Kiss me! I’m (pretending to be) Irish!

We managed to sneak in a full-fledged Irish dinner on Tuesday before Momma had to dash out the door to her quilting class. Hubby wasn’t there for our familial celebration, alas, but the babysitter seemed to enjoy it.

(To John’s credit, he pulled in the driveway as I was leaving. Babysitter Megan was just covering for him until he arrived. This is our “quilting night arrangement.”)

Corned beef and cabbage is very easy to make. Have you tried it? No? You must. All I did was boil the corned beef for 30 minutes (to reduce its saltiness) with half the contents of the little spice pack that comes with it.

Then I popped it in my new Dutch oven (which I love) and drizzled it with olive oil. I added a handful of carrots, (peeled and chopped) and a handful of onions (also peeled and chopped in large sections so the kids can avoid them). A little salt and pepper, a couple pats of butter, and into the oven it went.

I cooked mine for about 3 ½ hours at 325 degrees and it was so very good—crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside.

Oh, and I added the cabbage about an hour and 1/2 into the baking. You don’t want mushy cabbage.

You know.

* * * * * * *

The second recipe I got from my sister that very afternoon. I phoned her up to see how she was preparing her corned beef & cabbage, (because I just knew she’d be making corned beef & cabbage), and she told me about this funky Irish side dish they were having.

“It’s in the new Centennial Cookbook that I’m editing for our parish,” she said. It’s called ‘Thumblededore’ or ‘Dumblededoop’ or something like that.”

She was close. : )

Rumbledethumps is actually its Scottish name. In England, this dish is known as Bubble and Squeak; in Ireland, colcannon.

The names didn’t much matter to my kids, although they did like saying “Bubble and Squeak.” Even more than that, they liked eating it.

Here’s the recipe:

Rumbledethumps

1 pound potatoes
1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 head)
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon chopped chives or parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel, boil and mash your potatoes. Set aside.

Chop or shred your cabbage. (You choose! It’s a free country.)
Melt the butter in large skillet or frying pan and
sauté your cabbage and chopped onion
until they are soft.

Add the cabbage to your bowl of mashed potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Turn into a buttered ovenproof dish, sprinkle with grated cheese,
and brown under broiler or bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Garnish with chives or parsley and serve!

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake

I tend to get a little bit, um, obsessive come St. Patrick’s Day.

Really.

You’d think I was actually Irish.

(In truth, I am 100% French Canadian. I haven’t a drop of Irish in me, unless you count all the Guinness beer and Irish Cream that I am fond of consuming this time of year. And mind you, being pregnant doesn’t place a damper on my love of all drinks Irish. I merely dump the Guinness into the stew and make cheesecake with the Bailey’s. Problem solved.)

So yeah, the festivities last for days around here, mainly because I can never narrow the menu down to just one meal. We will have Irish stew and soda bread for one meal and corned beef & cabbage for the next. Certainly we’ll have some Reuben sandwiches for lunch one day—not because they are Irish, necessarily, but because they are just so very good.

And the corned beef is on sale.

Naturally.

We had our biggest meal on Sunday night because I’ll be gone the evening of St. Patrick’s Day. I know, I know—what’s wrong with this would-be Irish lass?

(It’s my first quilting class, is what it is, and I really shouldn’t skip it.)

For Sunday’s meal, I went with Guinness Irish Stew and a nice crusty loaf of pumpernickel. For dessert we had Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake (for the grown-ups) and shamrock shakes for the kids. Except, come to think of it, the grown-ups were snitching the shamrock shakes in addition to their slice of cheesecake.

Note to self: buy more ice cream next year.

I got all the recipes out of this month’s Faith and Family.

They.

Were.

Excellent.

And so without further adieu, here is that recipe for…

~ Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake ~

Crust

10 whole graham crackers, broken into pieces
¼ C. sugar
6 T. butter, melted

Filling

24 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 C. sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 C. Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping

1 ½ C. sour cream
¼ C. powdered sugar (I used a touch more.)
1 ½ oz. white chocolate, grated

For crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease 9-inch springform pan. Grind the graham crackers and sugar in a food processor until you’ve got a nice bunch of crumbs; add the butter and pulse a few times. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of your springform pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Have some Bailey’s in a glass. Start on the filling.

For the filling: Blend your cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk the eggs, Bailey’s, and vanilla in a small bowl, then blend this mixture into the cream cheese. Pour into the springform pan and bake until the edges of the filling are puffed and look dry, and the center is just set, about 50 minutes.

Cross your fingers. Have another glass of Bailey’s.

Cool the cheesecake on a rack when it’s done.

For the topping: Mix sour cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Spread onto the cooled cake with a rubber scraper. Refrigerate for six hours or so; sprinkle with grated chocolate; consume with wild abandon.

Good St. Patrick, pray for us!

*For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

Really Yummy Taco Soup

Not to mention, really easy.

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs. Ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
1 can (15 oz) whole-kernel corn, undrained (See a pattern?)
1 can (28 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 or 2 packages taco seasoning mix, to taste

In a heavy stockpot, brown your ground beef and onion. Drain off the fat if you like.

Dump in everything else.
(I guess that makes this “Dump Soup.” If you call it that, and I did, I guarantee that your preschooler will be delighted.)

Simmer for about an hour and serve with:

A handful of tortilla chips (We like the lime kind)
Some shredded cheddar or a Mexican blend
1 dollop (Optional unless you’re me,
in which case it’s never optional.)

Oh and if your soup should seem too thick, toss in a can or two of water while it’s simmering.

Enjoy! Say a prayer for your big pregnant friend while you do so.

Cleverness

My kids would never drink carrot juice if I gave it to them in a glass.

But they will eat it in a popsicle.


*Recipe found at Elizabeth’s blog here (Take #4). I left out the coconut oil.


Yours in times of deception and truth,

The Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

When a dear old friend phoned last night to see if she could stop by this morning with a Christmas present for Jem, her godson, I told her we’d be delighted.

And then I hung up the phone with an “Ack! I don’t have anything for her yet!”

I quickly made plans to whip up a batch of my very favorite Christmas cookies from last year—the ones I talked about in this post—and ran to the grocery store after supper. I stood in the baked goods aisle for a full ten minutes, seeing every kind of baking chip possible except for the mint-flavored. (I did, however, finally find the price code for the mint chocolate chips. They were all out of them. Of course.)

Feeling stuck in a rut and as if nothing else could possibly do, I drove home deep in thought. I looked in the freezer and found a bag of miniature chocolate chips. Then I went to my stash of Christmas goodies and grabbed a couple of red-and-white striped candy canes.

Inspiration struck. I was in business.

The Very Best Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. salted butter - softened
• 3/4 C. dark brown sugar
• 1/2 C. white granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. peppermint extract
• 2 eggs
• 2-1/3 C. sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 package (10 oz.) mint chocolate chips (I only use half a package, but that’s just me.) And if perchance you cannot find the mint-flavored chocolate chips, do not fear! Use semi-sweet and proceed with confidence.
• Crushed candy cane pieces, about 1/3 cup.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Blend butter, sugars, extracts and eggs until mixed.
• Sift together flour, baking soda & baking powder. Blend into dough.
• Stir in chocolate chips. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator.
• Form dough into 1-inch balls and slightly flatten. Sprinkle a few crushed candy canes on top and gently push into the dough.
• Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
• Cool on wire racks, gently pushing in any loose candy cane bits.

Eat one and box the rest up for your friend.

Or, conversely, eat the entire box and try to save one for your friend.

Either way, these cookies are very, very good.

Oatmeal Cookies

It must be fall because I can’t stop making cookies!

These oatmeal cookies are among my family’s favorites. We eat them for snacks and we eat them for breakfast. Hey, it’s oatmeal, right?

They are really very good.



Oatmeal Cookies

(Adapted from Colorado Cache)

This recipe makes 4 to 6 dozen, depending on the size of your cookies and how much dough you eat while making them.

3 eggs, well beaten
1 C. raisins (I often substitute dried cherries or craisins.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
2 ½ C. white flour
(I substitute 1 C. of whole wheat pastry flour.
That alone justifies a third cookie, don’t you think?)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 C. oatmeal
(Here I substitute ½ C. of toasted wheat germ.
More nutrients means less guilt!)
¾ chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine eggs, raisins and vanilla and let stand for one hour, covered with plastic wrap. Cream together butter and sugars. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and soda to sugar mixture. Mix well. Blend in egg-raisin mixture, oatmeal, wheat germ and chopped nuts. (Your dough will be quite stiff.)

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, or roll into small balls and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

Cool. Consume in abundance.

Kitty Cookies

Kitty Cookies , originally uploaded by Margaret in Minnesota.

Here’s one for next year—spooky but delicious “Black Cat Cookies”.

(My girls call them “kitty cookies”. They’re not so intimidating that way.)

We make them on All Hallows’ Eve afternoon and I hand them out to the moms & dads that evening. It’s but a small perk, I figure, for schlepping alongside those little goblins. Plus they’re good—chewy, and chocolaty, and candy corny too.

Enjoy.

“Kitty Cookies”

(Makes 2 dozen)

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 wooden craft sticks
48 candy corn candies
24 red-hot candies

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

2. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Note: The big box store that I visited to purchase supplies for these cookies did not carry red hots and I did not feel making another trip. Feeling very clever indeed, I bought a bag of Skittles and used the red ones instead. (What did I do with the rest of the Skittles? You don’t need to know.)

Also, it pays to read the directions thoroughly. For my first batch, I added the eyes and nose before baking the cookies. Goodness, what a fright! The poor little kitties’ eyes melted clean out of their sockets. No, do not go this route. Put the candy in after the cookies come out of the oven, like you’re supposed to.

Monkey Bread

Every year and on every birthday, my children request Monkey Bread.

They like it, I think, because they’re all part simian (on their father’s side ;) but also because it’s just darn good.

Is it healthy? Not at all. But as a once-every-blue-moon treat, though, this bread cannot be beat. Think of the food that you eat at the State Fair—elephant ears & cheese curds….a basket of chocolate chip cookies washed down with milk….

We’re talking a treat like those, you know.

So here we go.

The Ingredients

4 tubes of refrigerated biscuits (the 7 ½ oz. ones)
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 C. brown sugar
¾ C. butter (My recipe says “margarine” which made me wonder: does anyone really cook with margarine?)

The Directions

First you cut each biscuit into quarters.

Place them in a baggie (a few quarters at a time)with your cinnamon/sugar mix and shake shake shake.

The kids love to help with this part.


And you don’t have to be picky on the fractions. You can do thirds or fifths if you prefer.

Only do a few pieces at a time because otherwise you will end up with a great big clump of dough. You want your individual pieces to be well coated, like this:


Like my nails? They’re made in China.

Melt the brown sugar and butter in a pan but do not boil it! It will get all separated and gross. Pour it over your biscuits, which have been placed in a well-greased Bundt pan. (My recipe says you can also use an angel-food cake pan. I tried that once and the brown sugar leaked all over the oven. It’s your call; how brave are you?)

So anyway. Pour the brown sugar and butter over the biscuits, like so:


And bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

When you’re done it will look like this:

And this:


I told you. They like this stuff; they really like it.

PS. You will, too.

Bon appetit!

Silverglade Spinach Salad

From the Crème de Colorado Cookbook

6 cups spinach leaves, rinsed & dried & all of that
6 oz. Swiss cheese, cut into julienne strips
6 oz. Cheddar cheese, cut into julienne strips
2 C. seedless grapes, halved

Dressing:

¼ C. cider vinegar
½ C. vegetable oil
2 tsp. light brown sugar
4 slices bacon, fried crisp & crumbled
2 T. sliced green onions

You will probably have more dressing than you need, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

In any case, this was so easy and so good. (It's the unlikely combination of colors, tastes & textures that won me over, I think.)

Oh, and nibbling on the cheese while you’re julienne-ing it is permitted.

Having a glass of wine on the side, even better.

Curried Beef

(As shared by Sweet Shivaun)

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1 chopped sweet onion
• a few chopped fresh garlic cloves
• 1 lb. of sliced carrots
• 4 to 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up stew-style
• 2-3 heaping tablespoons of curry powder (Shivaun says that the Indian Madras type is the best)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt to taste / soy sauce to taste if you like
• a squirt of ketchup, or a chopped tomato, or a dollop of tomato sauce
• Water
• 1 can coconut milk or coconut cream
• A dash of lemon or limejuice if you like (lemongrass would be really good, too, if you have it)

Brown the ground beef in a large sauté pan. When it is almost done cooking, add the garlic and onions and sauté until soft. (Don’t overcook the garlic.) Add the curry powder and mix well.

Drop in your carrots and potatoes. Add water to almost completely (but not quite) cover the food. Add the sugar, salt, and ketchup and simmer for 25 minutes or so, covered with a tilted lid so steam can escape, until carrots and potatoes are done.

Add coconut milk and lemon juice before serving and warm throughout.

Serve over rice.

*You could also throw everything above into a crock-pot and cook it all day. Just leave out the coconut milk until shortly before serving so that it doesn't curdle.

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

(Recipe courtesy of Cathie B.’s Catering)

Warning: these cookies are probably a little too good, if you know what I mean. If you are working on the virtue of temperance then perhaps you’d better go google-search a nice, safe fruit salad.

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• dash of salt
• 48 chocolate covered caramel candies (Rolos)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

1.Preheat oven to 375. Cream the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.

2. Carefully beat in the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt).

3. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or two while you unwrap all those Rolos. (It is helpful to put the Rolos in the fridge, too.) Use a cookie scoop or spoon to make balls with the cold dough. (If it is too sticky, put the dough back in the fridge.) Put an unwrapped Rolo in each blob of dough. Make sure the dough completely covers the Rolo or the caramel might leak out while baking. Roll or dip the little balls of dough into the white sugar.

4. Place on a cookie sheet (I use parchment paper for easy clean-up if some caramel bakes out) and bake for 8 minutes at 375. Let cool for a bit on the pan and then move to a cooling rack.

5. Ingest in large quantities. Pause; wonder if you should have shared with the kids.

Cathie B.’s Unbelievable Beef Stew

The ultimate in comfort food, this stew is even better when the recipe is doubled or even tripled and shared with a friend in need.

The following proportions serves 6 to 8.

• 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 2 medium to large onions, chopped coarse
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 T. flour
• 1 C. full-bodied red wine
• 2 C. chicken stock or broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 6 small boiling potatoes, peeled and halved
• 4 large carrots, peeled and slice ¼ inch thick
• 1 C. frozen peas, thawed
• ¼ C. minced fresh parsley, if desired

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Place beef cubes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Heat 2 T. of oil over medium high heat in large soup kettle; add beef to kettle in two separate batches. Brown meat on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, adding remaining tablespoon of oil if needed. Remove meat and set aside.

2. Add onions to now empty kettle; sauté until almost softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; continue to sauté about 30 seconds longer. Stir in flour; cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping up any browned bits that may have stuck to kettle. Add stock, bay leaves and thyme; bring to simmer. Add meat; return to simmer. Cover and place in oven; simmer in oven for 1 hour.

3. Bask in the delicious smells that are now beginning to fill your home.

4. Remove kettle from oven. Add potatoes and carrots, cover and return to oven. Simmer until meat is just tender, 1-½ hours to 2 hours. Remove stew from oven.

5. Add peas and allow to stand 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and add more salt & pepper to taste.

6. Enjoy! Say a prayer for Cathie B. and her family while you’re at it.

Dulce de Leche-Banana Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pieshell (I always “cheat” and use store-bought crusts, but you do whatever suits you.)
  
• 1 can (13.4 oz.) dulce de leche (Dulce de leche is like sweetened condensed milk, only caramel-flavored. It’s probably in the Hispanic section of the grocery store, although I found it next to all the other canned milks.)
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 C. whipping cream
• ¼ C. powdered sugar
• ½ C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil.
  

1. Heat your oven to 450 degrees and bake your piecrust for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Once your crust is done, let it cool for thirty minutes (according to the recipe), but less than that if you’re like me and are hyper-impatient.

2. Spread your can of dulce de leche onto the crust with a spatula. Rinse the can & recycle it, or let your kids have a field day with the sticky stuff left inside.

3. Slice your bananas and arrange neatly (not that it matters) onto the dulce de leche.

4. Beat your whipping cream and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Spread it over the bananas.

5. Put your chocolate chip & oil in a small resealable freezer bag; seal the bag. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and give the bag a few good squeezes. Microwave for another 30 seconds or so until everything is melted. Snip off a teensy tiny corner of the bag and pipe your melted chocolate over whipped cream.

6. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it. Good luck actually getting it unharmed and uneaten to the table.


*This recipe is adapted from Betty Crocker's Fall Baking (2007) cookbook.

Hitching a Ride on the A-Train

A for Autumn, of course!

First of all, lest you think that I was so clever as to come up with this A+ idea for an Apple pie, I most Assuredly did not. Kudos go to Katherine, an alphabeterian extraordinaire and from the looks of it, an excellent chef as well. (Save me a d-d-donut, please.)

Ahem.

As I was saying, A is for all things autumn and in the fall I love apple pie. I also love Kristen at Small Treasures, very much, and when I found out she was hosting a Fall Festival at her cooking blog, A Virtual Kitchen, well, I wiped my smudgy hands on my apron and scratched my head.

And came up with...nuthin'.

Oh, the recipes are all there on the shelf of course, just waiting to be dusted off. To tell you the truth, though, dear reader, we've been just a wee bit too busy to come up with anything original.

The above is a photo of a plain old apple pie, made with store-bought crust and the teensy tiny apples from my mom & dad's one apple tree. (An apple tree that's been there since my youth, I might add--a fighter of a tree if ever I've seen one, and a fond reminder of my childhood.) A plain old apple pie, but the "A's" on top delighted the children, and these days, that's what I'm Aiming for.

That and learning one's letters, of course.

For my all-time favorite apple pie recipe, I defer you to this yester-post of days' past.

And I wish you a happy, healthy, crazy-busy-but-delicious Fall!

PS. Love you, Kristen!

Triple Berry Muffins

This recipe makes 16 to 24 muffins, depending on how huge you like your muffin.

• 3 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1-2 tsp. cinnamon (depending on how cinnamon-y you like things)
• 1 ¼ C. milk
• 2 extra-large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 ½ sticks (3/4 C) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 C. fresh blueberries
• ½ C. fresh raspberries
• ½ C. diced fresh strawberries
• 1 ¼ C. sugar

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line your muffin tins with little paper liners if you have them. If not, spray generously with non-stick cooking oil.

Sift your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon into a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs & melted butter. Do try to cool your butter before you add it, unless you like to cook your eggs before adding them to the batter.

Coat your berries with the sugar and set aside.

Make a nice big well in the middle of your dry stuff and pour in the wet stuff. You know what’s coming: stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix, lest the fluffy muffin police come knocking. Add your berries and gently, gently, gently fold into the batter. Murmur “slow and steady wins the race” to yourself as you are folding. You don’t want pink or blue or pinkish-blue muffins when you’re done. You want golden brown muffins with all their berries intact.

Spoon the batter into your muffin tin; the more you put in, the bigger the muffin. (naturally)

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and your kitchen smells delicious.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home

Crock-Pot Chicken Indonesian

In honor of Barbara's Crock Pot Festival, I have dug out one of my favorite Fall entrées: this crock pot dish that came with one of Leanne Ely’s Saving Dinner menu mailers.

It was one of her “recipe raves”, for good reason. I make this dish often, especially on school nights when I need supper to be fast & easy. How about you, friend? Do you like supper to be fast & easy on a school night?

Then this crock pot recipe is your friend.

I like cooking with chicken thighs now & then; they’re moist, meaty and a pleasant change from the ubiquitous boneless, skinless breast.

Trust me, this dish is delicious. Thank you, LeAnn! And thank you, Barbara, for hosting!

• 12 skinless chicken thighs
• 3 T. soy sauce
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ T. grated fresh ginger root
• 3 tsp. sesame oil
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/3 C. peanut butter

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and cayenne. Place your chicken in the crockpot and spoon sauce over the top of it. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or until chicken is tender and fully cooked. Remove chicken from the crock pot and stir peanut butter into the juices until smooth. Spoon sauce over chicken to serve.

Serve with rice and a side of veggies.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

In honor of Suzanne’s Blueberry Bash, here is a yummy recipe using one of the world’s most perfect fruits. I’m with Kristen; I can eat blueberries by the handful right out of the colander. Should I be disciplined enough to actually bake with them, then a coffee cake’s the way to go. I love the way the blueberries hang onto their shape and then burst open with flavor when you bite into them.

Don’t be put off by the olive oil in this recipe, by the way. It makes for a very moist and tender cake.

• 11/4 C. flour
• ½ tsp. soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¾ C.sugar, divided
• ½ C. buttermilk
• ¼ C. light olive oil
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 T. grated orange zest
• 1 T. orange juice
• 1 ½ C. fresh blueberries, washed & drained
• 1 tsp. flour
• 2 T. sliced almonds
• 1 T. sugar

Grease side and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil (use a mister if you’ve got one) and dust with sugar. Combine first 3 ingredients with ½ C. sugar in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Whisk together buttermilk, olive oil and egg yolks. Add to dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Stir in orange zest and juice.

In another large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form (about 1 minute). Gradually add ¼ C. sugar. Beat at high speed until stiff (2-3 minutes). Using a few strokes, whisk one half of cake batter into egg mixture. Gently whisk in remaining cake batter until no white streaks remain. Pour into prepared pan.

Toss blueberries with 1 tsp. flour and sprinkle over batter. Sprinkle the almonds and 1 T. sugar on top of it all. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (55-60 minutes). Cool 10 minutes; remove side from pan. Cool 5 minutes; invert; remove bottom of pan. Invert again onto pretty serving plate and dig in.

Recipe adapted from The Byerly Bag magazine

Southwestern Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salsa

For Alicia with Love

• 2 C. sweet corn kernels (canned is fine)

• ½ tsp. salt

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (or you substitute a can of diced tomatoes; however, there’s just no excuse for using canned tomatoes in the summer!)

• ½ avocado, cubed (Except if your kids really love avocado. Right, Alicia?)

• ¼ C. diced red onion, if desired
  

• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (Or you may substitute a milder pepper, such as serrano)
  

• 2 T. fresh lime juice

• ¼ C. chopped cilantro (because you can never have too much cilantro)

Sprinkle salt over minced garlic on a cutting board and mash with the flat side of a large knife to make a paste.

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive serving bowl; toss lightly. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving to blend flavors.

Serve with lots of your favorite tortilla chips. (We like the little scoopy ones.)

Image from GiantEagle.com.

Strawberry Rhubard Cobbler

They're smart, they're sweet and they can cook like nobody's business.

I'm talking about Suzanne and Kristen, of course, and in honor of their Strawberry Festival 2007 (the first of many?) I am posting one of my favorite summertime treats:

Strawberry Rhubard Cobbler

Mind, this is a comfort dish and not haute cuisine. You'll be serving this to your bosom friends as you sit out on the deck at dusk...chatting and laughing and slapping away all the mosquitos.

Or you can have it inside in air-conditioned comfort. It'll still be just as good.

Crumb Topping

1 C. flour
1 C. oats
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 generous tsp. cinnamon (I like this kind)

Fruit Mixture

4-5 C. diced rhubarb
1 C. sliced strawberries
3/4 C. sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 C. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together crumb topping, cutting in butter. Press 3/4 of the topping into a 9x13 pan.* Cover with rhubarb/strawberry blend. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add water. Cook, stirring until thick and clear. Add vanilla.

Pour syrup over fruit. Top with remaining crumb topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until topping is browned. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or a side of vanilla ice cream.

Bug spray is optional.

*The smaller the pan, the taller the dessert. You decide.

Homemade Orange Smoothies

These get bonus points for being both healthy and delicious! They taste like a drink from Orange Julius.

1 C. plain yogurt
½ C. orange juice (I like the Minute Maid Kids brand for the extra vitamins)
¼ C. Splenda
½ scoop whey protein powder
crushed ice

You may adjust ingredients to taste, of course, and then blend away. Throw in some frozen banana or strawberries and skip the ice.

image courtesy of DoleNutrition.com.