I am still working through my supply of pomegranates; I’m having so much fun finding different ways to use the arils!
This recipe caught my eye immediately during my search for pomegranate recipes. It uses both pomegranate molasses (made from pomegranate juice) and pomegranate arils.
Fesenjan is a Persian stew made with ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, and typically chicken.
And, well, it’s not the prettiest dish I’ve ever made but the flavors are absolutely fantastic!
Note: I was sent a Glass 3 Qt Baking Dish with Lid, Glass 2 Qt Baking Dish with Lid, Brownie Spatula, and Illuminating Digital Hand Mixer from OXO. All opinions are my own.
September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, OXO donates up to $100,000 to support an organization called Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. The organization was founded by two OXOnians (OXO employees) who were inspired by their son Liam’s battle with pediatric cancer, a disease which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer provides inspiration and support to allow anyone to easily get involved in fundraising to find a cure for pediatric cancer.
I’ve posted twice a year for the last few years to help bring awareness to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Click here to see some of my past posts.
Each year, OXO donates $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for each blogger post up to their $100,000 commitment. This year, OXO asked us to use a recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s newest cookbook, Dorie’s Cookies while using some of OXO’s great baking tools. Dorie’s Cookies includes over 200 recipes from classics to brownies to savory cookies, with some great baking tips thrown in.
I decided to make a recipe in the cookbook named Mary’s Maine Bars, named after a recipe developed by Dorie’s recipe tester (Mary Dodd) after a family trip to Maine. The bars are a delicious, chewy gingerbread that is perfect for the fall. One of the alternative to the recipe suggested swirling apple butter into the batter, so I tried it out!
I have a pretty intense sweet tooth; in my mind, dinner isn’t finished until I’ve had dessert! I do try to limit how many times a week I actually do have dessert after dinner, but sometimes you just need some!
This recipe from Cooking Light caught my eye because it involves two of my favorite things: ice cream and blueberries.
This fun little dessert takes very little time to make, and the blueberry sauce can even be made ahead of time!
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons water, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries, divided
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt
2 cups vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt (I used French Vanilla)
The Holiday Season is officially upon us! And what better way to begin the season than with a giveaway? This post and giveaway are brought to you by one of my favorite organizations, World Vision.
The World Vision Gift Catalog is filled with beautiful gift options for this gift-giving season and cover every budget ($10 to $5,100) that help children and families in need worldwide.
The World Vision Gift Catalog offers an alternative (or addition to) traditional holiday gift giving. With a financial contribution, the gift giver can select from dozens of items that you will get while helping a person in need. For example, a gardener may enjoy giving hybrid or drought-resistant seeds to a farmer through a donation of just $17 to help one family. Or a child may be the perfect recipient of a donation of $35 which buys new toys such as stuffed animals, dolls, sports equipment, simple games, and more. Because of donations from leading companies, this gift actually goes 12 times further to provide fun-filled toys (it would buy $420 worth of new toys).
A Chai Toddy is a hot toddy made with chai, which is a tea made with a blend of spices typically including green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ground ginger, and black peppercorns. With the addition of whiskey or bourbon, a Chai Toddy makes for a yummy party beverage, don’t you think?
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SwapMilk4Silk #CollectiveBias
Everyone loves a nice, fluffy cupcake. I love when a cupcake is light and airy, with smooth and creamy frosting on top! One of the easiest ways to keep a cupcake moist and fluffy is to use yogurt in the batter. But that doesn’t mean your cupcakes can’t be dairy-free or vegan-friendly!
I really enjoy making vegan cupcakes; they are surprisingly simple to make and taste just as delicious as normal cupcakes (or, dare I say it, even better!) I became interested in vegan baking when I made cupcakes for my sister-in-law a couple of years ago. Since then, I’ve noticed how easy it is to make delicious baked goods that are dairy and egg free!
Silk dairy-free products are perfect for cupcakes, because they add additional flavor to the batter through their Vanilla and other flavored yogurts and milks.
To make these Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Plum Frosting, I went to Walmart to pick up a Silk Half Gallon Vanilla Almond Milk and a couple of Silk Vanilla Yogurts. You can find them in the dairy aisle, with the normal milk and yogurts.
Silk Almond Milk has 50% more calcium that dairy milk, with no cholesterol and no saturated fat. Silk offers seven almond milk options, all 100 calories or less. I love Vanilla Almond Milk in my cereal, its so tasty! Silk yogurt, made from soy, has 6 grams of soy protein per serving with no cholesterol and no artificial flavors or colors. The yogurt is dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian.
Plums are in season at the moment and I absolutely love their flavor, so I decided to make a plum frosting. The delicious flavor of plums is enhanced with almonds and vanilla, so Silk products are perfect with plum!
Cupcakes:
1 stick margarine (8 tablespoons), at room temperature
Did you know that May is National Barbecue Month? The weather is perfect for going outside and grilling, and with Memorial Day behind us, it’s time to take full advantage of grilling season!
I’ve partnered with Four Roses Bourbon to make an oh-so yummy summer barbecue-themed dessert. A lot of the steps of this can be made ahead of time to make serving the dessert easy enough for a weeknight.
This dessert includes ice cream, grilled fruit, a spiced bourbon butter sauce, and toasted pound cake pieces… what more could you ask for?!
Happy National Blueberry Pancake Day!! To celebrate, I partnered with Driscoll’s to bring you a really delicious spin on traditional blueberry pancakes: Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes.
Adding ricotta to your pancakes doesn’t make them taste like ricotta (no worries!), but it does make for a super moist, almost pudding-like center that is so decadent and delicious!
If you prefer dairy free pancakes, I have a homemade pancake mix recipe here. Add the blueberries to the batter once it has been added to the pan.
I adapted this recipe from a Bobby Flay recipe on Foodnetwork.com.
Now that Santa has waved from his sleigh in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it is officially the Christmas season! (Does anyone else use this reference, or just my family?)
New York may have the “official” start of the Christmas season, but Philadelphia is filled with its own wonderful holiday traditions from the old (going to the old Wanamaker building, now Macy’s, to see the holiday light show) to the new (ice skating at the outdoor rink on the Delaware Waterfront), but one of my absolute favorites is going to Christmas Village, located in LOVE Park (15th and JFK Boulevard).
Going to the open-air German Christmas Market, open daily between Thanksgiving and Sunday, Dec 28, is a priority of mine this time of year. Sixty-five international and local merchants and artists offer high-quality gifts that are sold in decorated tents and wooden houses located throughout Center City’s famous LOVE Park. With toys, apparel, jewelry, decorations, home goods, artwork and more, there will be something for everyone on Santa’s list.
Daily market hours starting Black Friday through the last Sunday in December will be Friday through Saturday 11:00am to 8:00pm, and Sunday through Thursday 11:00am to 7:00pm. Christmas Eve hours are 11:00am to 5:00pm (closed on Christmas Day).
Follow the smell of gingerbread and waffles to a full menu of European food, sweets and drinks, including mouthwatering German bratwurst or schnitzel served on a warm roll (Brötchen). Wash it all down with a warm mug of traditional German Glühwein (spiced mulled wine) or rich hot chocolate.
On top of the great shopping and dining experiences, be sure to check out the huge Christmas Tree in LOVE Park, a Wish Wall in conjunction with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a new kid’s zone on the weekends, theme days and weekends, tasting cheese and wine tours, live music during evenings and weekends, and other surprises to be announced.
So to get in the spirit, I wanted to make a traditional German Holiday Cookie to celebrate the return of Christmas Village! Cinnamon Stars (or Zimtsterne) are made with almond flour base so they are actually gluten free. And even better, they can be stored for quite a while, and taste even better as time passes, making these the perfect cookie to give as a gift!
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more for rolling
16 ounces sliced almonds, with skin (about 4 1/2 cups)
Halloween and dessert go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or maybe that’s only true on my blog (I have quite a few Halloween desserts on here). Who cares? More yummy desserts for us to enjoy, like these Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies!
Although most people don’t usually equate Halloween with cookies, I saw Halloween-themed cookie cutters in the supermarket and made an impulse buy. Whoopsie. So these cookies are to justify my purchase. Plus, it gives me another excuse to add pumpkin into a recipe! I adapted this recipe form a traditional gingerbread cookie recipe from Cooking Light.
I was recently sent Truvia’s new Brown Sugar Blend, a mixture of Truvia and Brown Sugar that offers a brown sugar-like taste, texture and volume, with 75% fewer calories than regular brown sugar. One half cup of Truvia Brown Sugar Blend (210 calories) provides the same sweetness as one cup of brown sugar (830 calories).
Truvia is also having a great contest right now: the Truvia Baking Star contest. Bakers can submit two-minute videos that feature their own original Truvia Brown Sugar Blend recipe on www.TruviaBakingStar.com, to win a trip to New York and an all-expense paid professionally-filmed baking video that will be promoted by the brand. Three finalists will be brought to NYC for a bake-off, where they’ll meet Truvia brand reps, reporters and editors of top media publications.
Here are the details:
From September 16 – October 14, 2014, fans can submit their videos via www.TruviaBakingStar.com.
From October 21 – October 30, 2014, fans can vote for their favorite of 10 semi-finalists.
Shortly after October 30, 2014, the three finalists with the most votes will be notified that they have won an all-expense-paid trip to New York City with a guest.
On November 19, 2014, the three finalists’ baking skills will be judged live by the YouTube Star judges and the Truvia® Baking Star Contest winner will be announced.
Three finalists will win an all-expense-paid trip to New York City, where they will compete in a live bake-off event on November 19, judged by YouTube stars April Moore, Byron Talbott, Joanne Ozug and Gaby Dalkin. The winner will be awarded the title of Truvia® Baking Star. He or she will win a professionally produced and promoted video, and his or her recipe will be featured on Truvia.com.
I’ve waited long enough. It’s time to give in to the most wonderful time of year. No, not Christmas. Autumn! And the best way to really dive in to the season? Pumpkins, of course!
I love pumpkin. Like, really love pumpkin. I actually hoard Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice K-Cups around this time of year so that I can drink them year-round. From sweet to savory, pumpkin is just the best. I have so many pumpkin recipes on here so if you’re a pumpkin aficionado like myself, be sure to check them all out! (Just a sample of some pumpkin-filled recipes: Cheesecake bars, Flan, Whoopie Pies, Eggnog, Trifle, Ravioli, Bread, Soup… you get the idea)
So, I came across this recipe looking for a Pumpkin Brownie. Despite this recipe being called Pumpkin Brownies in the original recipe, it is most certainly cake. But who am I to worry about semantics? It’s still delicious! I added more pumpkin-y spices to give the pumpkin flavor a boost and added in some dark chocolate chips because, why not?
So, I’ve avoided making this recipe for months. Seriously, MONTHS. Black bean brownies always sounded really um… not tasty… to me.
This recipe is from a cookbook I received ages ago called Vegan Beans from Around the World: Adventurous Recipes for the Most Delicious, Nutritious and Flavorful Bean Dishes Ever. There are some seriously awesome recipes in here, from African Peanut Soup to Curried Dal with Cauliflower. But I was really curious about the Black Bean Brownies and wanted to make them. So after months of putting it off I finally tried it. And this recipe really changed my mind about black bean brownies! The consistency is spot on, and the chocolate flavor comes through really well. Who knew?
I adapted this recipe slightly from the original: I doubled the recipe to make a thicker brownie and used a different baking dish so the cooking time is different as well. I also limited the cinnamon because when I originally made these, I felt like the cinnamon flavor was too strong.
Ingredients:
2 (15.5 ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly ground flax seeds
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lukewarm coffee (I just used what was left from my morning coffee)
It’s September which means apples are right in their prime season! Although apples are available year-round, most apples ripen in the August-October time frame. I’ve had a craving for apples ever since September began so I was so excited when I was contacted recently about trying an apple variety called SweeTango that I’ve never had before.
SweeTango apples a variety bred at the University of Minnesota and are a cross between the Honeycrisp and Zestar! varieties. The apples are crisp and sweet with a hint of citrus, honey, and spice and have a nice crunchy and juicy texture that’s perfect to eat raw. They have a beautiful coloring too — SweeTango is a blush apple with deep red coloration over a yellow breaking background. The variety first hit store shelves in limited quantities in 2009, and has since grown to achieve distribution across the U.S. and Canada.
Photo Courtesy of SweeTango
I received two SweeTango apples in the mail and couldn’t wait to try them! One I saved for me to just enjoy on its own and the other went into one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had, Autumn Apple Salad with Cinnamon Honey Dijon Dressing! This salad is packed with a bunch of different textures and flavors which is what I really love about it. But the true star of the salad is the SweeTango apple!
I had a hankering for pho this week so I figured I would try to make it! This at-home recipe has a bit of a darker broth but boy does it taste good!
I found this recipe on Food Network and was surprised at how simple it really was to make. The hardest part was slicing the beef super thin so that it can finish cooking in the broth. If you are worried that your slices are too thick to cook fully, just add the sliced beef to the broth and simmer for about 1 minute before assembling.
I have been in full on grilling mode recently. I can’t seem to get enough of recipes made on the grill! So as the end of summer continues to creep closer, I am trying to get in all of the grilling I can. As much as I would love to grill in the colder months, I’m a wimp and know I just won’t stand out in the cold.
I’ve used indoor counter top grills in the past and really wasn’t thrilled with the cooking results — it didn’t seem to heat up enough to get proper grill marks, all of the juices would flow out of the grill making for a very dry protein, and I’d always under or overcook the meat.
Source: https://optigrill.t-falusa.com/
So when I was contacted to test out the T-fal OptiGrill as part of T-fal’s OptiGrill Blogger Bash, I had some reservations about if this grill would really live up to expectations. Well, I was really pleasantly surprised! What sets the OptiGrill apart is its Precision Grilling Technology that adjusts the cooking time and temperature depending on the type of protein and the thickness of whatever you’re cooking.
Source: https://optigrill.t-falusa.com/
The T-fal OptiGrill has a cooking level indicator with a color changing display that notifies you when your protein has reached rare, medium, or well-done. It also beeps when your food reaches each of the cooking stages. (Keep in mind that if you want your meat to rest before slicing, it continues to cook. So if you wanted a steak at medium rare and planned to let it rest for 5 minutes, you should probably take it out when the OptiGrill hits the “rare” notification.)
Source: https://optigrill.t-falusa.com/
The grill comes pre-programmed with 6 settings that adapt cooking temperature and times for different types of food: burger, poultry, sandwich, pork/sausage, red meat, and fish/seafood. There is also a frozen food function button so that you can cook your protein even when frozen; just push the snowflake button and then one of the 6 pre-programmed buttons. The grill will defrost and cook the protein in one easy step! When cooking fruits and veggies, just use the manual mode, which allows you to determine when the food is done cooking. The OptiGrill also takes into account the thickness of your food using an integrated thickness sensor so that the protein is fully cooked correctly.
The grill is made of brushed stainless steel with die-cast aluminum plates with a non-stick coating. The plates are removable for easy cleaning and are even dishwasher safe. The plates are angled so that drippings can flow into the removable drip tray, which surprisingly doesn’t leave the meat tough, dry, or chewy.
Want to see the grill in action? I decided to test it out with a yummy recipe from Cooking Light that uses both chicken thighs and chicken breasts. Chicken is so easy to overcook leaving a dry meal so I thought it would be a perfect way to test what this grill can really handle. This recipe also includes grilled pineapple so I was able to test out the manual setting as well. I made the marinade from this recipe for Jerk-style Chicken and the salsa from this recipe for Jerk Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa.
I also am giving away one T-fal OptiGrill to one lucky reader, courtesy of T-fal OptiGrill! Details below the recipe.
Note: I was sent a T-fal OptiGrill to test for this review. T-fal is also offering one I Can Cook That reader the chance to win their own T-Fal OptiGrill. All opinions are my own.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1/4 cup fresh lime juice plus 1 tablespoon, divided (about 3 limes)
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon brown sugar (substitute 1 tablespoon molasses to make paleo)
My version uses quite a bit of substitutes and including using sprouted spelt flour instead of whole wheat flour because I could not find my whole wheat flour when I went to make these (I guess I need to clean out my pantry!) I also have more blueberry filling in my version, and used a different sized pan. Be sure to check out the original version on the kitchn to see if you prefer their method!
