I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

It's been a while since I have posted.  I could tell you that I have been on vacation.  But the real truth is I've just not been in the blogging mood.  It just hasn't been there.  But at some point, you just gotta pick up and go on.  For my return post, I decided to focus on berries.  And yes, they are attached to a cake. 

I first found this recipe in an old Gourmet magazine, and thought it would make a good blog.  The recipe is for lemon sun cakes with berries and cream.  It just sounded so cute!

It makes six little cakes.  They are baked in small brioche molds.  If you don't have them, use a muffin tin.

I served my cakes with black raspberries (because I have a back yard full of them), blueberries, and red raspberries (because they were on sale).  Strawberries would have also been good in this mix.  These fruits contain a group of compounds, anthocyanins that are responsible for the red, purple, and blue colors of fruits, vegetables, and grains.  Some research shows that these compounds may reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.  My philosophy is that if you can prevent diseases and enjoy it at the same time, it's a win-win situation. 

For a full serving of fruit, serve with ½ cup of berries.

Lemon Sun Cakes with Berries and Cream

Serves 6.


Ingredients:

¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ cup whole milk
3 cups mixed berries
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ cup chilled heavy cream

Directions:

1.  Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.  Generously butter molds and place on a baking sheet.

2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cream butter and sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add egg and beat until combined.  Add vanilla and lemon zest.

3.  Add about one-third of the flour, followed by one-half of the milk.  Repeat until all
the flour and milk have been added.  Divide batter amount the molds, filling each mold about two-thirds full.  Bake until edges of cakes are golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool cakes in molds on a rack for 5 minutes.  Remove from molds and cool completely on racks.

4.  Combine sugar and cream.  Beat until soft peaks forms. 
 

Just in Time for Memorial Day

Memorial Day is coming up real soon.  Memorial Day was originally intended as a day to honor those who gave their lives in service to our country.  And yes, some of us visit the graves of our  loved ones.  But when most people think about Memorial, beginning of summer and firing up the grill rise to the top. 

When Monday rolls around and you need a new side dish, try this recipe for Guacamole Salad.  I originally found this recipe in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  This recipe contains two of my favorite ingredients - black beans and avocados.  I love this new take on guacamole. 

Beans are a good source of fiber and protein.  They are fat free and low in calories.  Results of studies indicate that consuming beans may reduce cholesterol levels and aid in controlling diabetes.  And if this ain't enough, they're cheap.  So eat up!

As for avocados, I discovered them a few years ago.  Until recently, I hated avocados.  That just goes to show that change is possible.  Avocados are actually a fruit and are a good source of fiber, potassium, vitamin E and B vitamins.  Avocados also contain fat, primarily, mono- and polyunsaturated that help increase the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. 

So, combine beans and avocados for a healthy addition to the Memorial Day Cookout!

Guacamole Salad

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 yellow or red bell pepper
1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
¼ cup fresh lime juice, about 2 limes
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 avocados, seeded, peeled, and diced

Directions:

1.  Cut tomatoes in half.  Slice pepper in half.  Remove seeds and veins.  Dice the pepper.  Stir together tomatoes, pepper, beans, onion, and jalapeno.

2.  Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper.  Pour over vegetables and toss well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

3.  When ready to serve, add avocados.  Adjust seasonings if necessary.

When I first tried this recipe, I was mostly into red tomatoes, but now I love the colors of heirloom tomatoes.  For an even more colorful salad, try different colors of tomatoes.  If using large tomatoes, about 2 cups is a good amount for this recipe.  After trying this recipe again, I decided that cilantro would be a good addition. 

If you’re reading this then let me start off by congratulating you.  You’ve made it through yet another winter, a winter of snow storms that knocked power out and left people in the cold for 12 hours, a winter full of bone chilling cold temperatures and highs that didn’t even get into double digits. But with all of that comes great news, it’s coming to an end, and that can only mean one thing, summer.  In kicking off summer we start with the month of May, which as you may or may not know is barbecue month.

Barbecue can be a big tradition in families and communities, and as we start dusting off the grills and breaking out the aprons and the sauces we need to remember one big thing, food safety.  The last thing you want to do is make a batch of delicious, fall off the bone, ribs that will get your family and friends sick.
 

We all do our best to be as safe as we can when handling barbecue for the family, but are there any specific guidelines we need to follow?  Are there different guidelines we need to follow with the sauces, spices, rubs, and equipment that comes with barbecue?  There are a lot of questions to be answered before we go out and fire up the grill. 
 

 

In order to get some answers to these questions and some expert advice to pass on to you, I went to the experts, the boys at Helping U Barbeque “HUB” in Omaha, NE.  The owners started out by going to competitions, and now they own a store to sell you everything you’ll need from pellets, to sauces, to grills. They give classes on how to barbecue. And they still go to the competitions.  So I went to these guys, and here’s the advice they gave me.

 

Keep Your Equipment Clean

When we cook in the kitchen we always clean our utensils when we’re done and clean the stove or the oven, and we usually do it very thoroughly, so we need to take that same cleanliness to the grill.  Always be sure to clean and wipe down your equipment before and after you grill and barbecue, that goes for the grill itself, and all the utensils that you use.  That little extra time cleaning could be the difference between a great cookout and a sick bunch of friends and family.
 

Temperature

The biggest things the boys at HUB talked about was temperature, and everybody’s first question to the temperature discussion was how long things needed to stay at temperature, and their answer was however long it took to get to that temperature.  There’s no magic answer to temperature for barbecue and large slabs of meat due to none of them being the same, it’s about the safe internal temperature to ensure that the meat is safe.  To insure that this is correct they recommended a device called the iGrill, which is a device with 2 probes that you insert into the meat that is cooking.  It monitors the temperature and connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to your iPhone, so you can walk away from the grill if need be and still monitor the temperature of your meat.
 

Now, if you don’t have all of those fancy gizmos and gadgets there is another very simple way to check the temperature of your meat, with a good old fashioned meat thermometer.  Just make sure you have the thermometer in the middle of what you’re cooking, as that will be the spot in the meat that takes the longest to cook thoroughly. 

One big thing to make sure of with thermometers/probes is that they are properly calibrated, which is very easy, here are the steps:

Calibrating Thermometers

 

Boiling Point Method

1.  Bring a small pot of water to a boil.

2. Test the thermometer in the boiling water, if it doesn’t read 212°F then adjust the nut on the back of the thermometer and test the water again until it reads 212°F.  The nut on the back won’t require large turns, so easy does it.

 

Ice Point Method 



1.  Fill a glass with water and ice.
 

2.  Test the thermometer in the ice water, if it doesn’t read 32°F make another slight adjustment and test it again until it reads 32°F.

Although either method is acceptable, most people prefer the ice point method.  With the boiling point method, one will need to know the boiling point at their elevation.

So those are really the basics to food safety in order to keep your meat clean and safe for the whole family and the entire neighborhood, be sure that your equipment is clean, and always make sure that your meat is internally cooked to the right temperature, and of course have a great time.
 

For specifics I have 2 resources, the first is from the USDA, and the second is the Kansas City Barbecue Society rule sheet that explains everything they have to do.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets/Barbecue_Food_Safety/index.asp

http://www.kcbs.us/pdf/2013_rules.pdf

 

 

A Screen Free Week - OMG, What Will I Do?

 

April 29 - May 5 has been deemed Screen Free Week.  Funny, I remember when my parents purchased our first television - black and white, with rabbit ears.  We got three or four channels.  And at 10:30 there was no more TV until the next morning.  Fast forward to 2013.  There are no more rabbit ears or black and white TV.  Kids these days would call that 'cruel and unusual punishment'. 

Today the average American household has 2.73 televisions and 2.55 people.  What a reversal.  In addition to televisions, there are home computers and smart phones.  You name it and we got it.  We are now spending more time in front of a computer than ever before.  The average child spends 4.5 hours per day watching television. 

For those of you looking for a little help with reducing screen time, here are a few resources

• UNL-Extension Food Website
• Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
• The US Department of Agriculture Screen Free Week

So, what does Screen Free Week have to do with cooking? It's a good time to head to the kitchen to reconnect with your family and improve your cooking skills.  For Screen Free Week, team up with your child or another family member for a little kitchen time.  There is no place like the kitchen for reconnecting with those you love.

To help you get started, try this recipe for Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies from  - Fast Foods!, a UNL-Extension 4-H Foods Curriculum.  Hope you enjoy, and please go to Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverFoods and post pictures of your Screen Free Week activities.

Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 2 dozen.

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
¾ to 1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup regular or quick oats
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup raisins
Cooking spray

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl beat together both sugars and butter.  Mix in vanilla and egg. 
2.  In a small bowl stir together flour, oatmeal, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.
3.  Add flour and oat mixture to the wet ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Stir in raisins.
4.  Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.  (Dough can be refrigerated for up to one day.)
5.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets coated with cooking spray.
6.  Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.
7.  Remove cookies from pan and place on a cooling rack.

National Garden Month

April is National Garden Month and time to 'gear up' for the growing season.  Americans are gardening in greater numbers than ever.  In 1971, 25 million households or 39% of American families raised a portion of their vegetables.  According to a recent report, 49% of Americans gardened in the past 12 months. 

Most Americans (30%) garden for access to fresh vegetables and second (25%) most popular reason for gardening is better-tasting, higher quality food.  Gardening for fun (22%) beat saving money (15%) as a reason for gardening. 

The most popular vegetable for the home gardener is by far, the tomato.  It is followed by, in order, peppers, green beans, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, summer squash, carrots, radishes and in tenth place, sweet corn. 

If you would like to begin gardening this year, check out your local county extension office.  Gardening centers also offer a wealth of information, as do seed companies. 

In honor of National Garden Month, I am pulling out something from last year's garden - winter squash.  After all, gardeners can not throw anything away. 


Spiced Butternut Squash Puree

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash, about 3 to 4 pounds
¼ cup butter
⅓ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Pierce squash with a knife or fork.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for about one hour.  If squash is soft enough, cut in half to allow steam to escape.  Continue cooking until squash can be easily pierced with a knife or fork.



2. Scrape seeds from cavity.  Remove squash from the skin.  Mash squash and add butter, brown sugar, and seasonings.  Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. 

A Little Short on Cash

Tax time is almost over.  For me, it was over a few weeks ago.  And things did not go my way - I think the government kept too much of my money.  At least in my humble opinion. 

Well, I gotta eat and being the foodie that I am, I want good food.  I am not one for believing that good food has to be expensive.  I prefer not to think of it as cheap, just frugal.  You make the best of what you have.

For my frugal dish, I went back to something my mother used to make, salmon cakes.  This is one of the most inexpensive dishes you can make.  You need a can of salmon, one egg, and some type of bread to bind it.  Crackers and dry bread crumbs work well for this.  Additional seasonings can be added, like onions, lemon zest,  red pepper, and mustard.  Mix it up to suit your tastes.

Recently, I read where a chef stated that canned salmon was like cat food.  "Meow".  Sorry chef, mom used canned salmon and that's what I use.   Canned salmon is great.  It is inexpensive, a good source of omega-3 fatty acids and if you consume the bones, a good source of calcium.  Here is my recipe for salmon cakes.  Use the recipe as a guideline.  If you want to add or remove something, please do so.

Salmon Cakes with Mustard Sauce

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 can (14.5 ounce) salmon
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
⅓ cup chopped red onions
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 large egg
Vegetable oil, for frying

Mustard Sauce:
1 container (6 ounce) plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon coarse grain or Dijon mustard

Directions:

1.  Drain salmon and mash with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Divide into fourths.  Form into a ball and flatten to about ½ inch.

2.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook salmon cakes, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes.

3.  Stir together yogurt and mustard.  Serve with salmon cakes.

National Soybean Month

April is National Soy Foods Month.  Before you turn up your nose, soy foods have come a long way in the United States.  Gone are the days when we associated soy with poor quality, filler ingredients.  It's the real thang!  And for good reason, soy is a very nutritious food.

If you want to consume soy, edamame is a good place to start.  Edamame are harvested at the green stage and can be purchased in the pod or shelled.  They can be used to make salads, humus, added to soups and stir fries. 

A one-half cup serving of edamame contains 3 grams of fat (primarily mono- and polyunsaturated), 8 grams protein, and 4 grams of fiber.  If you are looking for ways to add soy to your diet, try edamame with mustard vinaigrette and check out Cooking Light Magazine website for more recipes.

Edamame with Mustard Vinaigrette

Serves 4 to 6.

Vinaigrette:
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salad:
1 bag (12 ounce) frozen shelled edamame
⅓ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped celery
1 Tablespoon minced parsley

Directions:
1.  Vinaigrette.  In a small bowl combine vinegar, mustard, and salt.  Add oil and stir to combine.

2. Salad.  Add about 1 teaspoon salt to about 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Add edamame and cook for about 5 minutes.  Drain well.

3.  Combine edamame, onion, celery, and parsley.  Stir to combine.  Add vinaigrette and stir to coat vegetables.  Cover and chill for 1 hour before serving.