Monthly Archives: August 2012

Dutch Baby Pancakes with Fresh Fruit

31 Friday Aug 2012

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Pancakes…not my favorite EXCEPT for the Big Dutch Baby Pancake with fresh, seasonal fruit.  I discovered this recipe in the early ’80s in my tried and true ‘Sunset Ideas & Recipes for Breakfast & Brunch’.    The pancake is easy to make, spectacular to serve and yummylicious to eat.

It was a surprise, the first time I made it, to see that the pancake rises as it cooks and collapses when taken from the oven.  Relax–it’s part of the fun!

The original Dutch Baby Pancake was served with powdered sugar and wedges of lemon, but I’ve never tried anything but the pancake with fresh seasonal berries and fruit.  Fresh strawberry in the spring is wonderful and brings excitement about the spring and summer days to come.  My absolute favorite is fresh peach and raspberry.  The combination of the peaches and raspberries are divine.  Today, with fresh Colorado Palisade peaches and fresh raspberries, our family with savor the summer’s sweet peach harvest until we can enjoy again next summer.

BIG DUTCH BABY PANCAKE

3-5 Quart pan (iron skillet, paella pan, or large skillet or round baking dish)
1/3 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk

  • Place butter in pan and set in a 425 degree oven.
  • While butter melts, mix batter quickly. Put the eggs in a blender or food processor and whirl at high speed for 2 minutes.
  • With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour; continue whirling for 30 seconds.
  • Or, in a bowl, beat eggs until blended; gradually beat in milk, then flour.
  • Remove pan from oven and pour in batter.  Return pan to oven and bake until pancake is puffy and well browned (20-25 minutes), depending on pan size.

After baking I use a spatula to assure the bottom of the pancake has not stuck to the bottom of the baking pan. Move to a pretty round plate or platter.  Fill with fruit, sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Have a shaker or bowl of extra powdered sugar for those that may enjoy a little more.

To counteract the sweetness of the pancake, I serve with crisp cooked bacon.

You can serve is several ways. My favorite is filled with fruit:

  • Fruit:  Sliced fresh fruit (I like fresh peach/raspberry best); sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into wedges and serve.
  • Powdered sugar classic:  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and squeeze thick wedges of lemon over at the table.
  • Hot fruit:  Glazed apples or pears served with sour cream or yogurt.  Or heat banana or papaya slices in melted butter or margarine over medium heat, turning until hot; serve with lime wedges
  • Canned pie filling/cherry or apple filling, add lemon juice and ground cinnamon to taste.  Top with yogurt or sour cream. Topping can be heated or cold.
  • Syrups

Tuna Time: With Avocado or Tomato

28 Tuesday Aug 2012

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My go-to quick-lunch or dinner in the summer is tuna salad.  It’s simple, full of protein and wonderful paired with a fresh tomato or avocado.  The tuna salad is made the way my Mother made it.  The tomato and avocado serving vessel wasn’t used on the farm…just straight up on Wonder Bread!

To serve in a tomato:  Wash the tomato and slice off the top stem of the tomato.  Slice the tomato in the middle, but not entirely through the tomato.  Slice 2 more times to where, when opened, the tomato is shaped like a sunburst.

Several years ago, I became excited when served tuna salad in a half of an avocado.  I peel the ripe avocado, removing the pit, putting a scoop of tuna salad inside the avocado to serve.  Double yum!

TUNA SALAD

  • For every can of tuna, drain, and flake the tuna in a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add two boiled eggs, chopped for every can of tuna.
  • Add chopped dill pickle (or dill pickle relish) to taste.
  • Add 2-3 chopped green onions.
  • Stir in a enough mayonnaise to bind the tuna salad together.  (I’ve used plain Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise).
  • Salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Grape and Goat Cheese Bites

24 Friday Aug 2012

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As daughter Sarah and I planned for appetizers for their wedding reception, we found this Grape and Goat Cheese Bite appetizer.  What’s not to like…goat cheese, pecans and grapes.  Simple.  Luscious.  And, again, a Pinterest find.

GRAPE AND GOAT CHEESE BITES

  • Finely chop pecans in a food processor.
  • The hardest part of this recipe is rolling the goat cheese into balls.  Only take a small amount of goat cheese from the frig at a time since it is easier to roll when cold.
  • Roll room temperature goat cheese balls in chopped pecans (so nuts will easily stick to goat cheese).
  • Put goat cheese ball on a toothpick and top with a fresh, washed green grape.  Voila!

Cucumbers and Onions–Mom’s Style

21 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Family Favorites, My Roots, Vegetarian

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My Mother was an avid gardener growing lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, squash, green beans, peas, sweet corn, peppers, raspberries, strawberries, etc.  The rich top soil of Iowa made for  a prolific harvest each year. She would can and freeze vegetables and fruit for the family to enjoy all winter. Our farmhouse basement ‘fruit room’ was a treasure trove of pickles, canned tomatoes, relish, vegetables, soups, etc.

 

One of my favorite summer side dishes was my Mother’s cucumbers and onions. The recipe is simple, not written down, but made from memories in that Iowa farm kitchen.

CUCUMBERS AND ONIONS–Mom’s Style

Peel and thinly slice cucumbers and sweet onion.  Soak in cold, salted water for 30-45 minutes.  Drain.  In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, dash of milk, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over cucumbers and onions and serve immediately.

It’s my Birthday…Popcorn Cake!

17 Friday Aug 2012

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I’m from Iowa and I’m pretty sure popcorn is its own food group.  We grew popcorn on the farm from time to time and I remember stripping the tiny dry kernels from the cob.  My best popcorn memories are, of course, eating it! Popcorn for dinner, leftover popcorn for breakfast, kettle corn at the fairs, popcorn balls in the fall…why not a popcorn cake? My college buddy, Mary, celebrates her birthday in late July.  When we were in college and celebrating BIG for her birthday, I decided to make her a popcorn cake.  A month later, Mary made me a Snickers birthday cake (winding my favorite miniature circles of Snickers bars into a cake). Until this year, it was the only popcorn cake I’ve ever made but I decided to celebrate my birthday BIG this year by making myself one and sharing it on my blog. Happy Birthday to Me!  Now that I’ve told everyone about it, does that I mean I have to share?

POPCORN CAKE

2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
2 tablsepoons vinegar
2/3 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 teaspoon baking powder

  • Pop about 10-15 cups of popcorn (2 batches in the air popper).
  • Bring sugar, water, vinegar and syrup to a boil.  Add cream of tartar and boil to soft crack stage (260 degrees–use candy thermometer).
  • Add the melted butter, vanilla and baking soda. Stir well. Pour over popped corn and stir to mix well.
  • Pour popcorn mixture into a buttered angel food cake pan. Push the popcorn down with buttered hands to remove air pockets. Let cool.  (Note:  if you have any remaining popcorn mixture, use buttered hands to shape into popcorn balls about the size of a baseball.  Place on waxed paper to cool.)
  • Once cool, take a knife and go around the sides of the angel food cake pan to release the popcorn mixture from the pan. Push the cake out of the pan from the underside of the pan (removable bottom).
  • Decorate as you wish. I decorated the top with colored candies and candles and tied a purple ribbon around the middle. Add candy to the popcorn mixture or use icing to write on the top.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (and Mary, too!)

Strawberry Bruschetta

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in New Favorite, New Traditions, Vegetarian

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Ok, I’m on a Pinterest roll this week.  I LOVE this website and used so many ideas from Pinterest for both daughter’s weddings.  I noticed several family and friends pinned this Strawberry Bruschetta and I had to try it.  It is amazingly simple yet fantastically delicious.  I’m made it for parties, assembled and ready to serve.  It’s like dessert for an appetizer.  It feels soooo right.

It’s summer!  Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY BRUSCHETTA

1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced
1 tbsp. sugar
1 French baguette
4 oz. goat cheese
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ cup minced basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the  strawberries and sugar in a small bowl; toss to combine.  Let the berries sit for about 30 minutes so that they begin to release their juices.  Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on top of each baguette slice.  Top each slice with spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Top each slice with the basil leaves and cracked pepper, to taste.

Slightly adapted from Whole Foods via The Curvy Carrot and via annies-eats.com

Cucumber Cup Appetizers

10 Friday Aug 2012

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Pinterest is a wonderful invention, giving us instant access to so many wonderful ideas.  One of those ideas that daughter, Sarah, and I chose for one of the wedding appetizers was cucumber cups.  What the heck is a cucumber cup, you say?  Read on….

Wash the cucumber.  Using a potato peeler, peel stripes around the cucumber.  Cut off the round end of the cucumber.  Cut the cucumber into 1″ slices.  Taking a grapefruit spoon or teaspoon, hollow out about 2/3 of the center of the cucumber.

Fill each cucumber cup with the filling of your choice.  Some of the ideas I’ve used include:

  • hummus with a chopped piece of red pepper on top
  • goat cheese with a drizzle of honey and a pecan or walnut on top
  • cream cheese with salmon/lox and a sprig of fresh dill
  • dip…any dip you please

It’s cucumber season, so cut some cups for an easy appetizer that will chill you down after a hot day.

Tres Leches Cake…delicioso!

07 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in New Favorite, Nicaragua

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Tres Leches (Three Milk) Cake was not on my radar screen until 8-10 years ago.  A friend served it for the Holidays and I was instantly in love!  When my sister and I traveled to Puerto Rico a few years ago, we couldn’t get enough of it!

On my way home from Nicaragua several weeks ago, I wasn’t ready to let go of the cuisine and was happy to discover Tres Leches at the Miami airport.  It was good, but not of the quality I truly wanted to experience.

Once home in Colorado, I had to make it from scratch.  It tasted wonderful, but not the most beautiful presentation I’ve ever seen.  Oh well, I’m more about the taste, especially when fresh strawberries graced the top of each serving.

TRES LECHES CAKE

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
  • In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
  • Use an electric mixer to beat egg whites, in a large bowl, until forming soft peaks.
  • Add sugar a bit at a time and beat until well mixed.
  • Add egg yolks one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each egg yolk is added.
  • Continue beating and add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk.
  • Mix very well then add the remaining flour, milk and vanilla extract.  Assure all are mixed well together.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  Use a toothpick, fork, or skewer to poke several holes in the cake.

THREE MILK SYRUP:

Three Milk Syrup

12 ounce can evaporated milk
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

  • Mix the evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream together until well blended.  Pour over top of prepared cake.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more.

Pouring Three Milk Syrup over Cake

I served the cake without the following frosting but with strawberries.  Just in case you are more of a frosting person, here it is:

FROSTING:

1 cup cold whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • Before serving the cake, whip together the cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl.  Use an electric mixer to beat until stiff peaks form.
  • Spread frosting over cake.  Cut into squares and service.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Fresh and Light Carrot Salad

03 Friday Aug 2012

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As the days get hotter, I crave light and cool foods (except for my occasional Mexican food craving). The Carrot Salad is light, simple and delicious.

FRESH AND LIGHT CARROT SALAD

1 pound carrots
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 small shallot finely chopped

Ingredients for Fresh & Light Carrot Salad

  • Peel the carrots and shred in a food processor.
  • Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Stir in the shallots and pour over shredded carrots.  Mix well.

  • Cover the salad and sit for a few hours for the flavors to blend.