Gingerbread Muffins

by
No comments yet

Gingerbread Muffins & Rum Sauce

Excellent With No Frills Too!

Gingerbread Muffins

For a short time I lived in a Los Angeles apartment community. Every evening at dinner time I’d take little Stella for a walk. We both needed the exercise after being cooped up all day. Our favorite walk was the fifth level courtyard where floors of apartments faced with open windows. Then the real pleasure … the scent of spices, spices from all over the world, wafting through the air all at the same time.

Even with the pungent aroma of many dishes I make I can’t imagine having a kitchen separate from the rest of my house. These scents just play a pleasurable part in my life. Yes, more often than not my kitchen smells of garlic.

As seasons change so does my menu. Today I’ve made gingerbread muffins and I just love the way my house smells. I’ve added a rum sauce and a little ice cream to make it a dessert … But it could manage all alone.

Enjoy this recipe that mixes up in minutes by hand … And fill your house with the most amazing smells of Fall.

Continue reading

Portuguese Salt Cod

by
No comments yet

Portuguese Salt Cod, Eggs, Potatoes, Onions

Portuguese Salt Cod

What does lox have to do with this recipe? My recipe for lox and eggs with a few changes has become this! By the way, if you haven’t tried your hand at my easy bagels recipe … It’s amazing!

As with lox and eggs holding the salt until the cooking is done is important. My first try at lox and eggs was inedible.

This recipe is amazing. Give it try.

Continue reading

Oatmeal Muffins

by
No comments yet

Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins

Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins

This is what you make when you’ve an unexpected guest for breakfast! Quick, easy and nutritious oatmeal muffins. Doug had to have more than one giant muffin … And I’d even over-baked them. Yikes!

Continue reading

Gluten Free Raisin Biscuits

by
No comments yet

Gluten Free Raisin Biscuits

A Throwback

Raisin Biscuit

Over the last days I’ve been visiting with my daughter and her family in Southern California. My daughter is always mindful of healthy eating. Her pantry is low sugar, primarily organic and whole grain everything. She is into cookies and muffins if the nutritional value outweighs the calories. I’m for that! So, while driving home I was thinking dessert … after all, it had been three days without one. My thoughts went to a raisin biscuit, not gluten free, I ate as a kid. I’ve searched for this cookie in recent years … no longer available at my grocer’s.

I started this recipe late in the day when the natural light was disappearing from my kitchen … Working quickly to get a post together by the end of the day. The step to refrigerate the dough was skipped … saving time, but the recipe suffered a bit. I worked half the dough … So, tomorrow look for instruction photos showing the rolling out process when I work the second half. The typical all purpose flour has been replaced by a gluten free all purpose. This was an easy transition for this cookie since the texture of the original raisin biscuit is unlike a ‘cookie.’ I’ve done a taste test and this definitely passes. I think my daughter would approve!

Try this with any number of dried fruit. I tweaked this a little and added a few dried cranberries too.

Continue reading

Apples

by
No comments yet

Apple Recipes

My Apple Dumplings-Sunday

Apple DumplingsHere are a few apple recipes to tide you over until My Apple Dumplings Post.

Top L-R: Spinach Apple Banana Smoothie, Mother’s Day Muffins, Apple Empanadas
Bottom L-R: Pork Chops Recipe, Apple Dessert, Apple Pie

Did you know there are over 7000 apple cultivars? Just within the last weeks I was looking through the apples at my grocer’s. And up popped a new one … to me anyway. Do you get confused about which to use for what? I kinda stick with my favorites. But it’s interesting and recommended to mix cooking apples to get a little different taste and texture.

The crabapple is the only apple variety native to North America. It’s not used in cooking often because of its extremely sour taste. Apples are usually categorized by use; cider, cooking, eating. Below I’ve listed what I often find available and their recommended use. Yep, in my youth I baked an apple pie with Red Delicious. It took forever for the apples to ‘cook.’

Braeburn-sweet, tart; eating and tarts (can turn brown inside from long storage)
Empire-sweet, crunchy, juicy, tangy; eating (cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious)
Fuji-one of the sweetest, crisp; eating (brought to market in the 60’s-developed in a research station in Japan)
Gala-sweet, juicy, crisp, grainy; eating and sauces (one of the most popular apples)
Golden Delicious-very sweet; eating (found in West Virginia-not closely related to Red Delicious)
Granny Smith-crisp, juicy, very tart; cooking and eating (originated in Australia)
Gravenstein-crisp, sweet, tart; cider, cooking and eating (been around for 100’s of years)
Jonathan-tart; cooking and eating (Origin-Woodstock)
McIntosh-slightly tart and crisp; cooking and eating (very popular in eastern Canada and the Northeast US)
Red Delicious-sweet, very mild to little taste; eating (easy to recognize by the mounds circling the bottom)
Rome-crisp, juicy, mild; cooking (flavor develops in baking)
Winesap-sweet, tangy; cider and eating (Stayman apple)

 

Linguini Carbonara and Fried Rice Recipe

by
No comments yet

The Same Recipe for Both! Really?

Linguini (linguine) Carbonara and Fried Rice

Linguini Carbonara

Fried Rice

Maybe a tiny bit misleading. But with the exception of rice and pasta and one other ingredient these two recipes are the same. Once cooked and soy sauce added to one and Parmesan to the other the tastes are distinctively different.

Linguini Carbonara has always been on the brunch menu, more like eggs and bacon, but is quite versatile and easily makes a great family dinner. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy these two recipes are with minimal ingredients. Great for the inexperienced cook.

Continue reading

Breakfast Burrito

by
No comments yet

Not just for Breakfast-Breakfast Burrito

breakfast burrito

Serve it as a brunch on the patio or dinner in a pinch. Do it the simple way with mushroom soup and your favorite store bought salsa … Or for the purest make a béchamel and if you don’t make salsa try fresh chopped tomatoes and cilantro as the garnish.

Continue reading

Apple Empanada

by
No comments yet

Apple Empanada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a great lunch box dessert! Packs well, can be eaten with little hands, and oh yes, it’s absolutely scrumptious!A real treat and healthy too. I say this is a perfect dessert for everyone. Change the fruit if you prefer another … add as much or as little sugar … and make it vegan if you’d like.

Continue reading

Pancakes

by
No comments yet

Old Fashioned Pancakes

pancakes

 

Family’s favorite pancakes! The secret is the thinness of the batter and the hot hot griddle. My four children are so into my pancakes. They call for advice when theirs don’t turn out. And I always say, the heat of the griddle is crucial, and the thinness of the batter-not too thin but definitely not thick.

There is no need to make the ingredients complex. I like saving that for toppings. Here I’ve used fresh strawberry syrup. You can find the Strawberry Syrup Recipe Here.

And for other Pancake and Syrup Recipes Try Here.

Continue reading