Fruit Smoothie

Some of you know that I have a fairly recent addition to my kitchen. A recent addition that I LOVE so far.  You would love it, too.  It's my Vitamix blender. The other blenders are going in the garage sale that will happen in a few weeks. 

The Vitamix is AMAZING!  It can do anything a regular blender can do, plus make soup.  SOUP!  It will heat the water and everything.  I am definitely going to take advantage in a few weeks when the weather starts cooling down. :)

This morning, I had a smoothie and an almond butter waffle sandwich.  YUM!  Smoothies are great because they are very forgiving.  Hope you have fun experimenting with different fruit combinations!

Fruit Smoothie
Frozen Fruit Chunks (I got a bag from Costco that has pineapple, papaya, mango and strawberries)
milk
water
agave nectar or sugar

1.  Fill up your cup with fruit chunks-- the cup you intend to drink out of.  Once the fruit chunks are in there, pour the milk in to the halfway mark, then add water until the cup is 3/4 full of fruit and liquid.  Add about a TBSP of agave nectar or sugar.  Dump it all into the blender.

2.  Give it a whirl until all the fruit is crushed up and it has the proper consistency.  Add more liquid if needed-- the Vitamix is great because it has a plunger stick that helps all the fruit get down to the blade.

3.  Pour into the cup you measured with, stick in a straw, and sip.  Now GET TO WORK!!  :)

Have a happy day!

PS- Please forgive the sideways smoothie pic.  The silly computer loaded it sideways and I can't get blogger to rotate it! 

Raspberry Blackberry White Chocolate Muffins

Howdy ho!  How are you this fine Monday morning?  We are finally getting settled in our new temporary home.  Most of the boxes have been unpacked and sorted.   All that is left is the garage-- the end is in sight!  The animals are all adjusting quite well.  Ralfie is very happy to have his couch back...

And Tobie found a comfy place to nap...

The kitties are having fun exploring all the new nooks and crannies.  Mocha especially loves the upstairs family room.

The kitchen in this place is HUGE.  I love it!  This weekend, I had a pint of raspberries and a pint of blackberries that needed to be used up.  I wasn't in the mood for cobbler, so I decided to make the next best thing-- Muffins!  Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!  Dark chocolate chips may be substituted for the white chocolate if you'd like.  I made them both ways and they were both great.

Raspberry Blackberry White Chocolate Muffins
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
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1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup oil (I used canola)
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup raspberries and 1/2 cup blackberries (or any combination of 1-1/2 cups berries)
1 cup white chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

2.  Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

3.  Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Pour in the wet ingredients and mix just until moistened.

 
4. Add berries and chocolate chips.  Mix until well blended.

5.  Line a muffin tin with liners and spray lightly with cooking spray.  Fill each liner 2/3 full (I used a #24 scoop).

6.  Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

7.  Cool for about 5 minutes in the tin, then remove to a wire rack to cool.  Enjoy!

English Muffins

As promised, here is the recipe for the lovely English Muffins we made during the cooking class in Arkansas.  The flavor is not like those sold in the store-- its much better.  Because these English Muffins are made in one day rather than by the multiple day starter method, they don't have a lot of nooks and crannies. 

English Muffins
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/English-Muffins/Detail.aspx

1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 (0.25 oz.) package active Dry Yeast (I use 1-1/2 tsp)
1 cup warm water (110°F)
1/4 cup melted shortening
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

1.  Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it just begins to bubble, then remove from heat.  Mix in the sugar and stir until dissolved.  Let cool until lukewarm.  Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in the warm water in a small bowl.  Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast, shortening, and 3 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Add the salt and the rest of the flour.  The dough should be soft.  Knead about 8 minutes or so.  (I did all of this in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook).  Form dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour or so).

3.  Gently deflate the dough.  Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick on a clean counter top.  Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter (an empty drinking glass or CLEAN empty tuna can will do in a pinch).  Sprinkle a large piece of waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds of dough on it to rise.  Dust the tops of the muffins with cornmeal as well.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise another 30 minutes.

4.  Heat a large griddle over medium heat.  Grease well (I used canola oil).  Cook muffins on the griddle for about 10 minutes per side over medium heat.

5.  Keep baked muffins in a warm oven (150°F to 200°F) until all have been cooked.  Allow to cool completely, and store in plastic bags.  Split and toast or use in your favorite English Muffin Recipe. 

--A Breakfast Souffle recipe will follow shortly as one use for the English Muffins from this recipe.

Josie and Heather proudly showcasing their beautiful English Muffins.

Cream Scones with Devonshire Cream and Fresh Strawberry Jam

This is the first installment of the Arkansas Cooking Class recipes!  You are sure to LOVE these light, flaky scones. 

The Cream Scones recipe is from On Cooking, page 956.  This is the Culinary Textbook that the Research Chefs Association uses as its reference.  The recipes I've tried from the book have been wonderful-- but get ready to do some math.  Some of those recipes are written for a crowd!

The Devonshire Cream recipe was one the chef found on a website, but I'm not sure which one.  The Strawberry Jam was something we just threw together in class.  The amounts in that recipe are estimated based on my memory-- let's hope I remembered correctly.

You'll notice that the ingredients listed in the baking recipes are all weights-- not cups and teaspoons.  We did this for a reason.  Flour can weigh more or less depending on how humid it is.  Weighing the flour gives you a more accurate measure than using cups.  Also, I'm sure everyone has heard that baking is a science.  Well, IT IS!!  Every baking recipe is a careful balance of chemical leaveners, acids, bases, enzymes, salts, etc.  Mess with one part of the equation and the whole thing will go out the window-- literally!  Leave out the salt in a bread dough and it will rise too fast and taste bland.  Out the window to the birds with that one! 

Ok.  That's enough ranting.  On to the recipes.

Cream Scones
1 lb. all purpose flour
1-1/2 oz. white sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
2 Lg egg yolks (save the whites for later)
11 fl oz. half and half

1.  Sift the dry ingredients together, making sure they are blended well. 
2.  Cut in the butter using a pastry blender (U-shaped with 3 or four blades and a handle).  The mixture should look mealy.  Be sure not to over mix. 
3.  Whisk the half and half with the egg yolks.  Add to the mealy mixture and combine just until the dough begins to hold together.
4.  Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch.  Cut into triangles.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with half and half.
5.  Bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
6.  Brush the tops with butter while hot.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Devonshire Cream (aka Clotted Cream)
4 oz. mascarpone cheese (Italian cream-style cheese)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp powdered sugar or caster sugar

1.  Place all ingredients in a stand mixer with the whip attachment.  Whip until well blended and the consistency of spreadable cream cheese. 
2.  Store covered tightly with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Fresh Strawberry Jam
1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar (approximate-- may need to add more depending on how sweet your strawberries are)
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 envelope fruit glaze

1.  Place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat.  Cook until fruit is soft and the mixture is syrupy, about 20 minutes.  Mash lightly with a potato masher until it is the desired consistency.
2.  Prepare glaze according to package directions.  Cool slightly, then blend with strawberry mixture.
3.  Store covered tightly with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!!

Bacon, Mushroom and Parmesan Frittata plus a welcome kitchen guest

So, I need something for breakfast that I can cook on the weekend and store in the fridge for the grab-and go kind of mornings we all have during the week.  The solution?  Frittata.  FRITTATA!!  A glorious Italian baked omelet thingy.  Yes, that's the technical term-- thingy.  Hey, it's the weekend!  Give me a break.  Food Scientists have to turn their brains off sometimes just like everyone else. 

Frittata is similar to quiche, but there is less cream and no crust.  But still completely delicious!  You can mix up the veggies however you wish.  You could even bake about 1 Tbsp of egg mixture in a mini muffin pan and serve them at room temp with sour cream as a protein-packed appetizer (those only need to bake about 15 minutes). 

Now, say hello to my little friend.  I found him crawling around on the windowsill.  He told me Spring is on the way.  Yay!

Now, a word about bacon.  I love it.  Do you?  Of course you do.  But-- do you like cooking it?  I don't.  I hate going through a dozen paper towels cooking it in the microwave or cleaning the entire kitchen after making it on the stove.  The solution-- your oven.  Yep!  Just line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil, put a layer of bacon slices on it, put the whole tray in a cold oven, turn the oven temp to 425 degrees, and WALK AWAY.  Leave it for 20 to 25 minutes, and viola!  Perfectly cooked bacon.  Remove the slices from the pan and let drain on a plate with paper towels.  If you like it a bit crispier, leave it in the oven for an extra 5 minutes.

Here's my recipe and how I put it together.

Bacon, Mushroom and Parmesan Frittata
1 russet potato, peeled and cubed
4 lg. cremini mushrooms, cut in half and sliced thin
3 green onions, white and green parts sliced thin
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt, divided
5 Tbsp grated fresh Parmesan, divided (NOT the stuff in the green can)
5 whole large eggs, beaten
5 large egg whites, beaten (save the yolks for making homemade pudding-- coming soon)
1/4 cup half and half or milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 cherry tomatoes, sliced

1.  Place the russet potatoes in a microwave safe dish and cover with water.  Cover the container and microwave on high for 4 minutes.  Drain.  I used a glass bowl with a plate for a lid.  You could also substitute 1 to 1-1/2 cups of Ore-Ida Southern Style Hash Browns and thaw them out. Wink wink!

2.  Bake bacon according to directions listed above, slice into little bits.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray a 9" x 13" nonstick pan with oil and set aside.

3.  Place about 1 Tbsp of drippings from the bacon pan in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add drained cooked potato, mushrooms, green onions, and thyme to pan with 1/2 tsp salt.  Saute about 10 to 12 minutes, or until potato is lightly brown and mushrooms are cooked through.  Remove from heat and cool.

4.  In a large bowl, whisk egg whites and eggs.  Add half and half, 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, black pepper and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt.  Stir well.

5.  When the potato mixture is cool, add it to the egg mixture and stir well.  Pour into prepared pan.  Dot the top with the tomato slices and sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbsp Parmesan.

6.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and the center is no longer jiggly.  Let stand 10 minutes.

7.  Slice and serve!  I ate a slice, then let the rest cool.  I removed them from the pan and put in a container between pieces of waxed paper.  Now all I have to do is zap a slice in the microwave for 30 seconds and I have breakfast all week!  It also freezes well-- just thaw overnight and zap in the morning.  Enjoy!