Taste Testing some cake recipes…

As I mentioned on the last post, I have been testing some cake recipes, but not your usual cake recipes, they are actually more a kind of “allergy-free cakes”! hehe!
Matheus’ birthday is on the 25, and we are going to celebrate at a fun place he chose by inviting his classmates and having yummy cake to round up the fun! However, some of his friends have severe food allergies, and since the only thing I am going to make is the cake, I felt really bad about having a cake that a few kids could not enjoy.
So, I started a quest for an Egg-free Milk-free Nut-free Birthday Cake to make for the party, and that way I hope everyone can participate in the whole fun, including the cake part too!
I tested 3 recipes so far, two for yellow cake and one for chocolate cake. The chocolate cake I had actually made before (one time we wanted cake and didn’t have eggs in the house), but in name of research I did test it again!
From the two yellow cakes, although the recipes were similar, one came out a little better than the other, and I am posting the recipe with a picture below. The only drawback from this recipe is that it makes a small (8x8 inches) cake, and I would have to at least double the recipe to feed all the 25 kids. However the cake tasted good and kept very moist for over three days.
The chocolate cake on the other side yielded a much better cake, a very moist and tall cake, which was baked in a 9x13 cake pan. (I got the recipe a while ago from the website www.cybercook.com.br) It tasted and looked good, very tender, and everyone was impressed the cake did not actually have any eggs or milk in it. We will probably be having chocolate cake for the birthday this year. If I can convince Matheus, that is; because he originally wanted a white cake with strawberries in the middle… oh well, chocolate cake is still good, right?! And being able to share it with everyone definitely makes it taste even better!
I will post further recipes in case I do more testings. Meanwhile, whish me luck… now I am on my way to taste another frosting recipe (first one did not came out very nice… oops!)

Ana

Milk-Free Egg-Free Chocolate Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups warm water
1 cup oil
In a bow mix all dry ingredients together. In another bowl mix wet ingredients, add to mixture and mix until well combined and free of lumps. Pour batter into greased and floured rectangular baking pan and bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes.

Milk-free, Egg-free Yellow Cake

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp arrowroot (optional)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
5 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup cold water
Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan.
Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add liquid ingredients and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Bean soup

We were in a soup mood last week, so today I am posting one more comforting concoction. I like beans a lot, especially chickpeas and white beans, so when I saw this recipe I immediately copied it and placed in on top of the never-ending-to-try-pile. And I am glad I did! It is a very simple but flavorful soup. I like white beans because they are creamy and almost melt in your mouth, and chickpeas I believe is one of my all time favorites. It has such a nice flavor and is versatile, as it can be prepared in many different ways, you can varying its texture by cooking it more or less, use it soaked raw when preparing falafels, cooked into soups, pureed into hummus (yum!), you can even roast it and turn them into crunchy salty snacks.
In this dish a combination of both beans is used and then pureed into a nice velvety soup! I wasn’t sure about the addition of spinach but it ended up complementing the soup nicely. I really enjoyed it and so did Matheus. But don’t be fooled by the 8-servings the recipe states, as I believe they are supposed to be really small portions. I made half recipe, we ate it all and ended up wanting some more… oh well, next time I will definitely make the whole batch!
Right now I am in a quest to find a tasty recipe for a “Milk-free Egg-Free Nut-free Cake”. Yes, I know, it seems like a lot of no-no, but as far as my testing are going I think I may actually be getting close to what I need. So, you can expect to see some cake recipes around here soon!
Ana

Creamy Bean Soup With Fresh Herbs And Spinach
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 to 16-ounce cans white beans -- drained
2 to 16-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -- drained
1 package baby spinach leaves -- (6 ounce)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add all broth and beans. Bring soup to boil; reduce to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes.
Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and puree until smooth; return to pot. Mix in spinach and sage; stir until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.
Makes 8 first-course servings
Bon Appétit, January 2006

Cauliflower soup!

I bought a cauliflower head for using on a different recipe, but with the weather being so yucky and rainy yesterday we were in the mood for some wintry food and ended up having soup instead. And what a delicious lunch we had!
Silky Cauliflower Soup was just the perfect meal for a winter day. Creamy, warm, nice and comforting! I like cauliflower a lot, and recently discovered the wonderful texture it gets when pureed, either in soup or in a “mock” mashed potato, this vegetable is a lot more versatile than most of us think. I loved trying it as a puree, it is amazing how a cauliflower can turn into something so creamy and delicate!
We loved the soup, add a little butter and grated cheese on top and Matheus and I were in heaven!
I made the soup just like on the recipe, but since I like very creamy soups, I did not use all the chicken broth when pureeing mine in the blender. The taste was so good, but I think that some roasted garlic pureed into this would do wonders in terms of flavoring the soup… just a though to keep in mind for the next time, because this one is definitely a repeater here.
Matheus is on a “kebab-thing” right now, we had some kebabs the other day and he just loved the idea, putting anything possible on a skewer now, from chicken to beef, to fruits and veggies, you can only imagine the fun! So we had our soup with chicken skewers and some oven baked spinach croquettes that I made, which were actually very tasty, but the recipe is in Portuguese, so I will translate and post it later. Meanwhile, try the cauliflower soup; it is good!

Ana

Silky Cauliflower Soup
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender, and return it to the pot. Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
(Recipe adapted from www.foodtv.com)

Pictures…

It is funny how the simplest food sometimes makes us droll…Last week I was reading some of my favorite blogs when I saw a picture at Valentina’s Blog (trembom.blogspot.com) of Stuffed Eggplant. Oh my, I love eggplant and just looking at that picture made me crave that dish too.
So, over the weekend we had to have some eggplant! I actually did not use a recipe, and when I came here to write my post I went to check back at Valentina’s, just to see how she made hers, and it was quite the same way I did!
I like to boil the eggplant shell before stuffing, just so that you get tender eggplant on both the filling and the shells. That also cuts up in the baking time, and if I have the filling and eggplant warm, a quick run through the broiler is enough to get a nice crunchy and cheesy top!
Valentina’s recipe is actually in Portuguese, so I am posting here a recipe in English that I have made before and liked a lot!
The eggplant in the picture above was stuffed with sautéed onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, the eggplant pulp, ground beef, and seasonings. But if you prefer a vegetarian dish you can omit the meat, or even substitute it with those soy crumbles, it is going to be yummy anyway you do! It is a very simple recipe that you can easily adapt to suit your taste.
The Greek-Style Stuffed Eggplant does not contain meat and the flavors are more pronounced due to the ingredients (especialy the fetta cheese). It is very tasty and we all liked it a lot when I made it at home. (When I made mine, the only thing I did different was to boil the eggplant on the stove, instead of the microwave method)
I hope one of the variations may appeal to your tastes! I love eggplant made this way, and you know what… just writing about it is making me crave it again!
Today we have lots to do and places to go, so we will probably end up eating out, but I have some plans for lunch tomorrow, let’s wait and see what comes next!
But before you go, check out my new blender, isn’t it pretty?! (My old one stopped functioning last week, after seven years of everyday use; I was sad in a way, but also quite happy to get a new toy!)

Ana

Greek-Style Stuffed Eggplant
2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup water
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (1-ounce) slices French bread
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Carefully remove pulp from each eggplant, reserving shells. Coarsely chop pulp to measure 6 cups. Place eggplant shells, cut sides down, in a 10-inch square baking dish. Add water to dish. Cover and microwave at high 5 minutes or until shells are tender. Keep warm.
Preheat broiler.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggplant pulp; saute 7 minutes. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in tomato, wine, and garlic; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add feta, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper, stirring to combine. Spoon 3/4 cup eggplant mixture into each eggplant shell.
Place the bread slices in food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and Parmesan, stirring well. Sprinkle 1/4 cup breadcrumb mixture over each stuffed shell. Arrange shells on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed eggplant half)
Cooking Light, June 2003

Yummy Fish!!

Although I haven’t been making new recipes lately, I should still come here and post more often. I really enjoy reading the other food blogs, learning new recipes and techniques and seeing their pictures, it is so much fun!
I took a few pictures last week but never got the time to sit down and post it. But I am back now!
Today I made a pretty nice meal for our lunch. I baked some Fish en Papillote, not a real recipe, and it turned out delicious!!
I seasoned two tilapia fillets with salt, pepper and olive oil. Put on top of a big piece of parchment paper, added some sliced tomatoes, onions, a few parsley sprigs (I love basil on this, but did not have any fresh today), seasoned with a little more salt, a sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder. Added about ¼ cup chicken broth to the packet (I like to use white wine here, but did not want to open a big bottle for this little amount), closed the parchment, and popped into the oven (425) for 20 minutes.
It could not have been any simpler and the flavors were just so good! I served with Balsamic Roasted Asparagus, which was extremely delicious and also super easy to make! The asparagus and the fish cooked at the same time (the asparagus went in the oven after the fish had been cooking for 10 minutes), and we had a tasty lunch, all rounded up with brown rice and some leftover beans (rice & beans, Brazilian style!).
Not only easy and tasty, but also very healthy! I should get into the habit of cooking fish more often!
Come back later, as I will post some pictures and recipes from what I cooked last week!

Ana

Balsamic Roasted Asparagus
1 pound asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425°.
Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Place in a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar; sprinkle with salt, garlic, and pepper, tossing to coat. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes, turning once.
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Light, January 2006

A quick post to share another heart!

I simply love anything creamy, especially desserts! Among my favorites are custards, ice cream, and puddings, and last year I discovered one that really goes into these categories, panna cotta! As soon as I had my first one of this creamy and delicious custard I immediately fell in love with it and am always looking for new sauces and recipes to try!
They are rich when made with cream, and tangy when using buttermilk. But today’s recipe was by far one of the best ones I had, made with a combination of heavy cream and yogurt (I use plain whole milk) Yogurt Panna Cotta is now on top of my list!
Slightly sweet and deliciously creamy, this was by far one of the best desserts I have had! The perfect ending to a romantic Valentine’s Day meal!
I served ours with strawberry couli and assorted berries, but the possibilities for sauces here are endless…
Yummy! We just ate it and I could not wait to come here and share!

Ana

Yogurt Panna Cotta
¼ cup water
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 ¼ cups cream
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract

Bloom gelatin in water. Warm cream and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add gelatin and stir to dissolve. Whisk in yogurt and extract. Pour mixture into 6 ramequins (4 oz) and chill.
Note: I copied this recipe a while ago but did not write down from where, so I am sorry for not crediting the proper source.

"Hearty" Bread that I served for our cheese fondue! (It was so pretty I did not even wanted to cut into it...!)

Isn't my Husband nice?! Look what I got for Valentine's Day! Oh... I am so happy!!

Catching up on the Memes….

So, here I am back to answer the Vegetables Meme that Karen from “Kafka na Praia” tagged me! I love vegetables, so this is going to be fun!

1. Do you like vegetables?
I love it!

2. Do you have a favorite vegetable?
I them all, but I like squash a lot! (especially butternut)

3. Is there any vegetable that you think (or know) most people don’t like, but that you find great?
Chayote squash. I also love eggplant, but not everybody is crazy about it as I am.

Why?
Most people find chayote to be somewhat bland in its flavor, and not many people know it here in the US.

4. Is there any vegetable that you think (or know) most people find great, but that you don't love that much? Which experience you have with it?
More and more I have been finding recipes that includes Fennel, the bulb. I really do not like its flavor, in any variety; I guess the “anise” kind of flavor is not for me at all. Also, I don’t like celery, and most people love it.

5. Which kinds of vegetable are unusual to you?
Rhubarb is something I have not eaten many times or even cooked with it.

6. Name a couple of vegetables that you cook or eat.
Oh my… I eat lots of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, tomatoes, squash (winter and summer ones), bell peppers, eggplant, pumpkin, asparagus, potatoes, and more… I like them all!

7. Which vegetables do you want to know better and bring into you kitchen more frequently?
I would like to experiment more with the variety of roots available!

8. Some thoughts about vegetables.
I certainly could not live without vegetables! They bring so many flavors to our meals, plus they are packed with vitamins, healthy and good for you!

9. Name a great cookbook on vegetables.
A vegetarian book that I find great (and probably the next one I going to buy) is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Debora Madison. This book is full of good recipes!

And now, I tag Joe from Culinary in the Desert, you are it!

Tagged again!

So, I have been tagged for 2 memes this past month and, shame on me, had not yet replied. So, here am I to answer the first one, and later I will come back with the next.
The first one I was tagged for the Sevens Meme by Erika from Tummy Treasure!
So, here it goes:

The Sevens Meme:

Seven Culinary Things to do Before I Die
1. Take cooking classes
2. Eat Gelatto in Italy
3. Try a few fruits I have never eaten (love fruits!!)
4. Learn to make good Whole Wheat Bread
5. Go on a cooking tour around Europe
6. Open my food business (a Cafe!)
7. Eat lots of good chocolate!

Seven Things I Can't do in The Kitchen
1. Clean it enough
2. Cook without spilling...
3. Cook without trying the seasoning
4. Get a full batch of cookies without burning some...
5. Use the amount of sugar called in recipes (I always find things too sweet)
6. Frying food... argh!
7. Cooking with fennel... yucky

Seven Things That Attract Me to Food Blogging
1. It is fun!
2. I made new friends and reconnected with old ones!
3. Keeps me interested in trying new recipes
4. New notions about designing a home page
5. I can show my family in Brazil my cooking!
6. Sharing my passion with family and friends
7. There are tons of cool food blogs that I like to visit!

Seven Thing I Say Most Often While Cooking
1. Oops!
2. Ouch, it is hot!
3. Wait just a second Matheus...
4. Hummm, this is good!
5. Fran, come try this... So, what do you think?!
6. Yummy!
7. Oh no...

Seven Cookbooks I Love
1. The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
2. Cooking Light Annuals
3. Dona Benta (Brazilian Cookbook)
4. Mosewood Lowfat Favorites
5. Fresh Every Day
6. The Foster's Market Cookbook
7. 1000 Lowfat Recipes

Seven Food Shows I Can Watch Over and Over Again
1. Good Eats
2. Barefoot Contessa
3. Food 911
4. Mexico with Ricky Bayless
5. Jamie Oliver's shows
6. Nigela Lawson (unfortunately I can't see them at my house....)
7. Some specials about chocolate, etc...

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

What could be more appropriate to celebrate Valentine’s Day than chocolate, right? It does scream romance to me, and certainly makes us feel very happy!
Today I made one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes; Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake is a delicious and chocolaty cake that is simple and rich at the same time, satisfying any chocolate craving without being too heavy or extremely sweet.
Another plus is that this recipe makes a small cake, so we can always indulge without having to deal with the same dessert for several days.
The cake is nice, soft, and sort of fudgy in the middle, which is always a good thing, as it keeps the cake moist on the day after it is baked too!
Very easy to make and incredibly delicious!! I love to bake cakes, and I don’t know why, but I don’t have the best luck with chocolate cake (have tried many recipes already), so when the craving hits I usually stick to this recipe, and always end up very happy with my treat!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Ana

Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cups granulated sugar (I use 1 cup)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla; beat well. Add granulated sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat at medium-high speed 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Yield: 9 servings
Cooking Light, March 2003

Quinoa

I could not wait to come here and post today’s recipe after we had lunch today. Creamy Quinoa Primavera was simply delicious! Seriously, it was one of the best dishes I had lately! So yummy, creamy and full of flavors!
Since I discovered quinoa last year I have been collecting (and trying) a few recipe here and there, and each time I eat quinoa I like it even more! It is a very nutritious grain, full of protein and some fiber as well. It has a yummy nutty flavor, which I really like.
Today’s dish was by far the best quinoa recipe I have had, a great combination of flavors between the quinoa and the veggies; it was creamy and cheesy (“risotto-like”), really, really good! Plus, Matheus loved it too and we polished off the half recipe I made!
I got this recipe from the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards; “Valchemist” posted it. Thanks Val!
If you like quinoa then give this recipe a try! I loved it and will definitely be making it again, and again…

Ana

Creamy Quinoa Primavera
1 1/2 c quinoa -- uncooked
3 c chicken broth
2 ozs reduced-fat cream cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil -- or 1 tsp dried
2 tsps butter
2 garlic cloves -- finely chopped
5 c thinly-sliced or bite sized pieces of
assorted veggies -- such as asparagus, broccoli, carrots, zucchini
2 tbsps grated romano cheese

Rinse Quinoa thoroughly and drain. Heat quinoa and broth to boiling in 2-quart saucepan; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until the broth is absorbed. Stir in cream cheese and basil. Melt butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic about 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Stir in vegetables. Cook about 2 minutes, sitirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Toss vegetables and quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 6 servings
Source: "Betty Crocker's Healthy Home Cooking"

Cupcake

I began planning Matheus’ birthday party (turning 4 on March 25!!) this past week, and since we started talking about cakes and other yummy goodies Matheus has been asking me to make cupcakes. Maybe it is because they are small and cute; but there is something about cupcakes that makes children (of all ages!) like them a lot! Matheus is not different and loves cupcakes, especially the ones frosted and with colored sprinkles on top.
The other day he did not want to eat much due to his cold, and the only thing he wanted was cupcake, so cupcake it was! (Yes, he did have a cupcake and some milk for diner… not healthy I know, but I was glad at least he ate something!)
I decided to try a new recipe, and it ended up being a great one. The recipe came from one of the first cookbooks I bought, which is (believe it or not) a low fat cookbook.
Ok, I know, cupcakes are not actually meant to be low fat, but these ones were, and they were delicious! Nice and soft cupcakes, not too sweet (I cut back a little on the sugar), and firm enough to be frosted. We loved them at home and they will definitely be my standard cupcake recipe from now on!
As for the frosting on our cupcakes, I actually used drained vanilla yogurt. I always do this and for me it is way better than any frosting (not a fan of frostings and icings here). The yogurt was firm and creamy, it iced the cupcake nicely and even hold up nicely the “kissables” (Hershey’s version of m&m) we used to decorate.
I really liked this recipe, Matheus was happy with his cupcake, and even ended up eating some healthy yogurt with it! Not bad, huh?!!

Ana

Cupcakes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I used ¾ cup)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 ¾ cups all-purposed flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper cups.
Beat butter and sugar. Add oil, flour, salt, egg, egg white, and vanilla, and mix well
Stir baking powder, baking soda, and yogurt into the batter.
Pour batter into muffin cup, filling half-way. Bake 20 minutes, or until tops are golden.
Yield: 12 muffins
Recipe Adapted from “1000 Low fat Recipes” by Terry Blonder Golson

Some cooking this week…

Although I had planned a little more cooking this week, it still turned out to be ok. Matheus got a cold (which unfortunately turned into a beginning of pneumonia), so he hasn’t been feeling too well lately, which means he needs more attention from mommy and is not all that interested in eating… Oh well, I just hope next week will be smoother (so much for doctor’s appointments) and that he will get better, up and running again soon.
Here are some pictures I took during the week from my cooking, which I actually meant to post a couple days ago. I made a stuffed acorn squash that turned out very tasty! I have seen many recipes for this but all the ones I looked when I wanted to make I did not have one or two ingredients, so I ended up sort of making my own creation. I sautéed some onions and garlic in olive oil, added a chopped tomato, cooked and shredded chicken, cooked brown rice and seasonings, made a sort of a risotto thing and stuffed it into the acorn squash (which has been previously halved, cleaned, and cooked in the microwave for about 10 minutes). For an extra taste I added shredded mozzarella and gratted Parmesan to the top and put it in the broiler for a couple of minutes. Not difficult to make, but very tasty nonetheless. Fruit salad for dessert ended up a light and tasty lunch!
I also tried a recipe for whole grain bread with pumpkin seeds. It turned out nice, with a very good texture (not too dense for a whole wheat bread), however the flavors here could be improved. None of us actually liked the bread at our home...
I love those breads that have lots of small seeds inside (flax, sunflower kernels, and those tiny little yellowish balls that I have no idea what they are), and would love to be able to make nice whole grain bread at home. So I decided to start experimenting with whole wheat/grain breads but am still looking to finding best recipe. Would you have any suggestions?!?!?! Recipes are definitely welcome!
Well, this is it for now, but I will come back later to post a recipe for cupcake that I also made this week and came out surprisingly good!
See you all soon!

Ana

I love fruit salad! It is sooo good!









Whole wheat sunflower oat bread... looks good, but needs improvements!

Granola!

I looove granola, especially with yogurt and fruits for breakfast, yum!! As I have said here before, I love oatmeal in any form, so Granola is just the perfect crunchy snack for me!
However, most commercial granolas not only have lots of stuff in it but also are overly sweet for my taste. So, I usually make my own granola at home. It is a very simple thing to make; the only catch is to pay attention to the oven because the oats can scorch very easily.
I sort of developed my own recipe for granola based on my likings and a few recipes I have seen, but since I saw this recipe last year I really wanted to try it. I like all sorts of apple-flavored things; besides, Joe from the “Culinary in the Desert” gave good reviews on this one too!
Apple-Cinnamon Granola is a lot like the granola I make, so I was quite positive I was going to like this one. And I sure did!
The ingredients are easy and with all the good stuff it could not come out wrong. But be prepared, because it is very addicting; I made half batch Tuesday night, and believe it or not it is all gone, and shame on me… I was the only one eating it! (The husband is not a big fan of cereals in general) Oh well, at least it is supposed to be healthy, right?
Oats are delicious and so good for you! Yum! I am definitely going to make this one again!
Enjoy!

Ana

Apple-cinnamon Granola
3 cups regular oats
1 cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal (such as Cheerios)
1/3 cup oat bran
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped dried apple

Preheat oven to 250°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup applesauce, honey, and brown sugar to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour applesauce mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in an even layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Stir in chopped apple.
Note: Store granola in an airtight container up to one week.
Yield: 6 cups
Cooking Light November 2005

Stroganoff

The husband had lunch with us today and requested an easy and delicious dish, Chicken Stroganoff. It is simple to make but so good! I always liked stroganoff, and when I was younger it was considered sort of a gourmet dish, which means we did not have it very often. Nowadays it has definitely become a common dish, but we still celebrate when my Mom makes stroganoff at home!
I like it made with chicken, and it can be made with beef too. It can be served over noodles, but we like it over rice, and preferably accompanied with potato sticks! Yum! (This is how we normally eat this dish in Brazil, how about here; do you guys have heard of potatoes sticks with stroganoff??)
I also made a new recipe today, as I wanted to serve some sort of veggie along with our lunch. I had bought some nice grapefruit and had spinach in the fridge, so I looked for a recipe and came out with sort of a “winter salad” for us. It may not have been the best accompaniment to the stroganoff, but Wilted Spinach-and-Citrus Salad was actually quite tasty! However, I was the only one who liked it here… luckily I only made half recipe (I knew the husband was not going to eat it). It was a nice way to have some warm spinach, other that the usual sautéed or creamed versions. My grapefruit was very juicy, so I ended up with more dressing than needed, but other than that I enjoyed my little salad!
Oh, and remember I mentioned a dessert yesterday?! Well, it was a flop! Yes, the kitchen is full of successes, but sometimes even with the best of intentions some recipes do not come out right. It was a simple one, but the flavors just did not do it for us. Even though I had a feeling that yogurt and chocolate would not be the best of combinations I decided to try the recipe anyway, I guess I was right in the first place…
So, to compensate for the not so good dessert (none of us was able to finish it) the “boys” asked me for some chocolate pudding, and that is what we are going to have tonight! (Not the boxed stuff though, I made it myself! Let me know if anyone wants and I can post the recipe later)
Planning for a new recipe to come, tune in tomorrow to see!

Ana

My Chicken Stroganoff
1 kg chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil (or canola oil)
1 large finely chopped onion (or 2 small)
½ cup tomato extract (or tomato paste)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
A small jar of whole mushrooms
½ cup heavy cream (more or less as needed)

Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions for a minute, add chicken and sauté it until it is cooked, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste, ketchup, and mustard; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes to thicken the sauce a bit. Turn off the heat, add mushrooms, heavy cream and stir. Serve it with rice and potato sticks!

(Not the prettiest picture, I know...)

Wilted Spinach-and-Citrus Salad
2 large grapefruit
2 large oranges
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 cups loosely packed torn spinach leaves
1/4 cup plain croutons

Peel and section grapefruit and oranges over a bowl; squeeze membranes to extract juice. Set sections aside; reserve 1/4 cup juice. Discard membranes.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 30 seconds. Stir in reserved juice, vinegar, honey, and salt. Add fruit and spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach begins to wilt, tossing gently. Arrange spinach mixture on individual salad plates; top with croutons. Yield: 4 servings.
Cooking Light, January 1995

Chocolate Pudding, I love it!!

Brazilian or not, these are good!

Today I decided to make some sort of Brazilian savory treats (which I actually believe are not very Brazilian, but anyways…). Very popular in Brazil, Esfihas are sort of a snack that you can find in many places, but mostly at small cafes and eateries in the street. Traditionally these savory pastries are filled with a mixture of ground beef, onions, tomatoes and spices, but nowadays you can find them with different fillings, including chicken, ricotta cheese, and even a type of sausage called calabresa.
I was never very fond of these snacks back in my childhood because the beef version was never very appealing to me, however, a brilliant “esfiha guy” in Tiete had the idea of making them with chicken and then I started to get interested on them.
There are some Mediterranean versions of esfihas that are actually opened, but this version is closed in a triangular shape. The dough is very easy to work with, and not complicated at all to make. The trick here is how to shape them. I took some pictures during the process in an attempt to show how I made them, which is not difficult, but is hard to explain in writing!
First I roll the dough, cut it into circles, and then I put some filling in the middle and close it like a triangle, pressing two sides first and then closing with the third part… see, that is why I took pictures! It is hard to try explaining it, I don’t even know how to write the method!
You can make them as big or small as you want! For my son’s birthdays I used to make them small and would get around 70 from one batch. If you make them bigger, as I did today, you may get about 20.
These freeze beautifully, and are a great snack to have when that “craving for something salty” hits you. Just let them cool, put in a zip bag and stash in the freezer. Whe ready to eat a minute in the microwave will be enough to defrost and warm it up for you.
In the place we get them in Tiete, their chicken esfihas also have a little bit of “catupiry” inside, a type of delicious and creamy cheese that unfortunately I can’t find here. So, to make up for it I sometimes use either cream cheese or pieces of those laughing cow triangles (creamy Swiss cheese thing), and a little dab will do here, don’t put too much or they will explode and you will have opened esfihas.
When we first moved here to the US I wanted to find the perfect recipe for esfihas, and I quickly found it with this one! These are great, easy, simple, and the end result is very good. It is so similar to the real thing we find in Brazil that friends have told me to start a business with my esfihas. Well, maybe someday I will!
Until then I will keep experimenting here in my kitchen space and showing my lovely (and sometimes not so pretty) results with you!
I also made a desert today, but I will post it tomorrow, since we have not tried it yet… wait and see!

Ana

The shapping process...
Rolled dough into a circle, filling in the middle









Close the uper portion of the dough, starting to form a triangle...









Close the part that is left and voila, nice triangular esfiha!









Egg wash 'em and into the oven they go!

“Esfihas”
600 grams flour (or more, as needed)
28 g dry yeast (4 packages)
150 ml canola oil
300 ml warm milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 eggs, separated

To prepare dough: in bowl dissolve yeast in warm milk, let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, oil and egg whites (reserve the yolks for later use) and mix well. Add 2 cups flour and mix, keep adding flour ½ cup at a time until dough is not too stick and get off your hands (there is no need to knead the dough for too long, just until it comes together and is nice and smooth). Put dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray and let it rise for an hour or until doubled in volume.
Roll dough, cut into circles and assemble the “esfihas” using your favorite filling. Put them seam side down into a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, brush with egg wash (slightly beat the yolks and a tablespoon of milk) and bake for about 18 minutes in a 375F pre-heated oven. (Baking time will depend on size of the “esfihas”).

Traditional meat filling:
500 grams ground beef
1 finely chopped onion
2 small tomatoes, finely chopped (let it sit over a colander to drain some of the liquid before using)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. (this filling is used raw, but don’t worry, it will cook in the oven!)

My chicken filling: Actually I don’t have measurements… sorry!
First, poach some chicken (or use leftover rotisserie chicken) and shred it, reserve.
Then, in a skillet I sauté some onions and garlic; add about ½ cup tomato sauce (or pasta sauce), the shredded chicken, salt and pepper to taste and some seasonings (basil, oregano, parsley). Taste and adjust seasonings as you go. If the mixture seems too watery I add a tablespoon or two of flour just so that it thickens a bit.

Beef Stew

What could be better in the winter months than some warm comfort food? It is not all that cold here in North Carolina (winter is usually colder here), but being the Brazilian girl I am, even a little chilly is already cold enough for me. I love summer and the hot weather, but winter is also good sometimes, especially when talking about steaming soups and hot cocoas, both which I also love!
Yesterday, inspired by the cold weather, I decided to make something warm and comforting, also including my husband’s favorite food, meat. Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms ended up being the perfect food; hearty and full of flavor it satisfied the three of us leaving everybody with the warmest smiles!
The flavors here are very good, but be prepared, because, although not a complicated dish, it takes a little time to make. It requires some prep time also, and since I did not plan on the 2 hours of cooking the recipe stated I had to cut some corners and ended up cooking my stew in the pressure cooker. Yes, I cheated, but the end result was still delicious, the flavors melded and the meat was super tender, not to mention my favorite part: the carrots! I love the carrots in beef stew, they cook to perfection, absorbing the beef flavor and keeping its sweetness at the same time, they get creamy and melt in your mouth, yummm!!
But, back to the pressure cooker thing… basically I followed the recipe (cooking everything in the pressure cooker), and when I returned the beef/onion/mushroom mixture to the pan I added the carrots and potatoes, closed the pressure cooker and let it cook for about 45 minutes. It was quick and made for a nice meal for us!
I made half of the recipe yesterday and we ate it all, so, since it takes a lot of time to make, next time I will definitely make the full thing and freeze the leftovers.
This was the first time I used fresh mushroom in my cooking and I actually liked the results. I like mushrooms but not when they are in their raw form, so I usually don’t go for recipes whit it. This time I decided to really follow the ingredients list and what a nice surprise I had, maybe I will be experimenting more with mushrooms from now on!
This week I am planning on making some new recipes, so please come back to visit!
In the meantime, try the beef stew; I am sure you are going to like it too! Enjoy!

Ana

Basic Beef Stew with Carrots and Mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 pound small cremini mushrooms
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled white potato (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) slices carrot (about 12 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl. Lightly coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Yield: 8 servings.
Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2006

Light and Tasty Lasagna!

As promised here I am with a new recipe. I saw today’s recipe in a magazine in Brazil, it sounded interesting when I read the ingredients, plus the picture looked so good that I could not wait to try it at home. Smoked Turkey and Whole Wheat Bread Lasagna has a different twist on the usual pasta dish, as it does not actually have any pasta in it. The lasagna noodles are replaced here by slices of whole wheat bread, and let me tell you, it worked pretty well with the ingredients in this recipe! (although I am not sure if it would work in a Bolognese type Lasagna…)
One of my favorite lunches during the summertime is turkey sandwich, and this recipe turned out to be a winter version of that! The cheese sauce is creamy and helps blend all the ingredients together. The tomatoes complement nicely both the sauce and the smoked turkey, and nice bread just adds up to all the goodness. I really enjoyed this dish; I made it in a square pan and Matheus and I polished off most of it. It was very easy and quick to make (40 minutes to prep and bake), a light and tasty “Lasagna” which will definitely be repeated pretty soon here at our home!
Enjoy!

Ana

Smoked Turkey and Whole Wheat Bread Lasagna
1 cup milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tablespoon flour
Salt and nutmeg to taste
10 slices smoked turkey breast
8 slices whole wheat bread
2 tomatoes, sliced
Grated Parmesan cheese
Dried oregano

Preheat oven to 375F.
In a blender mix the milk, cottage cheese and flour. Add mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until slightly thickened (~ 4 minutes). Add nutmeg and salt to taste; remove sauce from heat and reserve.
In a pyrex dish add a little bit of the cheese sauce to the bottom, layer half of the bread slices, top with half of the turkey slices, half the tomatoes, and cover with half of the cheese sauce. Make another layer the same way with the rest of ingredients (bread, turkey, tomatoes, sauce), finishing with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and dried oregano. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Serve warm.

Notes: I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese over the cheese sauce in between layers. And after the 15 minutes in the regular oven I let it stay for 2 minutes under the broiler.

Fruits, fruits and more fruits!!

As I have said here before, one of the best things in Brazil is the freshness of the produce, there you will find the sweetest and most delicious fruits you can ever imagine! And yes, I did eat a lot of fruits and fruit juices while in there, savoring every little bite/droplet as possible.
Matheus loved to get fresh fruits in the backyard of my paren'ts house! He was amazed to see the variety of fruits and trees around there, including his favorite, the "bananeira"! ("banana tree"!) Oh, and he also loved drinking Passion Fruit juice and had it every day!
I am trying a new recipe for lunch and am planning on posting it later today, but meanwhile I will leave here a few pictures of some of the delicious fruits we enjoyed there!
(On the picture above: mango, papaya, star fruit, lychee, and a lemon!)

Ana

Passion Fruit.... one of my favorites. Passion Fruit Juice is so good!









Papaya, so good, and its so cheap over there. I made sure to have one every day for breakfast!









Another one I love, Guava! Red and white ones in the picture, but I prefer the white ones!









This is called "Pitaya" in Brazil, but I believe they call it here a Dragonfruit (Is that right?!) It was the first time I ate it, quite expensive, and to be truth not really worth its value... The white one was a little sweeter, but overall they did not taste all that good. I would much more prefer a banana over this one! (however we have to consider that I am not familiar with the fruit and may have chosen some that were not very ripe... who knows!)









This is a fruit I like a lot and wish I could eat more often. We call it a "Fruta do Conde" ("count's fruit") or "Pinha", depending on the area you buy it. It has a very sweet pulp, and the only down side is that it has a lot of seeds, which is surrounded by the delicate pulp by the way. How do you call this fruit here in the US?!

We are Back!

Well, first of all Happy New Year for the friends that visit my blog, I hope you are all already having a great 2006! I know, I am a little late with my wishes and all, but we just came back from Brazil and only now I am back to “computer life”! (Yes, my family did have a computer there, but we were having so much fun that I almost did not have time to use it!)
We spent over a month in Brazil and this was one of the best trips ever!! No, we did not go to the beach, or anywhere else while in there, the only and most important thing we did was to enjoy our FAMILY! I was able to see a lot of my relatives and my husband’s family as well. I spent most of the time with some of the most important people of my life: my mom, dad and sister; and Matheus had the time of his life in there! He had tons of fun playing with his aunt, uncles, and especially with grandpa and grandma!
The thing now is trying to explain to him that we cannot go back there so soon… and he would be back there by now if he could. Yes, he wants to go back to Brazil, and I truly wish we could go back to live there too… oh well, maybe some day we will.
Meanwhile I will continue to post here in my blog, sharing with you all not only my recipes but a little bit of us and our stories!
This is it for today, but please come back to visit me because I got some pictures from my trip to share here with you, and I promise I will be posting again pretty soon! (Tomorrow, if everything goes well!)
Now, here I go to the big pile of laundry from the trip… wish me luck!
See you all soon!

Ana

HO HO HO!!!

We are going to travel to another city, Tiete, where both my parent's family and my husband's family live. I am not going to have much access to internet there, so before we leave I wanted to come here and wish all my friends and those who visit my blog a Very Happy Christmas and a Great Begining of 2006! Thank you all for coming and visiting me in this space, which I love and where I came to meet lots of nice people!
Love you all!
Ana

Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables!

That’s the best thing about coming to Brazil, the wonderful produce they have around here! Super fresh, direct from the growers, not to mention the price... it can’t be beaten!
We are having lots of fun with the family here, plus we are savoring the beste and sweetest fruits you can imagine! Mango, papaya, guava... yum!! And the best place to get fresh produce here are the street markets, which we call “Feira” (in English it would be the equivalent to “fair”).
Once a week they close a specific street for the morning hours and very early in the morning the produce growers start to assemble their “tents” in order to display the most varied assortment of fruits and vegetables you can possibly imagine. There you can find from fruits and vegetables to herbs and spices that they will freshly and happily ground for you (with a manual miller). You can also find freshly made cheeses, nuts, snacks, and even toys and kitchen gadgets in there.
There are tons of markets all around town, and basically each area has its own market in specific weekdays. Near my mom’s house there are two, one on Fridays and another one on Sunday.
It is definitely not the most pleasant place to go, but the freshness of the produce makes it worth to check out. Friday we went to one, my son was a little confused among all the people and the noisy vendors, who keep yelling the silliest things to get your attention, but enjoyed sampling fruits and choosing veggies for our lunch later on!
I wanted to take some pictures but forgot my camera, so I used my sister’s cell phone instead. Here is just a small sample of what they have, and next time I will try to remember to capture the favorite snacks you will find in the "feira": “Pastel” (a fried pastry concotion) and Freshly Squeezed Cane Juice!

Ana

Brazil!

Just posting to tell you all that we are here, safe and sound!
The trip was nice and Matheus had lots of fun in the airplane! We had some delay, missed a connection, and the baggages only got here a day after we did, but other than that everything was ok and now we are enjoying the family!
Not much to write today, and I haven't been on the computer much, but I will come back with pictures and news. There is still a lot to do, talk, and tons of good food to eat!
See you soon!
Ana

It is tomorrow….

Yes, it is tomorrow, we are going to Brazil!!!
I have been meaning to come here and post the recipes I have made during the week, but with all the packing, laundry, Christmas shopping, and a few other things I had to get done before going, I simply did not have much time left to post.
But here I am, ready to go! Everything is done and now I just have to be organized and put everything together before we leave. Until tomorrow I will probably find out that something is missing, or that I forgot something important, but I will leave to worry about this part later.
Now on to my favorite subject… Food!!
I had a pretty busy week but still managed to cook and even try new recipes, cooking for me is like a therapy so nothing better than heading to the kitchen after a stressful day. Thursday I decided to make muffins to leave for the husband’s breakfasts during the weeks he will be here alone. He requested banana bran muffins and strawberry muffins, and I also made my new favorite oatmeal muffin (the one from Nic’s site, posted here before!), believe it or not, we were in a muffin mood this week and about half of them is already gone… seems I will be making one more batch before leaving!
I also made an asparagus soup that was very good! I know, it is not asparagus season right now, but I found some frozen asparagus spears for the first time when shopping at whole foods during the week, I was extremely happy with my finding and since it was cold I decided to make soup. Very easy recipe and very good too, and you can vary the vegetables accordingly to what you have on hand.
Another recipe I made was for potato rolls, and this was a new one. I have had this recipe on my “to try pile” for years, and although it looked like a good one (it had a picture with it, which I like!) I had not made it before. And I have no idea why I waited so long, because the rolls were awesome! Simple but so good, they had the perfect texture of the potato rolls we buy at bakeries in Brazil, which usually come filled with a creamy cheese called “catupiry”. Well, I did not have the cheese here so I improvised and stuffed them with small pieces of those laughing cow triangles (Brazilians, read “ polenghinho”). It worked very well and the rolls were delicious! The recipe is in Portuguese, so if you want it just let me know and I will be glad to translate!
Recipe for the rolls can be found here: http://cybercook4.uol.com.br/exibir_receita.php?codigo=486
Friday night we had Cheese Fondue! What can be better than melted cheese in a cold night, huh?! So good, and very easy to make too! I always make the same recipe, which I got from foodtv. As with usual fondue it is made with wine, but since Matheus was eating with us I made ours with chicken broth, instead (you can use milk too). I turned out very good, but if you have no kids for dinner by any means use the wine!
Finally, today after our obligatory “Sunday Pasta”, we had Cheesecake Ice Cream! This is actually a recipe I created after browsing different other recipes. As I have told you before, the husband loves cheesecake, and I love ice cream, so during the summer I developed this recipe in an attempt to combine both our likings and create one concoction we could happily enjoy together. It worked, we were all happy and now I share my recipe with you! Today I had some cream cheese left that I needed to use, so I made the recipe again, however, I did not have half-half on hand and used plain whole milk yogurt instead, which worked nice! The recipe is super easy to make and makes a creamy and delicious ice cream!
That is it for today. Have to finish up cleaning and getting everything in order for the husband before we go tomorrow. And I promise I will write from Brazil and try to post some pictures. Whish me a good trip!
See you soon, and enjoy the recipes!

Ana

Cream of Asparagus Soup (Cooking Light, April 2002)
3 cups (1/2-inch) sliced asparagus (about 1 pound)
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, divided
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
Dash of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Combine asparagus, broth, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Place asparagus mixture in a blender; process until smooth.
Place flour in pan. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add puréed asparagus and ground nutmeg; stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 teaspoon thyme, butter, salt, and lemon rind. Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup).
Cream of Carrot Soup: Substitute 2 cups baby carrots for asparagus. Omit bay leaf.
Cream of Leek Soup: Substitute 3 cups sliced leek for asparagus. Substitute 3/4 teaspoon rosemary for thyme. Omit bay leaf.

Cheese Fondue (Tyler Florence)
1/2 pound imported Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cherry brandy, such as kirsch
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch nutmeg

In a small bowl, coat the cheeses with cornstarch and set aside. Rub the inside of the ceramic fondue pot with the garlic, then discard. Over medium heat, add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer. Gradually stir the cheese into the simmering liquid. Melting the cheese gradually encourages a smooth fondue. Once smooth, stir in cherry brandy, mustard and nutmeg.

My Cheesecake Ice Cream
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream (or heavy cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend everything together in a blender and freeze on ice cream machine.