I can’t believe it was last weekend that I made this delectable dessert and it has taken me over a week to get the recipe to you.  I suppose we have been doing our best to milk the last of summer, which means as little time in front of a computer as possible.  Hopefully many of you are doing the same!

This past spring, I had high hopes for my edible garden.  I few things here and there this summer kept me from the bountiful harvest I had seen in my crystal ball. Luckily, I did manage to get a rhubarb plant into my perennial patch. As it grew, the leaves were perforated by some creepy crawly garden inhabitants but no matter… it was the precious stalks I awaited.

There is such deep satisfaction in harvesting something from your own yard and bringing it directly into your kitchen.  In honor of a visit from some good friends, who are gardener’s themselves, I cut the stalks and planned to showcase them in a simple, summer dessert.  At first, I considered a pie but thought better of rolling out a crust (my summer laziness strikes again.)  Instead, I turned to Simply Recipes for a strawberry rhubarb cobbler recipe. Due to lack of ingredients, I omitted the orange zest and substituted cornstarch for the quick cooking tapioca. We savored our warm cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  This dessert alone is worth a few more rhubarb plants in garden next year.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe
from Simply Recipes

Fruit mixture:
4 1/2 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1-inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks; make sure to trim away any and discard of the leaves which are poisonous; trim ends.)
1 1/2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon of grated orange peel

Cobbler crust:

2 Tbsp white sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, and orange zest. Let sit to macerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 Tablespoons of sugar, the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter in with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and egg until just moistened.

Pour fruit into a 2-quart casserole dish. Drop the batter on the fruit. Bake in a 350°F oven for 35 minutes until cobbler crust is golden brown.

Serves 4-6. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Sometimes summertime heat can really beat down my productivity and patience.
But then I remember that cold, blustery December will be here before we know it.
It’s better to find almost any kind of icy cold treat to love.
Then just hold your stick, take a refreshing lick and bask in the sun from above.

Mango Citrus Popsicles

Flesh from 1 mango
Juice from 1 orange
Juice from 1 grapefruit
3 Tablespoons of honey

My magic bullet blender has seen a lot of action this summer! This recipe is approximate, really any combination of fruit and juice will make a refreshing summer popsicle.

Put all ingredients in a blender. Fill popsicle molds and freeze. Find Tovolo Rocket Molds here.

It went a little something like this…  A month or so ago, my visiting mom picked up some new neighbors in front of our house.  The neighbor lady and her mother were out for a walk and were equally as open to communicate with friendly strangers as my mother always is.    Within the first five minutes, we knew that they had just moved back into the city from the suburbs with their three kids and that our parents were both from Michigan. (Hailing from Michigan is common for Chicagoans. Discovery of this common geographic origin often results in a showing of “the hand” and occasionally the name game to find connections.)

I was reminded that when I moved into the neighborhood, I was welcomed with a warm apple, rhubarb cake by my next door neighbor.  It made my week and softened the blow of unpacking all the boxes.  So, I decided to pass along the good will to our neighbor and bake her a coffee cake.

I chose a new recipe from my Grand Central Baking Book.  My plan was to split the recipe usually intended for a 9 x 13 pan into two smaller square pans so I could keep one at home and bring one to her.  But, the day I started baking I discovered that my ingredients were short and I was forced to halve the recipe.  The list of ingredients, fresh blueberries and soft, thick crumble atop the cake seemed to promise a sure thing.  But, as the cake was cooling and the aroma filled the house, I gained a sliver of doubt.

What if is was dry?  What if it isn’t a very good recipe?  I would hate to welcome the new neighbors with a subpar performance.  I better sample… just a nibble.  Oh wait, I can’t bring over a cake with a piece cut out.  I might as well just eat a small square.  Wow.  This is good cake.  I bet it would taste even more perfect alongside a cup of hot coffee. [brew coffee]  Why yes… yes it does taste unbelievable.  This must be the best sour cream coffee cake recipe I have ever made.

Not a morsel of that cake made it past my threshold.  In my head it felt wrong but for my taste buds and tummy it felt oh so right.  She will never miss what she didn’t know she was getting? *Sigh*

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
from The Grand Central Bakery

Streusel
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of slat
3/4 cup rolled oats

Coffee Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream

2 cups diced fresh fruit, berries or rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Make the streusel: Dice the butter into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes, then combine it with the granulated and brown sugars, flour and salt. Use two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingers to mix the ingredients until crumbly, then mix in the oats. If you’re making the streusel ahead of time, cover and store in fridge until ready to proceed.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl with high sides. Make a well in the center. In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, butter and vanilla together. Pour the mixture into the well, then add the sour cream by evenly distributing large spoonfuls around the edges of the dry ingredients. Gently mix the batter using a large spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use big, slow, circular strokes that scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with each motion. Don’t worry if the batter appears slightly lumpy, or if there are streaks of sour cream. The delicate texture of this batter is achieved through minimal mixing. (Some small patches of flour may still be visible, that is okay. It will be absorbed during the baking process.)

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Distribute the fruit in an even layer over the batter, then sprinkle evenly with the streusel. Bake for 45 minutes rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The streusel should be crunchy and brown and a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Serve straight from the oven with plenty of fresh, piping hot coffee.

It is just so easy to fall off the healthy eating wagon.  A few “just-in-case” frozen dinners from Trader Joe’s freezer section, a decision to head to the beach last minute for an evening swim leaving no time to cook, summer heat that made endless weeding of the veggie garden less fun and an unseasonably sick toddler.  These are the types of things that ganged up of late to nearly eradicate fresh, interesting foods from our diets.

To get my mind back into healthy eating mode, I pulled my copy of  Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking off the shelf.  Cooking by color, using natural grains and natural sugars, I felt ready to put in the effort again and prioritize better ways. My friends mav and Steph have both raved about Heidi’s wheat berry salad saying it is not only healthy but truly appetizing too.  I took Heidi’s advice and altered her recipe for summer by using a basil dressing instead of the citrus dressing found in her book.  If I liked fresh tomatoes, I would have popped a few little grape tomatoes in too.

I was a little out of practice in my kitchen so this meal took quite a bit of time and created a hurricane-like mess.  But, I was proud last Monday night to provide a healthy meal for my brood consisting of this wheat berry salad, fresh asparagus topped with olive oil, cracked pepper and feta and sauteed sweet potatoes with natural maple sugar. Posture corrected, deep breath… I am already feeling healthier.

Wheat Berry Salad with Feta, Pine Nuts & Basil
serves 3-4

Ingredients:
1 cup soft wheat berries, rinsed
3 cups water
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more as needed
1 cup loosely packed basil plus 5 additional large leaves chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3  cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine the wheat berries, water and 2 teaspoons salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until plump and chewy, about an hour or so. The berries should stay al dente, and the only way to be sure they’re done is to taste a few. Chewy but firm. Drain and season to taste with more salt.

To make the dressing, put olive oil and 1 cup clean, loosely packed basil leaves in a blender with a pinch of salt. Drizzle desired amount over wheat berries and stir to coat.  You can also substitute a store bought pesto mixed with extra olive oil to make it runny enough to use as a dressing.

Toast pine nuts in a pan or oven (I use a toaster oven) until light brown.  Toss pine nuts, crumbled feta and ribbons of basil into the salad.

HINT: Stack basil leaves on top of each other.  Roll them up the long way to create a “cigarette” shape.  Slice it very thin (1/8 inch).  You will have nice ribbons of basil for garnish or salads.

]]> http://whippedtheblog.com/2010/07/28/wheat-berry-salad-with-feta-pine-nuts-basil/feed/ 19 http://whippedtheblog.com/2010/07/23/homemade-play-doh/ http://whippedtheblog.com/2010/07/23/homemade-play-doh/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:39:40 +0000 Caroline http://whippedtheblog.com/?p=1988 Cooped up with a sick toddler, an exhausted Mommy and 100 degree heat.  Homemade Play-doh to the rescue!  A few hours of giggling and much needed relief.

When I was a small kid, I remember my mom helping us make homemade play-doh.  I must have also enjoyed the store bought variety because I recall the lever machine that pressed out snakes, spaghetti and shaped tubes.  Perhaps it was my early fondness for baking and cooking that guided my preference towards the do-it-yourself process of kneading and getting your own color just right.

Mini Whipped is a touch over two and we have had a number of tubs of play-doh around our house already.  Often she rustles in her project drawer, finds one of her play-doh accoutrements from animal cut outs to hamburger makers and asks in her sweet, high-pitched, cartoon voice, “Wanna play some play-dohs with me Mommy?”  An offer I can’t refuse!

I try to resist discouraging her inevitable mixing of the colors (why DO store bought red and blue make brown anyway?) and often find myself tuned out as I sculpt my own mini dinosaurs and lady bugs.  The pliable putty is practically a time machine reversing adult stresses and responsibilities.

My mom gave me a small container of alum months ago, reminding me it was a key ingredient in homemade play-doh.  Today, cooped up at home with a feverish baby and record breaking heat, we finally got a chance to make our own fun. Our inner Rodins came out as we sculpted and pinched, forgetting all of our woes if even just for an hour.

Homemade Play-doh Recipe

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 Tablespoon alum powder
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
Optional fragrance – essential oil or 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Liquid or gel food coloring

Put flour, salt and alum powder together in a sauce pan. Stir to combine. Add water and oil and cook over medium heat stirring constantly. Continue to stir as lumps form, eventually it will become the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. Remove from heat. Let cool until you can handle it.

Put dough on counter and use your hands to knead and form it into a ball. Separate into balls depending on how many colors you want to make. Flatten the ball slightly, add a few drops of color and fragrance if you are using it and fold it and continue to fold it on itself mixing in the color. For darker color, continue to add drops and knead.

We are still a few months away from our annual excursion to visit my in-laws in Greece.  But, the excessive Chicago heat already has me in the mood.  Once I start dreaming of souvlaki, Greek salad, pasticcio, bougatsa and feta, it is impossible to push myself out of the taste bud trance.  Last week, I took an unplanned, quick turn into a local, ethnic grocer (Harvest Time) on the way back from the gym. Ten minutes later, I found myself walking out with a block of authentic Greek feta the size of my head.

Once you get started using feta, it is easy to see how Greek’s go through such enormous quantities of it.  It is a key ingredient in salads, phyllo pies and is almost always on the edge of the table for eating plain alongside any meal.  My favorite preparation is oven baked or grilled with a dousing of olive oil, a sprinkling of oregano and some diced tomatoes.

To grill feta, just drizzle some high quality olive oil over a 1-inch slice of feta cheese and sprinkle liberally with Greek oregano and a few fresh, diced tomatoes.  Fold the sides of the foil in and roll them down to create a closed packet.  Carefully place the packet on the corner of the grill for 15 minutes or until all contents are warm and cheese is soft.  I like to serve the cheese alongside grilled bread.  Brush olive oil on both sides on sliced bread and grill on each side until crunchy.  Spread heaping spoonfuls of the cheese mixture onto the grilled bread.  This is delicious alongside kabobs, grilled pork or chicken.

I have long been intrigued by the intense feelings people have about cilantro.  You rarely find a palate that is indifferent to the herb.  As I’ve mentioned before, I am so drawn to it, I have been known to pluck a leaf off in the grocery store and sneak it into my mouth while I shop.  Yes, kind of gross since it is likely quite a dirty leaf that has traveled through the produce distribution underworld.

If you are one of the 7,100 members of the I Hate Cilantro Facebook group or if you cringe just reading the word, you are not alone.  It turns out that according to this article in the New York Times that the great divide in cilantro preference is representative of the “primal importance of smell and taste to survival, and the brain’s constant updating of its database of experiences.”  And here I thought people were just being picky.

If you read the article further, you learn that some brains pick up on the “soapy” aroma in the herb telling the brain it is not a safe food.  So, when people take the time to write an entire blog about hating cilantro, it turns out that they are just nurturing a primal survival instinct in the form of modern social media.

I don’t mean to ruffle any feathers BUT since it is a brain mechanism telling cilantro haters that cilantro is unsafe to eat and yet we know it IS safe to eat, does that mean cilantro lovers are just a touch more evolved?  Now that I think about it, when I had my wisdom teeth removed, they were surprised to find I  had only three wisdom teeth instead of the usual four. So, maybe my cilantro addiction is one more shred of evidence that I am lucky enough to be on the upside of evolution?

For those out there in my camp, you’ll love this refreshing cilantro lime vinaigrette on a summer salad.  It is wonderful with greens and avocado, drizzled on fresh corn or mixed into a can of black beans.  I found the recipe at the blog For the Love of Cooking and I look forward to trying the dressing on the Southwestern salad she recommends.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup canola oil
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar OR red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano

Use am immersion blender or a regular blender to blend the dressing. Let the flavors mingle for at least 30 minutes before using.

A few months ago, my husband became an American citizen.  He has lived here for years but rather than continuing to renew his green card, he made it official and got a blue passport to add to his collection.  He already has Dutch and Greek passports so he added the American one to the pile calling it his “Jason Bourne” passport.

Americans tend to be quite patriotic and through my husband’s naturalization process, I saw the best of the American spirit. When I announced that I would be hosting a big BBQ to celebrate, my talented friends came out of the woodwork with generous offerings.  I am fortunate to know a designer who can design personalized plastic beer cups, a floral expert who delivered gorgeous red, white and blue arrangements, an event planner who supplied tables and patriotic linens and a very talented chef/baker who suggested a flag cake.  

My friend Kathy writes the blog Stresscake. Like me, she finds baking terrifically relaxing.  Unfortunately, some of her baking skills were perfected in the middle of the night when she couldn’t sleep.  She would often show up at work with fruit tarts and flakey pastries.  It was hard not to feel entirely excited when her baked goods made my mouth sing with pleasure… part of me knew it was at the cost of a sleepless night.

When Kathy offered to make a flag cake, I suspected that we were in for a treat.  She is the type of person who always pulls through, is there when you need her and goes above and beyond, not to mention she has never made a baked good that is short of spectacular.  (side note: check out these mini cookies that she makes every holiday)

With over 70 guests attending, Kathy planned for a half sheet cake. She brought it over about an hour into the party so anticipation and excitement for the much talked about cake was building. I anxiously awaited as she drove up to the house in her cute, vanilla colored Mini Cooper and popped the back hatch.  When she pulled the cake out, I nearly lost my breath.  Neat rows of picture perfect raspberries were divided by piped cream cheese stripes.  Carefully placed blueberries sat atop the nearly 4 inch high beauty.  As she carried her masterpiece into the backyard, the crowd parted making way for the flag cake of all flag cakes.

As I gathered a knife and utensils to cut the cake, one of our 5-year-old guests announced that he had recently learned the words to the national anthem and thought this might be an appropriate occasion to sing it.  I concurred.  After I quieted the crowd and said a few words, I noticed that the little fellow had taken a stance in front of the cake, shoulders back, chin up, ready for song.  He led the group in a stirring rendition of our national tune.  Just writing about it plucks my patriotic heart strings again.

As if the fruit decor, mounds of cream cheese frosting and unexpected anthem were not enough, we were in for the final surprise.  Cutting into the cake revealed that Kathy had layered up red & blue velvet cake with additional cream cheese frosting. Fireworks of excitement buzzed through the crowd.  The flavor was delectable, the design impeccable and the love contagious.

With 4th of July just around the corner, I thought you might find some inspiration from Kathy’s cake. Keep your eyes on her blog for the recipe here.  My new all-American family is looking forward to the upcoming holiday weekend.  I will be especially thankful this year. Despite the many problems this country has, I am so thankful for all of our freedoms and opportunities.  And, I am thankful that my life is filled with the type of people who help me throw awesome parties, who teach their kids to proudly sing the national anthem and who make the best flag cakes of all time.

This post was originally written for Buttoned Up where I was a Guest Guru in April.

Oh, Organization! We play a little game of cat and mouse, the two of us. Organization is my spirited toddler who is always one step ahead of me, out of reach and causing a little trouble. However, I will never stop chasing him. Somehow, I seem to stay the most organized when I am in constant pursuit of organization.

Let me explain…

I like to keep my life packed and if I ever get too close to being under control, I scheme up a new project to tip the load. I manage my own marketing consulting business, write a food blog, have a 2-year old, a dog and a new house. In the past months, I started my first-ever vegetable garden, took a family trip to Mexico, made plans for a trip abroad this summer, took on two new clients and ensured that my daughter had a homemade, sprinkle-topped four layer cake for her birthday.

The old me used to beat myself up if one of the 20 balls I am juggling dropped. The new mommy-me has come to feel proud that only 2-3 balls drop now and then in my pursuit to “have it all.” Running a business, being a mommy, growing my own vegetables, entertaining friends… I want it all. And, though I now firmly believe that you can’t have it all, all of the time, I am happier if I keep trying. And so, my juggling continues…

Naturally, I am cluttered. If you saw my desk or peeked in my cupboards, you would likely think I am a disaster. But, hiding under the piles is a binder system and in the kitchen is a lined pad to make lists and notes. A month later, the binder turns to sticky notes and the pad gives way to a chalkboard wall. By continually thinking about and trying to hone my organizational systems, I revisit my to-dos and somehow keep my head above water.

Baking is one of my favorite hobbies. I love food and sweets and strive for the best, most deliciously perfect baked goods. Achieving that requires exactness and organization. I tend to choose complex recipes so I get a chance to measure, sift, whisk, melt, beat, level, layer and frost. After all the ingredients and the recipe at hand are ready on the counter, I find my way into a baking trance.

Though I love teaching my toddler how to cook, I find true pleasure in working alone in the kitchen. There is no option when baking but to be organized. The best cakes and cookies require careful measuring cups, proper temperatures, even scoops and perfectly level cake layers. As I place the cookies on the cooling rack or apply the sprinkles atop a layer cake, I always find myself more relaxed than when I started. The scattered, multi-tasking me has taken a break while the meticulous, organized baker has meditated her way to another beautiful, delicious cake.

Want to try your hand at some baking meditation? Treat someone to these wonderful yellow buttermilk cupcakes, roll some rugalech or layer a banana cake with cream cheese frosting. If you REALLY need some serious therapy tackle this chocolate cake or the carrot cake.  Happy Baking.  Ommm…..

I was so anxious for my veggie garden to grow faster and faster so I could pluck just a few leaves for a fresh salad.  Now, summer is upon us and I am nearly overwhelmed with my unending crops of spinach, mixed lettuces and arugula.

In an effort to find some fresh ideas for using the glut of arugula, I turned to Twitter. Almost immediately, @springboots (you can find her blog here) told me it would be good on pizza.  She was right.  I lathered up the dough up with some pesto and topped it with prosciutto and medallions of fresh mozzarella.  After removing the hot pie from the oven, I dressed it with freshly harvested arugula.Wow.  Double wow.  The flavor combination was one of my favorite pizza toppings yet though it may not quite top this pizza recipe with truffle oil, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella.  For my next pizza venture, I am going to try grilling it for the first time.   I have heard it’s the thing to do in the summer and we have a new large grill that could possibly hold two pizzas.  Any pizza grilling advice from experts out there?

Pizza with Pesto, Proscuitto, Mozzarella & Arugula

Follow this pizza dough recipe.
After the first baking of the crust, brush the crust and dough liberally with pesto.  I used this pesto recipe.
Lay thin slices of proscuitto and slices of fresh mozzarella on the dough.
Bake it again per the pizza dough instructions.
Remove from the oven and top with fresh arugula.