TWD 2nd Anniversary !!!! Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake

2 years ago, Laurie started Tuesday's with Dorie. Please go check out her blog to get the recipes for this week's anniversary and also to read about how she started this wonderful group.

We voted on what recipe we wanted to make for this years anniversary. It came down to Tarte Tatin and Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake. Laurie decided to let us make either one or both if we wanted too. (Last year Dorie chose the recipe for the 1st anniversary and it was one of my favorites ever! Check out the French Pear Tart. It is absolutely fabulous.)
I have to say I am a little burnt out from Christmas vacation and traveling, so I took the lazy way out on this one since I have made this cake twice already.
Yes, twice. I made it in the spring as a full sized cake and also last year as cupcakes.
You can read more details about this cake from when I posted about it HERE.

Both times I frosted it with The Barefoot Contessa's Peanut Butter Frosting instead of the options given in the book, just because it is really a perfect combination.
I also used Reese's Peanut Butter cups to decorate it.
It is a great cake.
Go check out the other b-day celebratory posts by visiting all the great blogs on the TWD Blogroll!
And enjoy a few pictures from our recent trip to DisneyWorld. It was soo much fun!!

Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans & Seeded Cornmeal Biscuits

I have professed my love for red lentils before. I actually love all types of lentils, but red ones are just so delicious.
One of my good friends, who I was able to reconnect with recently, shared a great recipe with me a number of years ago and I shared it HERE. (along with another great red lentil soup)

Ever since I tried my friends soup years ago, I have been buying red lentils- at the local health food store, in the bulk section) and trying different recipes with them.
I love it when lentils are combined with dark greens and swiss chard is a definite favorite. I always use the stems and ribs of my swiss chard, because they soften up nicely and are yummy.

This Stew contains curry powder and garbanzo beans, so it is super healthy. And so tasty.
Perfect for the cold weather we are having. I know lots of places are colder than here right now, but this morning when I went to exercise it was a whopping 18 degrees! Not fun.

I found the Seeded Cornmeal Biscuits when I was searching on myrecipes.com for a hearty bread item to go along with this stew. They sounded perfect- a combination of whole wheat flour, cornmeal and lots of seeds on top. I have had great success with other biscuits on this site and knew they would be fabulous.
Once again, I like hearthy, healthy tasting breads. Some people in my family do not- mainly my hubby. He prefers Wonder Bread.
But the good news on these biscuits is that they were really popular with my kids. And they tasted good the next day and the next one after that.
I wish I had some of this leftover right now because I would eat it for breakfast.
(The recipe uses plain yogurt as a topping, I used Greek yogurt)

Recipe for Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans

Recipe for Seeded Cornmeal Biscuits

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

So, are you having a great 2010 so far?
Well, I am. I joined up with close to 200 other people to participate in something called
Ten in 10: Ten Weeks to healthy in 2010. You can read more about this by going to THIS POST on The Recipe Girl's blog.

Basically, it is just about getting healthy in 2010. Everyone has different goals and knows what they need to do to be healthier. We have just joined together to provide support for each other and to be committed to something, so that we can accomplish our goals.
Not too much on my blog is going to change. We eat pretty healthy around here most of the time. I am going to try and have better breakfasts and lunches during the week for me, but this challenge is not going to be the focus of my blog. I am going to try and eat less sugar and also make sure that I exercise 6 days a week.

I love the beginning of a new year because it just feels like there is so much promise and renewal.

I made these muffins a couple weeks ago, before I even knew about 10in10 and modified them to make them healthier just because that is what I do with food most of the time.
I saw these muffins on The Food Librarian and had pumpkin and fresh cranberries in my fridge, so went ahead and threw them together one morning.
Mary mentioned that she wanted to try these muffins with fresh cranberries (the original recipe used dried cranberries) and crystallized ginger. I had both of these items available and decided to give her idea a try.
I also replaced half the flour with whole wheat flour, upped the spices, replaced the whole eggs with egg whites, replaced half the oil with unsweetened applesauce, and reduced the sugar by a couple of Tablespoons.
Breakfast foods like muffins, are a good place to switch out ingredients and make things healthier because they aren't supposed to be dessert. :)

I really liked these. I already love the combination of pumpkin and cranberry and I like fresh cranberries more than dried, so I knew I would love them. The cranberries were really tart, but were offset by the sweet chunks of crystallized ginger. You could also toss the chopped cranberries in a little bit of sugar, to make them not quite so tart.

These did taste healthy, but I didn't mind, because I like it when things taste healthy.

If you are unsure about making these muffins with all the healthy changes that I made, check out the links below to see the original recipe and modify it to your liking.

Pumpkin Cranberry Ginger Muffins adapted from The Food Librarian
Adapted from Very Culinary Blog who adapted it from Betty Crocker


In large bowl, mix together:
1 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1/4 t salt

Combine the following in a small bowl. Then quickly fold into dry mixture with a spatula until just moistened. Do not overmix!
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c canola or vegetable oil
3 egg whites or 1/2 cup egg white substitute
1 1/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1/3 c crystallized ginger, chopped

Scoop into muffin tray greased with cooking spray or lined with muffin cups (I use an ice cream scoop). Top with sanding sugar or sugar in the raw (turbinado). Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Pork and Squash Burritos

Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope everyone had a great 2009 and that 2010 brings more happiness and joy to your lives.
I am excited about a new year and a chance for a new start in some ways.

I have had a crazy couple of weeks and decided to take the past couple days off from updating this blog, even though I have lots of things to post about.

I made these at least a month ago, if not more because I had leftover pork and squash from this dish, (which I must ask- have you made it yet? because if you haven't, you really should, not only because it is incredibly delicious, but also because you can make THESE with the leftover pork as well)

I remember seeing a couple recipes for Pork and Squash Burritos and I knew that they would be really great with this leftover pork and squash, which was already wonderfully spiced and cooked.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly, mainly because my squash and pork were already cooked, but most of the spices are the same.
I filled my burritos with spinach and cooked quinoa.
Yummy.

If one of your goals for 2010 is trying new foods or new combinations of foods, this would be a good one to start with.

Come back tomorrow for details on how I am going to make 2010 a really healthy year!
Enjoy your first day of 2010!

Recipe for Pork and Squash Burritos

TWD-Low and Luscious Chocolate Cheesecake

This week's pick for Tuesdays with Dorie is Low and Luscious Chocolate Cheesecake. It was chosen by Margaret, who is one of my Twitter buddies and you will be able to find the recipe on her blog, Tea and Scones, tomorrow.
Since it is the Christmas holiday, we were given a little leeway about posting this recipe; we were given the opportunity to post it anytime between last Tuesday and tomorrow.

We got back from DisneyWorld Saturday night. We had a blast! So much fun. We were really worn out though.

In a couple of hours, my husband and I are flying to DC for a quick 24 hour trip because one of my good friends is getting married up there.

Luckily, my older sister lives in DC, so we have someone to pick us up and someone to stay with. I am super excited because I get to see my new nephew that was born in September.
Anyway, I am trying to unpack and then pack again, do laundry and everything else, so I am posting this right now, while I have a few moments.

I made 1/3 of the recipe and decided to make little mini cheesecakes. The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn't require a waterbath and it is fairly simple, as far as cheesecake recipes are concerned. I used semi-sweet chocolate, but only had a tiny bit, so the chocolate flavor was really muted. The texture was good. Next time I would definitely use the full amount of chocolate (should have checked the pantry before I started making the recipe!)
I also think a chocolate crust would be great on this cheesecake.

Go check out the TWD Blogroll to see everyone else's cheesecake and have a great day!

Happy Birthday to Me! Tomato-Broccolini Soup

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday on my blog with a savory, healthy recipe. Plus, since my birthday is the day before Christmas, I thought this red and green soup was the perfect thing to post!
Right now, we are on day 4 of our DisneyWorld Christmas Trip and I am sure it has been very fun (I am posting this ahead of time- no computer for me on our trip!)
Yesterday was my hubby's b-day and today is mine, so we get 2 days of free admittance to DisneyWorld.

I made this soup when my sister was here for Thanksgiving Break because my hubby hates tomatoes and I knew if she was here with me, I would have at least one other person that would eat it and love it.
The soup is a basic tomato soup without any cream or anything, so it is really healthy.
I added more stock, to get it to the right consistency of soup-i-ness for us.
I actually had 2 kids who really liked this one and I loved it!
The broccolini in the soup added a really great flavor.
I made extra broccolini so that even those people who think tomatoes are poisonous, could enjoy the yummy green stalks.

So give it a try, if you aren't scared of tomatoes. It makes great leftovers too.
I am going to go get on a roller coaster to celebrate my birthday!

Recipe for Tomato-Broccolini Soup

Peppermint Patties with Peppermint Ice Cream

So, in a couple of hours we leave for Disneyworld.
We are driving through the night and we will go to the Magic Kingdom in the morning.
This is the first time I have ever been there, as well as the first time my kids have ever been there. We are going with our good friends who have children the exact same ages as our kids.
It is going to be fun!
We will be spending Christmas down there.
I can't wait!
I wanted to leave you with a yummy treat.
I saw these festive Peppermint Patties on Aggie's blog a week or so ago.
Aggie is one of 5 bloggers who participates in the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club, and this month their theme was a Cookie Exchange.
I know that I have seen these cookies in a Cooking Light cookbook a couple of times, but when I saw them on Aggie's blog, I realized that I had to make them.
Her pictures were absolutely scrumptious and around the holidays, you can always use a lighter treat.
I have also been wanting to make Peppermint Ice Cream, but kept on telling myself it was not necessary. I happened to find a recipe for Peppermint Ice Cream from Cooking Light and decided to combine the two recipes.
Originally these ice cream sandwiches are supposed to be filled with vanilla ice cream and then rolled in crushed peppermint candy, but I decided to make and use the Peppermint Ice Cream.
I also decided that I would try and take pictures before the sandwiches set up in the freezer. Bad idea! Talk about a melty mess.
So, then I let the ice cream set in the freezer for a couple hours and followed the instructions, which said to wrap the sandwiches once you fill them with ice cream and roll them in candy, in plastic wrap and let them set up in the freezer for 4 hours before serving. Genius!
Who would have thought that actually following the instructions would make a difference? Just kidding on that one.

The ice cream was a little bit overly sweet for me on its own, but with the cookies it tasted just right.
I added 1/2 tsp peppermint extract to the ice cream, to up the peppermint flavor.
My kids also sneaked a couple of cookies plain and thought they were delicious.
This is a fun, festive holiday treat, that can be made in advance and the results are yummy! Just make sure to give yourself enough time to let the sandwiches set up properly.

Have a great week!



Aggie's post about Peppermint Patties

Recipe for Peppermint Patties

Recipe for Peppermint Ice Cream

Pumpkin Spice Scones

Every time I open a can of pumpkin, I know exactly what I am going to do with it. Well, at least part of it. The fun thing is figuring out what to do with the sometimes 1/3 cup or so, of pumpkin puree that I have leftover.

I don't even remember how I happened upon this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Scones,
from Pinch my Salt. But I read that the recipe had been triple tested until it was just right and I loved the spices that were included in these scones. Also the two different icings, cinnamon and ginger-molasses had me intrigued.
These scones were absolutely amazing. I don't know if it was the fact that these had cake flour in them, but they were so soft and delicious. I can't even explain the texture, it was unbelievable. Cathy and I were tweeting about these and we completely agreed, so its not just me that raved about these.
The spices were absolutely perfect too.
I left out the raisins, just because I felt like it. I love raisins, but I really didn't want them in these for some reason.
I can't wait to make these again over the Christmas break. Perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack.
I will use any excuse to make these again.


I made a little bit of a change on the icing-- I poured a little bit of molasses in a bowl- added some ground ginger and about 1 cup of powdered sugar. added skim milk until I could get it to come together. More ginger and molasses, until it had that spicy bite.


Recipe for Pumpkin Spice Scones

Holiday Chopped Salad

I have been looking at the older holiday magazines that I have kept and this salad jumped out at me.
I think it must have been the combination of colors and the variety of vegetables that caught my eye.
It just seemed so festive for a holiday salad and I love it when a salad doesn't necessarily contain lettuce or greens of any kind. (that might sound wierd- I love salad with greens and lettuce, but it is nice when other veggies are the star of the show)

I decided to make this when my sister was visiting over the Thanksgiving break and I cut the recipe in 1/2.
It was really yummy.
I think it would be delicious served on top of romaine or mixed greens, but it is very delicious on its own.
It can also be made ahead, which is great if you are having a really hectic holiday season.
It is just nice to see some pretty veggies that make you want to taste them. Everyone needs a little distraction from the sweets right about now. Or maybe it is just me!

Holiday Chopped Salad from Our Best Holiday Menus 2007-BHG
1 15 or 19-oz can canneliini beans, rinsed and drained
2 small green peppers, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks (3 cups)
1/2 head radicchio or 1/4 head purple cabbage, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
1/2 of a 16-oz pkg radishes, halved or quartered (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbls honey
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley and/or mint

1. In separate resealable plastic bags, place beans, green pepper chunks, cucumber chunks, radicchio, and radishes. For dressing, in a screw-top jar, combine oil and lemon juice. Cover and shake well. Add honey, salt, and black pepper, covering and shaking well, after each addition. Pour 1 to 2 Tablespoons dressing into each bag. Seal bags. Chill for 2 to 4 hours, turning bags occasionally.
2. To serve- arrange vegetables with dressing and feta cheese in rows on serving platter. Sprinkle with parsley and/or mint.
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Cranberry Orange Scones

A couple of weeks ago, Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles, posted a bunch of scone recipes, one after the other.
I had been looking for another way to use my fresh cranberries and had seen lots of scones with dried cranberries, but fresh are so much better!
I made some scones with fresh cranberries last year, which were really good, but I always like trying new recipes and I loved that this recipe had 1 1/2 cups of fresh cranberries.
Bridget noted that the original recipe calls for lemon zest to be used in these scones, but she used orange instead and I wanted to use orange too, because cranberry and orange is a classic combination in my mind.
I was curious if I could make these work using low-fat buttermilk instead of heavy cream, just to make them a little bit on the healthier side.
I did it and they worked.
I reduced the amount by about 2 Tbls and the dough was still very soft, but it worked.

I also made a quick glaze with powdered sugar, fresh orange juice and orange zest.
These were delicious!
My girls and my nephew each gobbled one down, which kind of surprised me since the cranberries are very tart.
I froze a couple, which were already baked and shared them with my sister when she came to visit.
These would also make a great holiday breakfast or brunch item. Very seasonal and festive.

And besides, cranberries have more antioxidants than almost any other fruit. That has to make you feel good about eating one of these scones.


Recipe for Cranberry Orange Scones

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

A couple of my blogging/twitter friends started Secret Baker. Basically, a bunch of us bake and then send treats to our "secret" person, once a month.
This month I got these Cinnamon Bun Cookies. So, I didn't make them, but I took a picture of them because Margaret is going to post a round-up of all the goods that were received.
These were just so yummy, I thought I would give you the link, even though I didn't make them myself. They would be a great addition to a holiday treat plate!

Thanks to Whitney of Nosh and Tell who sent these to me!

The post on Nosh and Tell about these cookies.

Recipe for Cinnamon Bun Cookies

MSC-Gingerbread Cupcakes

(TWD is posted beneath this MSC post)

This month's MSC Cupcake was chosen by Kayte who blogs over at Grandma's Kitchen Table. We don't post the recipes for this group, but you can read more about her pick by going to this post.
You can find the recipe by turning to page 246 of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

This cupcake definitely has the flavor of gingerbread, all the right spices.
It is supposed to be topped with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting, but I made a lemon glaze instead.
My mom used to make gingerbread this time of year when I was growing up and it always was served with a lemon sauce, so I tried to recreate that flavor combination.

These cupcakes were also topped with optional Gingerbread Cutouts. I was a little cookie-d out when I made these last week, so I skipped those and used Chocolate Covered Candy Coated Sunflower Seeds to top my cupcakes instead.

I found these cute little containers of the candy sunflower seeds that looked like Christmas lights at Cracker Barrel and decided they were a fun little prop. Plus, the candy sunflower seeds are really yummy.
After I had just sprinkled them on, I realized I could have made little shapes or wreaths on my cupcakes or whatever I felt like, with the sunflower seeds.

These cupcakes were the perfect pick for December. The perfect flavor and everything for this time of year!

Go to the MSC Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about these cupcakes and to see some great decorating!

TWD- Cafe Volcano Cookies

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe is Cafe Volcano Cookies. These cookies were chosen by MacDuff and you can find the recipe by going to her blog, The Lonely Sidecar.

What is a Cafe Volcano Cookie? Well, that is a really good question. I guess it is a nut mixture/meringue, although when I was making these I really believed they would not turn into anything edible.
This is the easiest cookie ever.
You toast some nuts. I used sliced almonds and chopped pecans.
Once those are toasted you combine them in a saucepan with egg whites and sugar. And in my case cinnamon, because I don't drink or use coffee and so there is no espresso powder in my house and there never will be.
You let the ingredients get warm and then you drop that syrupy/nutty/sugary mixture onto a baking sheet covered with parchment.

At this point, I figured I had done something wrong because it looked like I was just dropping blobs of wet nuts on my baking sheet. Which is what I was doing.
But, I had followed the recipe, so I popped them in the oven and waited for some miracle.

They did puff a little and turned into a cookie shape, so I figured that must be what they were supposed to look like.
I tried a piece of one and they tasted like spiced nuts.
I sent these along with the other Christmas goodies I made in the mail to my family members in different states.
One of my sisters said these were one of the best cookies of the bunch.

Go check out the TWD Blogroll to see what other bakers thought of this weeks recipe!

Butternut Squash Soup

or maybe it should be called Butternut Squash Puree. I don't know exactly.
Did you hear about the hugest butternut squash ever?
Well, if you didn't, I will just tell you that this soup/puree is the last food item that I made with my gigantic squash.
I cut my squash into cubes and roasted it in the oven with a chopped onion, fresh chopped thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Of course, it was tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
I roasted it for about 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees and when the squash was tender, I put the oven roasted mixture in the food processor.

I added some chicken broth, just to thin it out a little bit and, there you go- soup or puree or whatever you want to call it.
Healthier than some recipes because it doesn't contain any cream or half and half and so easy.

So if you happen to have a butternut squash on your hands and have no idea what to do with it, roast it in the oven. There are so many possibilities once you have all those tender little cubes of roasted squash!