Cooking Light’s August issue had a recipe for Pickapeppa Chicken and Mango Kebabs (that I plan on making soon) that required me to buy a bottle of Pickapeppa sauce. I had never heard of this sauce before and I was intrigued. It’s a Caribbean condiment referred to as “Jamaican ketchup” that is basically a sweeter A1 sauce, made with tomatoes, onions, mangoes, peppers, and other spices.
I thought this sauce sounded like it would be great on shrimp, so I decided to incorporate it into another Cooking Light recipe from the same issue: Gazpacho with Shrimp.
Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) container grape tomatoes, divided
1 1/2 cups sliced English cucumber, divided
1 cup diced red bell pepper, divided (about 2 peppers)
3/4 cup diced Vidalia or other sweet onion, divided
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 garlic cloves
1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes, drained
The juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup pickapeppa sauce
20 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 8 ounces)
I am on a bit of a peach kick at the moment. They have looked oh so amazing at the store recently, and my boyfriend is a huge fan, so why not? Expect a couple more peach recipes to show up on here in the coming weeks. (I’ll try to space them out a bit.)
A friend of mine made this absolutely delicious Honey-Ginger Sparkling Bourbon Lemonade a few months back that I haven’t stopped thinking about. It was SO good! So when I spotted Cooking Light’s recipe for a Peachy Bourbon Lemonade, I had to make it immediately, hoping it would be similarly delicious.
This lemonade is such a treat during this uncomfortably hot weather we are having. It would be just as yummy and refreshing without the bourbon (either as a non-alcoholic drink or with another spirit of choice).
Ingredients (Serves 4):
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cups water
2 cups chopped, peeled peaches (I used white peaches)
¼ cup lightly packed mint leaves
6 tablespoons sugar
¾ cup bourbon
Ice
Note: Bourbon does include grains that contain gluten. However, distilled alcohol is considered gluten-free because the process of distillation removes the harmful gluten protein, which is why I have this recipe listed as gluten free. If you are highly sensitive to gluten, bourbon may be off limits for you.
I made these Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting for a lovely vegan bride-to-be for her bridal shower this weekend. I’m not going to lie, I was going to do a test run of these, and if I didn’t like them, she was getting normal egg-filled, buttercream-topped cupcakes. But. These are good. Really really good.
So when I did my test run, I passed them around to friends and family and conveniently left the word “vegan” out of the description until after they tasted the cupcakes. My “test subjects” didn’t seem too upset with my experiment, many went for seconds!
These cupcakes use dark chocolate (versus milk chocolate), and have no eggs, butter, or milk. And they are still super fluffy and moist. The best part, most of the ingredients are probably either in your pantry or really easy to find!
Ingredients (makes 2 dozen) adapted from the Curvy Carrot:
I continue to struggle with looking at a bunch of ingredients and imagining a meal. In general, I follow recipes and make a few changes to account for ingredients available or to suit my tastes. But yesterday, a friend and I came across fresh ricotta and the most beautiful fresh cherries. The cherries were slightly tart so I thought they would make an amazing “dessert alternative” or a somewhat sweet appetizer.
We topped toasted baguette pieces (also from the market) with some of the ricotta, pitted cherries, mint, and a touch of honey to make this Cherry Ricotta Bruschetta.
“Dirt” cake reminds me of hot summers, barbecues, and outdoor eating. When I was a kid, I used to get so excited for dessert once I spotted the flower pot set out on checkered tablecloth with the other desserts. This “Dirt” Flower Pots dessert is really easy to make, requires no cooking, and looks just adorable. You can really dress it up with flowers, worms, or even mini Scottie dogs.
As a member of the Walkers Shortbread Ambassador program, I was sent packs of Walkers’ pure butter Scottie Dog Shortbread cookies, which help support the company’s sponsorship of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty (ASPCA). Walkers has recently launched a Chocolate version of the cookie as well. In 2012 (the original Scottie Shortbread was launched in January 2012, Walkers raised over $25,000 for the ASPCA. For 2013, the company has doubled its minimum donation amount to $50,000. Ten cents from the sale of every Scottie Dog Shortbread 3.9-ounce carton and 20 cents for larger cartons will be donated to the ASPCA.
To help spread the word about these cookies and their partnership, Walkers is giving away a Scottie Dog Tin! To enter, just use the widget below. Note: This Giveaway is now closed.
Source: walkersus.com
Now, back to the recipe.
Ingredients (serves 8, or makes 4 small flower pots):
1 package of Oreos
2 graham crackers (optional)
2 packs of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
3 cups milk
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz whipped topping
1 box of Walkers Scottie Dog Shortbread Cookies (Chocolate or Original)
Blueberry Mushroom Risotto. Hear me out. I know you read the title of this post and probably thought I’ve officially lost it. But I promise you this is amazing. I first heard about this bizarre combo in a book called The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. This book is fantastic. It lists pairings, common and strange, to help make your cooking a bit more adventurous. I page through it all the time, and have learned some yummy pairings. But the one that has stuck out to me the most is the mushroom and blueberry combination.
Apparently northern Italy cooking commonly pairs fruit with mushrooms according to the book. Who knew? My fellow Philadelphian (and internationally known chef) Marc Vetri also has a porcini and blueberry lasagna in one of his cookbooks: Il Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey.
So when I found myself the proud recipient of a bunch of mushrooms from To-Jo Mushrooms, I knew it was finally time to try it out. It has been a really crummy, rainy day so I was craving comfort food. Risotto is a perfect rainy day food: hearty, creamy, and absolutely delicious! I’m a huge fan of mushroom risotto so I was excited to try this spin on it. In the past, I’ve made a traditional Mushroom Risotto, as well as a Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup shallots, sliced
3 slider mushrooms, sliced (or 2 large portobello mushrooms)
1/4 cup assorted dry mushrooms, optional (I used a mixture of morel, chanterelle, and trumpet mushrooms)
I mentioned in my previous post (Prosciutto, Fig, and Arugula Flatbread with Balsamic Reduction) that I have quite a few fresh figs at the moment. No complaints here, but I do want to use them all and not waste any, figs are delicious, and grilled mission figs are the best!
Not only are grilled mission figs super tasty, but they are good for you too. (I love when that happens!) According to California Figs, one serving of fresh figs (1/2 cup or 3-4 medium figs) delivers 5 grams of fiber (20% of your suggested daily value), 354mg potassium (10% DV), and 53mg calcium (6% DV) with just 120 calories. Figs are also fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.
Dried figs are available all year round, but fresh figs have a shorter availability period. Mission Figs, which I am using in this recipe, are available longer than most figs and can be found fresh from late May through as late as November. Because they are mostly a summer produce, I just have to add them to the grill!
I also received a bunch of really awesome kitchen gadgets while at the conference. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m a huge fan of OXO and already had my own set of graters, so I actually have an extra set to give away! (Update: I actually have TWO sets to give away so there will be two lucky winners!) I use my set of graters all the time. The zester is my favorite, mainly because every time I work with any form of citrus, I make sure to zest it before juicing to add extra flavor to the dish. The coarse grater comes in handy with soft and semi-soft cheese, but can be used for anything that needs a larger grate. The medium grater is perfect for carrots, chocolate, and the like. What makes OXO stand out is the ease of use of these tools. After one use, you’ll know what I mean! So be sure to enter for a chance to win a set of these below.
Photos from OXO.com
This recipe for Grilled Mission Figs with Mascarpone and Spiced Honey is based off a recipe on Whole Living. The only large difference is that I grilled the figs beforehand.
Ingredients:
4 large fresh, ripe figs, stems trimmed, halved lengthwise
With grilling season here, I am in search of recipes that aren’t just, well, burgers. I love a good grilled burger, but they can get old pretty quickly. I realized recently that I haven’t had many mushroom recipes lately so this is the perfect time to try grilling a portobello mushroom! I kind of combined two recipes for inspiration for this post. The mushrooms are first brushed with a soy-balsamic marinade and grilled. They are then filled with a mixture of tomatoes, mozzarella, roasted garlic, and basil.
Whenever I visit my friends who live on the Chesapeake, I try to bring some food. I found a recipe for a Tart with Grilled Fruit in a cookbook called Crazy About Pies that I bookmarked for my next trip to Maryland because we always end up grilling and I thought it would make a great complement to a barbecued dinner. I decided to instead make a dark chocolate brownie to go with the grilled fruit instead of the tart. (I will have a post about Crazy About Pies in the near future, there are some amazing sounding recipes in this cookbook!) The brownie recipe is adapted from an Alton Brown recipe.
Ingredients (makes 16 servings):
2 pints of ice cream, preferably fruit based (I used a strawberry almond milk ice cream)
Brownies
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
8 ounces melted butter (2 sticks) plus more for greasing
1 cup dark chocolate cocoa
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Fruit
Fruit of your choice (about 1 cup): I used pineapple, kiwi, and watermelon
When I have time on Sundays (which isn’t terribly often), I like to make a batch of muffins so I have breakfast for the week. Because I had some overripe bananas, this week I decided to make Banana Bread Muffins. I was recently sent some coupons to try Kretschmer Wheat Germ products so I thought adding some of the Honey Crunch would add some nice texture and flavor to the muffins.
So what exactly is wheat germ? Wheat germ comes from the wheat kernel, which is the part removed when refining whole grains into white flour. Wheat Germ is a great source of Vitamin E, B vitamins and folic acid. You can find it in the cereal aisle. Wheat germ can be used in recipes calling for flour or breadcrumbs so its quite versatile. I’ve also used it in smoothies.
So that you can try wheat germ for yourself, Kretschmer is giving away some coupons good for free wheat germ products to an I Can Cook That reader! More on that below.
Ingredients (makes 12 cupcake-sized muffins, of 6 large muffins):
I am so happy that it is finally grilling weather again! There is nothing better than hanging out with friends and family in the back yard, grilling up some burgers, and playing games. Last night I was able to go to my first barbecue of the season and I couldn’t be happier about it. I look forward to many more this summer!
I am an unapologetic lover of cheeseburgers. I never get sick of them. But eating a cheeseburger, oh, once a week all summer is not a good habit at all. I’ve stayed away from veggie burgers for the most part because I was never a fan of the texture. But when MorningStar Farms contacted me about their new Veggie Mediterranean Chickpea Burger I was intrigued. There is a vegan pizza place in Philadelphia called Blackbird Pizzeria that has Chickpea Parm that I’m kind of obsessed with, so I was really looking forward to trying a chickpea burger too!
The chickpea burgers also have spinach, Roma tomatoes, and Greek herbs and spices mixed in which deliver a ton of flavor without the fat and calories. These burgers are just 110 calories per burger and have 70% less fat than ground beef.
Morningstar Farms is also giving away a prize pack valued at over $80 to one reader! I’ll have more details below!
To highlight the Mediterranean flavors in the burger, I decided to make a Tzatziki style topping and finish it off with some feta cheese. Tzatziki is normally made with a strained yogurt, cucumber, lemon, and mint. I decided to make a topping that is in the style of tzatziki but uses tomatoes and dill with a touch of a ranch dressing dry packet to really amp up the flavor.
Almost every citrusy post I have on my blog is dedicated to my mom. She is obsessed with orange, lemon, bergamot, etc. So in honor of Mother’s Day, here’s another one!
As a Walkers Official Blogger Ambassador, Walkers Shortbread sent me an awesome assortment of treats my way to make a spring/Mother’s Day themed post. Walkers Rapsberry Thins was in the mix, my mom also loves raspberries, so I decided to use the rapsberry thins to make a shortbread crust for a lemon tart. To make it even more citrusy, I topped the tart with candied orange peel.
Ingredients:
Candied Orange Peel:
2 oranges
Water
1/2 cup sugar
Crust:
1/2 cup finely ground Walkers raspberry shortbread thins cookies (about 6 cookies)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup salted butter (cold cut into small chunks)
I have a bit of a taco obsession, partially fueled by Cooking Light’s delicious selection of taco recipes. Because of that, I have almost 10 taco recipes on this blog! With Cinco de Mayo around the corner, I thought it might be helpful to put all of those yummy recipes in one place as well as a few other spins on Mexican favorites. I also included some appetizers that would also be a hit at any party. Click the photos below to go to the recipe!
Vegetarian:
Huevos Rancheros TacosBlack Bean and Cheese Enchiladas with Ranchero SaucePortobello and Black Bean QuesadillasBlack Bean Soup with Orange-Jalapeno Salsa
Seafood:
Fish Tacos with Lime Cilantro CremaFish Tacos with Tomatillo Sauce and Red CabbageChilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle CreamCumin-Spiced Fish Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa
Poultry:
Kung Pao Chicken TacosShredded Chicken Tacos with Tomatoes and Grilled CornWine Infused Thanksgiving Leftover EmpanadasSeared Chicken with Avocado Salsa
Beef:
Steak Tacos with Lime MayoKorean-Style Beef Tacos
Appetizers:
Black Bean Mango Salsa on Jalapeño Parmesan CrispsCilantro Lime HummusFresh Salsa
East Passyunk Avenue is hosting “Flavors of the Avenue” this Saturday, an event where 25 restaurants will be handing out samples from their menus. I was given the opportunity to go to a media tasting for this event a few weeks back and have been unable to think about anything else since! I am SO excited for this event!
I must not be alone, pre-sale tickets are completely sold out, although some limited tickets will be available at the entrance to the tent on Saturday. During the media tasting, I was able to sample food from 7 of the participating restaurants.
The weather in Philadelphia decided to take a break from the cold and give us two days of summer! We hit temperatures above 80 degrees so I wanted to prepare a light meal that didn’t involve much time over a stove. This Vegetable Couscous Salad from Cooking Light is perfect for summer dinners. It also travels well, so it would be a great addition to a barbecue, just make it ahead of time and bring it with you!
Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (.6 ounce envelope Italian dressing mix) or Italian spice blend
Salad:
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 cups chopped red bell pepper (I used two peppers)
2 cups chopped tomato (I used two beefsteak tomatoes)
