mastery Tests and each year the parents are rounded up to volunteer their healthy snack making skills. It's hard to make sure each kid in the class has a balanced breakfast on test days, so having a Mom in charge each morning helps spread the good nutrition throughout. It's amazing how rough hours of testing can be on 10 year olds - or any aged person, for that matter. Having a healthy, preferably protein packed breakfast, or morning snack, before testing can make a big difference in how well their brains perform that day.

The first day of testing was my turn. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about it until the morning of! We'll blame it on mommy brain. I jumped in the car with the kids, scrambling for some ideas on what to bring...it had to be something I could buy from a store at that point.
The idea of bringing greek yogurt parfaits came to me - so we ran to grocery store and picked up some Greek yogurt, a fruit plate and some plain granola. I set up a little 'parfait' bar in the classroom and helped all the kids make one for themselves.

I was unsure of how they would like them, as I think many kids who are used to fruit flavored yogurt, which tends to be super high in sugar, don't necessarily transition well to plain yogurt. I brought some vanilla flavored too and maple syrup as sweetener, just in case - but I was amazed by how many of the kids liked the yogurt as is.
When I picked my son up from school that day he told me that everyone loved the snack and many were asking if there was more to be had. That same afternoon, my little guy wanted some for himself too - and it was that day when the 'yogurt, granola and fruit after school snack' phase began.

Since then, it's become a cataclysmic disaster when we run out of plain yogurt. I've been buying the big huge tubs of Fage 2% plain Greek yogurt - which is by far my favorite yogurt brand. Not only do I love the texture and taste, but I also love that it has 23 grams of protein per cup! However, you can use whatever brand, or type of yogurt you'd prefer...it doesn't need to be strained 'Greek' yogurt either.
This isn't the first phase of yogurt parfaits in our house either. The first time was after the Frigidaire event we went to last June. They served something very similar to this recipe, called Strawberries with Mint, Yogurt & Honey, at the event and my guys went bananas for them. The fad eventually wore off, only to be re-born again this Spring.

The version I made here is slightly different from the one's I make my kids because it has some slivered almonds added in {they both hate almonds}. For grown-ups out there, or adventurous kids, these are also great with some fresh mint added in too!
Try making these parfaits with homemade granola by using this Cherry, Pecan Granola recipe and substituting fresh cherries for the strawberries above. Here are some other Breakfast recipe you might enjoy too! - Banilla Smoothies | Breakfast Quinoa with Berries & Bananas | Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins | Ricotta Pancakes | Strawberry Ricotta Muffins.

Black Bean, Chicken & Rice Bowl with Apple Salsa

Years ago - pre-kids years ago, when I lived in Brooklyn and had vegetarian eating habits - this was the kind of meal I subsisted on. Yes, I know this isn't a vegetarian recipe - but minus the chicken {and chicken stock} this was the kind of meal I made quite frequently. I was really into the whole idea of a "bowl" type meal. For one, it's cheap! Two, it's easy to make and the leftovers can be used for the following day's bagged work lunch, or another night's dinner. The perfect college girl meal.
It seems like an eternity since I've made a dinner like this and seeing it in the current issue of Bon Appétit made me crave one. I had also just discovered my new favorite way to prepare brown rice, so the timing was perfect.

What makes this recipe unlike many bean and rice "bowl" recipes out there is the apple salsa you serve along with it. I love that it uses Granny Smith apples because they're commonly available throughout the year - so any time is a good time to make some. The tart apples, paired with a bit of tangy lime juice, a kick from the minced red onions along with the brightness of fresh cilantro is a perfect flavor combination. Especially when combined with mildly spicy and slightly smoky black beans.

This recipe is very well fit for being adapted. So - I encourage you to adjust the ingredients or quantities to suit your families tastes - or to possibly use up any leftover bits of this or that you may have hanging around inside your refrigerator. I, myself, adjusted the original recipe quite a bit - adding in some minced jalapeno pepper, for just a touch of heat and changing some of the quantities to suit my taste. I decided to 'press' the garlic, rather than mince it because I have this wonderful {super high quality & well designed} garlic press that does an amazing job {and yes, it is worth spending $40 on}.
When you mince garlic, much of the 'juice' from inside the cloves ends up on your cutting board - but with this tool, every last bit of garlicky goodness ends up in whatever you're preparing.

If you like this recipe, you might also like these posts - Havana Black Beans | Lentil & Bulgur Salad | Perfect Brown Rice

Roasted Cardamom Applesauce

Ahhh...FALL. My favorite season. I love the chillier weather, wearing sweaters, the smell of fires burning in fireplaces, the colored leaves...and the apples!
We went on our annual apple picking trip recently and brought home many, many pounds of apples. If I get my act together, hopefully I will have more apple recipes coming your way. But, for now, I'm starting off with homemade applesauce. There's a vintage recipe here for plain old applesauce, which is delicious as is. But, this year I was inspired to try something new.
A few weekends ago I attended a workshop in NYC. The event was catered by an amazing prepared food shop in Brooklyn, NY called Radish. On the first day, one of the lunch items served was a Cardamom Spiced Applesauce. It was hugely popular and even people who claimed to not really care for applesauce were loving it. All I could think of was how much my boys would love some! So, that was my mission...finding out how to make something similar. I didn't have Radish's exact recipe, but found something online that looked like it might fit the bill.
It's pretty much exactly how I would normally make applesauce, except instead of steaming the apples in a bit of water, these are roasted. Then, of course, there's cardamom added...which is really what gives it a unique flavor. We had ours with breaded pork chops, mashed potatoes and green peas {basically my all time favorite dinner...ever}.

Breakfast Quinoa with Berries & Bananas

When I saw this recipe in the current issue of Whole Living magazine, I was very intrigued. Quinoa is technically not a grain because it's not part of the grass family {it's a relative of chard, and spinach}...but, because of it's grain-like texture it's marketed as one. It seems I'm always hearing about how good it is for you, and I've had the good intention to use it more in my cooking...but, really don't all that often. It's very high in protein, making it an ideal breakfast choice for me, or my kids.
My guys are super oatmeal fans...during the winter months it's the breakfast of choice around here. I make a big batch of steel cut oats, then store it in the fridge to heat up during the week. That saves me from having to take the time daily to make it. You can use the same method with this quinoa hot cereal by multiplying the recipe. I had high hopes that they would like this. Unfortunately, they were not all that wild about it.
If their love of oatmeal was not so deeply ingrained, they may have. These kids won't even eat instant oatmeal because they've grown up eating the real stuff and think the processed version is "disgusting". So, getting them to like this was a long shot.
I, however, loved it. It was definitely much different than any hot cereal I've ever had, but I loved the texture and flavor. As the mornings begin to get cooler, I know I will be making more of it.

Banilla Smoothie

Last week I talked about a way to freeze and store fruit, to have it on hand for making smoothies. Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite ways to use some of that frozen fruit...namely, bananas! I don't know about you...but, in our house, if there's one fruit that goes from ripe to over-ripe faster than any other, it's bananas.
But, ever since discovering this recipe, having over-ripe bananas has been a happy occasion. It means that there will always be a constant supply of frozen banana chunks in the freezer for making this smoothie.
Along with the smoothie bag making discussion...I also talked about how smoothie obsessed my two boys have been in recent months. They've always loved them. But, the obsession took over shortly after our regular blender crapped out and I purchased this system as a replacement. It's a compact blender that comes with four plastic smoothie glasses and lids. You fill the glass with your smoothie ingredients, twist the blade attachment over the glass...then blend away. It's super easy...even for a child to use, and safer than a traditional blender. I've seen them sold in many places, but this online store has them in a bunch of great colors!
The recipe for this smoothie came from a little book I got from my DH for my 30th birthday {which was more years ago than I'd care to think about}. At the time, I had a 2 year old & a newborn and happened to be in the midst of my own smoothie phase. I used the book for a while...but, since the phase ended, it's sat collecting dust. My older son has taken quite a liking to the book nowadays. I love seeing him {every morning} with his little black book of smoothies, deciding what the day's blend will be...then gathering up all the ingredients he can find, measuring them, and whipping himself up some breakfast.
It's bittersweet that my son is now old enough to fix himself breakfast...more so, one that doesn't simply involve pouring some cereal and milk in a bowl! For all of you mother's of babies and toddlers out there...it actually does get easier...and, yes, it does go by in a blink of an eye.

{The Basics} Smoothie Bag

I've spoken many times here about keeping a "stock bag". Whenever I'm using a whole chicken for a recipe, I save any remaining pieces I might have and store them in the freezer for when I make chicken stock.
Over the past year I have started using the same method for making a "smoothie bag". It came about around the same time my kids became smoothie obsessed. Both my boys love drinking them, but my older one is consumed with the smoothie.
He drinks them every day after school, as his snack. He drinks them for breakfast, or a pre-sports game snack. If he could he would drink them for every meal. But, I had to limit him to one a day...even with good things, it's easy to go overboard.

Strawberry Paletas

As a kid, one of my favorite summer treats was a FrozFruit Bar. I loved the chunky strawberry one,...and I also really loved the coconut one. It all depended on my mood. It's amazes me sometimes the things from childhood that stand out as clear as day. Walking to the store, with a few pieces of change and picking out a fruit bar is a memory that makes me happy.
Years later, as an adult living in Brooklyn, I still loved walking to the nearest bodega and picking up one of those exact same bars. I know similar fruit bars, or even the same ones, are available in some supermarkets. But, eating one out of a box is different from getting an individually wrapped one out of a freezer chest at a convenience store. I don't know exactly what it is, but they taste different to me.
I recently purchased a set of ice pop molds and couldn't wait to try them out. When I decided on this recipe, I had no intention of re-creating a strawberry FrozFruit bar at home. But, the end result? It tastes exactly like one! I was so excited...and so were my boys. We've already started planning out which flavors we will make next.
For more ideas, I recommend the cookbook, "Paletas" by Fany Gerson...where you can find this recipe, and many more. By the way, Paletas are frozen fruit pops in Mexico...but, have become quite the rage in the United States. They are sometimes made with milk, but always with fresh, real fruit. Have you tried making Paletas at home? What are some of your favorite flavors, or flavor combos?

Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

I'm so happy that it's Spring! It's so much easier to eat healthy foods this time of year. All my favorite fruits & veggies are coming into season.
One said favorite is strawberries. Buying organic strawberries off season is nearly impossible...and, when you can find them, they're outrageously expensive. When I saw a pound of beautiful looking strawberries at the market this week, I grabbed some.
I was thinking about making a Mother's Day appropriate recipe...something that would be really pretty for a brunch. I've had strawberry salad with poppy seed dressing before & I thought I'd be able to throw something together. It came out really good...and met the approval of the whole family. This salad is perfect for kids, as it's just sweet enough to please them & it also has fruit in it!

Mango Sorbet

This time last year I posted about my addiction to Champagne mangoes. I love mangoes in general, but this variety is truly something special. They have a super smooth texture & are very sweet.

I saw them at the grocery store last week, in season once again & I bought a bunch. I bought so many that I couldn't eat them all before they became overly ripe...so soft I had no idea what to do with them. I was going to dice & freeze them to add to my "smoothie bag"--My smoothie bag is where I add fruit that has ripened too much to eat, but will still be great in smoothies.
Smoothies are both my kids favorite after-school snack...but, frozen organic fruit is expensive & we go through a lot of it! So, having a bag of frozen fruit on hand is always a useful thing around here.
But, this time I decided that these mangoes needed something special. I decided to make some mango sorbet. I'm not a huge dessert person, and the only time I'm known to eat ice cream is when I'm pregnant. But, there's something about mango sorbet...or any sorbet really...that I think is perfect after a meal.
It was my first attempt at making sorbet, so I did a search & found this recipe by the great David Lebovitz...who knows a thing or two about making ice cream. I modified his recipe quite a bit as I only had two mangoes, and this variety is much smaller than a traditional mango. I added in some tequila, instead of rum, because that's what I had on hand. I also cut back on the sugar, because these mangoes were sweeter than normal. I think I was able to adjust it just right, because it came out fantastic!

Strawberry Ricotta Muffins

This past weekend the DH took the guys out for a bike ride. They were back at the house in about 5 minutes. Why? Because my 6 year old couldn't keep up & got worn out. His older brother went back out with his Dad & he was very discouraged. I told him, chin up...let's go bake something! I had it in my mind I wanted to bake something that day anyway. It was rainy & cold. Perfect weather to turn the oven on.
When they're both in the kitchen with me, there's always fights over who gets to measure this, who gets to pour this. So, every once in awhile, if I get the chance to cook with one of them alone, it's a nice treat.
These muffins were the fruits of our labor. It was one of those times where I looked at what I had in the fridge...some fresh strawberries that had about a day left before they had to be eaten, a half a container of ricotta, which I didn't want to throw out. So, I thought...ricotta? strawberries? What could we make?
Thankfully, Google is always available for instances like these & we found this recipe. It's a variation on a Dorie Greenspan recipe, called Ricotta-Berry Muffins, in which she recommends using any berries you'd like, except strawberries...as they're too juicy.
But, then I found this version, that uses strawberries & is successful doing so because she dehydrates them first. Perfect! That's what we did...

Fennel & Orange Salad

I love salads like this. Super simple, no washing, or spinning lettuce & it looks so gourmet. It is sure to really impress your family, or dinner guests.
I love the flavors used in this dish. I am especially fond of fennel. My Italian grandmother frequently served it & it always reminds me of her. If you've never tried it, it has a subtle licorice flavor & a texture similar to celery.

Minted Apricot Couscous

I haven't been cooking much lately. The Bozo's are keeping me very busy & it's been so hot, that I just haven't had the energy to get creative in the kitchen.
Which is why a recipe like this suits me perfectly. It requires only one pot {easy clean-up} & cooks very quickly {less heat in the kitchen}.
It's a great summer side dish with some fresh grilled fish, chicken, or lamb.

Citrus Rice Salad

Ever since having this salad at my Pop's house last summer I've had it on my mind to make it again. I had never had a salad quite like it before and loved it! It's so unique and refreshing. I love the combination of tart {and slightly bitter} citrus fruit with salty Parmesan and chopped nuts - all mixed with fluffy white rice. I also love that this dish is so versatile. Citrus fruit is available in most places year round, and you can really use any combination of citrus you'd like - oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, clementines, limes, lemons...you name it. It also works very well with any seasonal menu - it's as delicious served alongside a cozy, fall roasted chicken dinner as it is alongside grilled chicken in the summer.

To make the salad, begin by measuring out 2 cups of white rice {or brown, if you prefer} into a medium saucepan. Fill the pot with salted water, and simmer, just as you would when cooking pasta, until the rice is tender - about 10-15 minutes {brown rice will take about double that time}.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the salad, beginning with the dressing. For that you'll add 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed citrus juice {I used orange juice, but lemon, lime, or any other citrus juice would work too}, 2 tablespoons citrus zest {again, I used orange} , a 1/2 cup olive oil, and 1 tablespoon agave nectar to a blender. Season with salt and pepper, and blend until the dressing is emulsified. Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning, or the amount of citrus juice as desired.

Applesauce

My Dad makes great homemade applesauce. I love it. My kids love it.

So, with our apple bounty we made some.

If you have a food mill it will make the process very easy. If not, you need to peel & core the apples first.

Cut a whole bunch of apples in wedges. Place them in a large saucepan.

Add about an inch of water to the pan, to prevent the apples from sticking.

Next, add about a tablespoon of sugar. You can omit the sugar if you are using sweet apples, such as Fuji, or Honeycrisp.

Sprinkle in some cinnamon.

Place on the stove & heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 20-30 minutes, or until they are soft.

If using a food mill, place it over a large bowl & ladle in the apples in batches.

You could also process through a food processor, or blender.

Process through to remove skins & seeds.

Now, go make some pork chops!