Tandoori Chicken

I have always been amazed by the Indian cuisine. The aromatic flavors and complexity of the dishes sometimes makes me want to go to India just to learn how to make their food.
And since I like the combination of spices they use (with the exception of fennel seeds), I am always experimenting and looking for recipes and ideas to try at home. Especially since taking Matheus to the restaurant isn't yet possible as he cannot tolerate the heat all that well (and sometimes neither can I to be quite true).
So making Indian food at home has been a very pleasant adventure for all of us. I really enjoy the cooking process, toasting the spices, creating different (to me!) flavors, marinating the meat for long hours, and since Matheus and my Husband are good taste testers, at the end we get to share delicious food which we all can enjoy together!
Since we discovered a delicious local Indian restaurant I have been expanding my knowledge of Idian dishes and understanding a little bit more of what regions. Through researching and asking my blog friend Agda (chek out her blog, it is full of delicious Indian dishes!!), Indian food has become even more appealing to me.
One of the dishes I enjoy at the Indian restaurant is their Tandoori Chicken, so as soon as I saw the recipe for Grilled Tandoori Chicken on the current issue of Cooking Light Magazine I knew I had to try it.
I knew from the beginning that my chicken would not resemble or taste much like the one I get at the restaurant, as it is certainly impossible to create at home the flavor that the "tandoor" oven imparts to the dish, but grilling it sounded like a way to impart something more to the already so fragrant combination of spices.
The chicken came out really good! And I mean it, really, really good! I marinated the chicken overnight so the spices were through out the meat and the grill definitely added something to it all. The marinade by itself was already delicious with the yogurt, spices, the ginger and lemon juice... it was truly good, and we all agreed it was one of the most flavorful chickens we made in our grill.
Even though the recipe asks for only chicken thighs I used a combination of chicken breasts and thighs, but I have to say that the thighs were a lot more moist and flavorful than the breast pieces, the charred parts were just amazingly yummy (and this coming from someone that doesn't like dark meat really says a lot).
I halved the recipe and did not add the red pepper or the Serrano pepper to it, as I didn't want to make it too spicy for us, but I actually missed a little bit of heat (you know, Indian food is supposed to be a little spicy). So, the second time I made I added a tiny bit of red pepper and... it was even better! Feel free to adjust the spices and peppers to suit your tastes.
I served the Tandoori Chicken with basmatti saffron rice and curried vegetables and it was a very delicious Indian meal!
Enjoy!
Ana

My note: we didn't care for the yogurt sauce all that much, so I didn't even bother to make it the second time I made the chicken.
If anyone has a good yogurt "sauce" recipe/idea to go with this kind of chicken dish, would you like to share with me?? I know there might be something around, as I have had better yogurt sauces than this one... the search for Indian flavors continues!

Grilled Tandoori Chicken
(Adapted from Cooking Light, May 2008)

2 teaspoons canola oil
4 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped onion (I
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped seeded serrano pepper
8 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
2 teaspoons salt, divided
16 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
Cooking spray

Heat oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and red pepper to pan; cook 2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring constantly. Remove from pan; cool.

Place onion, ginger, serrano pepper, garlic, spice mixture, 1/2 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons juice, and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt in a food processor (I used a blender) and process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Cut 3 shallow slits in each chicken thigh. Add chicken to bag, and seal. Toss to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Combine remaining 2 cups yogurt, 2 tablespoons juice, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl, stirring well. Cover mixture, and chill.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 7 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with yogurt mixture.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs and about 1/4 cup yogurt mixture)

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

It was yesterday, but we were busy eating this yummy chocolate cake, so I came to post it here today!!
The recipe for the cake I already posted before but will post again, just because it is a super delicious chocolate cake! (to see the other post, click here)
And, besides the goodness, it makes a small square cake, which is the perfect size for the three of us. Yesterday I used a 9-inch round pan and it came out perfect; simple, but so rich and delicious... it was the best birthday cake ever paired with the strawberries and some vanilla ice cream.
You really have to make this one!
Ana

Chocolate Fudge Snack Cake
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, softened (if using salted butter then omit the salt from the recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat an 8-inch square baking pan (or a 9-inch round!!!) with cooking spray; dust with the 2 teaspoons flour.
In a bowl mix together flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, stirring, reserve.
With a mixer beat butter until smooth, add vanilla and granulated sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat for 3 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
While beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until everything is smooth and incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Yield: 9 servings

Adapted from Cooking Light, March 2003

This cake is already delicious plain, but if it is also your birthday and you love chocolate as much as I do, then go ahead and make your slice even more special!! And don't forget the vanilla ice cream - which I forgot to put on before taking the picture...

Carrot Couscous!

I was going to make couscous last week to serve with fish but wanted to change it a bit... you know, when you are going to make the basic because its easy and quick but you do want to add something extra just to make it feel a little more special?
Well, on a situation like that you open the fridge and start looking around, and then... you find some carrot juice just sitting there and smiling (ok, not smiling per se...), waiting to be put to a good use.
And to a great purpose it served, I made couscous with it!
For 1 cup of couscous I used 1 cup carrot juice and 1/4 cup water. Bring the juice and water to a boil together with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat, add couscous, stir a bit, cover and let it sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and it is ready to serve!
I mixed some green onions into our couscous and I really liked the flavors, and color, it added to it.
So here it is, an easy and simple idea, just to add that little something to the beloved easy-and-quick-to-make couscous.
Oh, and don't worry if you are not the biggest carrot fan, the couscous doesn't taste "carroty" at all. The flavor is so subtle that my husband couldn't even guess what was on it. In fact, next time I make this (which I will for sure) I will use all carrot juice, as I believe more of its flavor would've been very nice.
Enjoy!
Ana

Mickey Mouse Fun!!

Since we took Matheus to Disney World for the first time last year he got an addoration for all things Mickey!
But hey, there is no way one would not like these Mickey raviolis... aren't they cute?! And I have to say, they are yummy! But no, I didn't make them, we found them at the grocery store.
However, we have been making Mickey Pancakes at home!
Easy and fun, just pour your pancake batter as usual in the pan/griddle and then add a little bit of batter to each side of the pancake to make the ears. Flip as you would normally do with your regular pancakes and eat them with an even bigger smile on your face!
Oh, and if you would like a healthy and wholesome pancake recipe, take a look here for one I have posted before: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce.

I tell you, having kids and being a mommy is a lot of fun! Even breakfast makes you smile!!
Ana

It was a Happy Happy Birthday!

A party with some free throws, great passes, one we definitely scored!
Matheus turned 6 on March 25... six... I still cannot believe, he is growing so fast.
However, I am enjoying each and every day of these first years of his life, while he still near me, smiling, playing around, always with a hug and some kisses to make his mommy happy!
We had a birthday party for him and his friends from school at a bounce-house-type-party-place and after one and a half hours playing, jumping, and running around, the kids were more than ready for some juice and cake - which this year turned out to be a Basketball Court (or half of it...).
Matheus enjoyed his party, his cake, and more than everything having fun with his friends, and that was more than enough and made me as happy as one could be!
And since I have been sharing my latest creations in the cake world with you I decided to post this one too. Inside it was a Chocolate Cake filled with whipped cream. I wanted to take a picture of a slice but I have to tell you, there were NO slices left.... the kids loved the cake and it was gone. My husband saved a piece, which I quickly took a bite and was happy to see why, it did came out very yummy!
For the cake recipe in English, the Cocoa Cake is posted here, and it is the same one I made for last years soccer birthday cake too.
If you would like to see a recipe in Portuguese, take a look at Eliana's blog, she has a yummy chocolate cake recipe posted here, which is where I got the idea to use whipped cream for the filling of mine. Super simple and the end result is perfect, so delicious and the kids really enjoyed! (and for birthday parties you can't ask for more than that!)
Hope you like it too!
Ana

Spring Break Lunch!
Matheus is on Spring Break this week and we are enjoying a full week of doing nothing - he is liking it quite a lot actually!
So our lunches have been simple and easy this week, even more so since it's been raining a lot and basically all we have been able to do is stay home and eat...
Today however, it was sunny outside, so we went out and came back with nice pieces of halibut for lunch.
The fish was simply seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil and roasted in the oven until done.
With the oven on, I also roasted some asparagus (because Spring is asparagus time and this is Matheus' favorite vegetable - and we have been having it everyday this week!), a few baby carrots cut into coins (to roast more quickly), and a juicy tomato for each of us, filled with some leftover brown rice Parmesan risotto and sprinkled with some more Parmesan on top, yum!
Me and Matheus both love bok choy and for some reason I always think about greens when I buy fish. Well, it ended up there were no bok choy for us at whole foods today, so we came back with a pretty bunch of chard instead. It was actually my first time cooking red swiss chard, and it reminded me a lot of beet greens in terms of flavor.
The halibut and stuffed tomato were definitely the stars of the meal. The tomato was juicy and the Parmesan on top together with the rice formed the most delicious crusty topping we could have asked for. Matheus already asked for a repeat on this one! :0)
And the halibut was so moist and tender, flaky and delicious... yummm! When you have good fish fillets you really don't need to fuss much over it.
Simple, easy, and best of all, I only had one pan dirty, and that was because I decided to sautee the chard. Otherwise I would only have our plates and cutlery to wash, since all I had used was the baking sheet, which was purposely lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Can't get much better (and flavorful) than that!
Ana

Happy Easter!!

Simple, but so good!
This was our Easter Dessert today. This recipe is a favorite and you can see it here!
Happy Bunny Day everyone!
Ana

Just wanted to share...

I really enjoy baking and decorating cakes, especially with fondant, so lately I have been venturing more and more in the cake department (never took a class though, so please don't look too deep into it!).
Here are a couple of cakes I recently made to friends of mine, I just wanted to share the pictures as I was quite proud of myself and both the friends who got the cakes really liked them too!
Ana

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey everyone, I am back! Yay!!
While it took me a bit to recover from the tonsillectomy (oh my, does that hurt... ouch!), right after I got better I managed to cut my right-hand index finger and now got a couple stitches to take care of. Thankfully it is nothing big or serious, so I am still around the kitchen, of course!
St. Patrick's is not something we celebrate, no Irish backgrounds in our families and we actually only got to learn about this here in the US.
However, Matheus learns about everything at school and come home with his little head full of ideas. One of those being that today he wanted a lunch box full of green food, and who am I to argue with that, right?!!
So, we went for green grapes, broccoli, and these yummy Spinach Muffins, which actually comes from my friend Akemi's kitchen!!
Her recipe is in reality for a Spinach Pie, but I thought that muffins would be more "lunch-box-friendly" and gave it a try, and it worked perfect!
I actually made the full recipe, scooped part of it into 4 muffin cups, and the rest I put on a pyrex dish and baked as a pie. Both came out great. We had the pie yesterday for dinner and the muffins were taken today to school.
And since it was my day to volunteer at the classroom I ended up going to have lunch with Matheus at the school too and have to say that the muffins were a success! The kids loved his "green bread" and he was so happy with his green food that he devoured all the veggies, muffins and fruit! Tell me about a "eco-friendly-green-boy"!!!
This is soooo easy to make, and I love the addition of onions and garlic to the batter, it gave it so much flavor, really cool!
I mixed my filling (chopped ham and grated mozzarela) into the batter so it would be easier to pour into the muffin tins and it all came out perfect, we all liked and I hope you will also enjoy, pretty healthy and cool colors too!
Thanks Akemi!!
Ana

To see the recipe in Portugues click here: Torta de Espinafre!

Akemi's Spinach Pie
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)
Leaves from 1 bunch of spinach (I used about 2/3 of a bag of spinach - added until it was green as I wanted it to be!)
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons chopped onions (about 1/4 onion)
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a blender process the eggs, milk, oil, salt, spinach, garlic, and onions until all mixed up and no pieces remain. Pour batter into a large bowl and add to that the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated.

At this point you can add your filling right to the batter or pour half the batter into a baking dish, fill it with desired filling, and then pour rest of batter on top, smoothing it up with the back of a spoon.
To make it easier I mixed up chopped ham, grated mozzarela, and a couple tablespoons grated parmesan right into the batter.
You can also use diced tomatoes if you want here, I just didn't use it because I didn't have it on hand... Another good option would be a chicken filling, yummm!

Bake your pie for 35 to 40 minutes at 350F. In case you are making muffins check on them after 18-20 minutes, they should be done by then!

And here is Matheus' lunchbox for the day! Yummy!

Taking it easy...

As you may have noticed, my kitchen has slowed down a bit this week. The reason is that I had surgery this past Wednesday and had my tonsils removed (tonsillectomy). So, for the past couple days I have been having a diet consisting mostly of creamy and mushy foods.
And even though it may not sound very delectable I am actually enjoying to have lots of pureed soups, pudding and ice cream, yes, because ice cream is definitely the best thing to swallow, cold stuff rules when you are in pain.
Boy, this thing hurts a lot, way more that I thought it would, so I have been taking it easy and resting as much as I can so I can get over with this soon and be back with full energy to the kitchen!
So, just a note to let you know why I might be a little absent these days, and I promise I will be back to talk about the yummy and colorful dessert pictured above that we made a while ago. Right now I will leave here the picture and see if any of my blog friends will be able to tell me what it is!!
Ana

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Here is a nice, simple and easy meal, perfect for when you want comfort food without much trouble at all: chop a few vegetables, season them, put on a casserole, add chicken breasts on top, season with a delicious infusion of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice and bake the whole thing until all the flavors meld and your kitchen smell divine!!
Easy, right?! Yep, and this is how this dish turned out to be! Nothing fancy, or fussy, but as flavorful as could be.
My only change to this was that I used Leeks instead of the fennel asked for in the recipe, as I just cannot stand fennel in any form (bulb, seeds, anise... yuck, no, fennel is not for me!).
Boy could I be happier to have changed that. The mixture of leeks and soft tomatoes together with the seasonings in the broth was incredibly good! The zucchini was soft and tender and chicken was perfectly cooked.
I really enjoyed this dish since, as I mentioned before, it was comforting and done with minimum effort!
The lemon-garlic-oil mix added to the top of the chicken subtly infused the brothy yumminess that was created in the bottom of the dish, which perfumed the entire kitchen and enticed our taste buds even before the dish was done... humm, good!
Serve this with rice as it helps to soak all the flavorful juices from the seasoned vegetables, making for an incredibly easy and tasty meal that I am sure you and your family will enjoy!
Ana

Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
(Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave)

6 tomatoes
3 medium zucchini (½ pound each)
1 bulb fennel (I used 1 12 leeks)
3 tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly grated black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried

Preheat oven 350F.
Cut the tomatoes lengthwise into quarters and remove the seeds. Trim the zucchini and cut it in half crosswise and then cut each piece in half lengthwise once if the piece is thin and twice if it is thicker, so that the pieces are relatively uniform.
Remove the outermost layer of the fennel bulb and discard. Cut the bulb in half so that each half retains part of the stem end. Cut each half into 8 thin wedges so each wedge is held together by a little piece of stem. (I skipped the fennel and added two leeks which I trimmed, washed and thinly sliced into half moons)
Put the vegetables into a large baking pan. Toss them with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan with the vegetables.
In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice. Rub the mixture into the chicken in the pan. Season with a few turns of pepper.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then give the vegetables a stir and add the rosemary. Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes more until the chicken is done and the vegetable are tender and beginning to brown.
Yield: 4 servings

Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears

Sometimes, during the winter months it is a little harder to find desserts that I like and would satisfy all my "winter sweet-needs". First because all my favorite fruits are all out of season, and second because my favorite type of desserts are the creamy ones (like ice cream, panna cotta), but during the winter I feel really cold, so it is not always I am up for very chilly foods. It is usually something warm and comforting I am looking for.
Well, here is an example of how yummy, warm, and comforting winter fruit can get!
Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears is another of Ellie's recipe and one that I really enjoyed! Nice and ripe pears are first poached in sweet red wine, as they become soft and infused with flavor you take them out of their wine bath and reduce the liquid to a sticky and flavorful syrup, which is then used to embellish your plate and taste buds!
The wine reduction almost look like chocolate syrup, doesn't it?! But its flavors are far more interesting and complex, offering just the perfect sweetness and pairing nicely with the soft cooked pears.
This is the type of dessert I would serve for company: it can be made in advance, looks pretty, is simple to make and the taste... if you like pears and wine flavored desserts, then this one is for you and your guests too!
So, here goes the recipe, and you know what, the syrup is delicious, but I bet this would be really good with some chocolate sauce too, and if served warm... humm, a scoop of ice cream would also probably be welcome, even with the winter cold!
Enjoy!
Ana

Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears
(Recipe by Ellie Krieger, from the book The Food You Crave)

2 cups red wine, Cabernet or Merlot
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Juice of 1 orange (about ½ cup)
One 1 inch strip orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
4 firm, ripe pears

Peel the pears but leave the stem intact. Slice ½ inch of the bottom of the pear, just so it will have a flat bottom and are able to stand up when you plate them.
In a saucepan combine sugar, wine, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Lay the pears in the poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes to ensure that they have an even color.
Transfer the pears to a plate, keeping them upright.
Remove orange zest, cinnamon and cloves from the poaching liquid. Turn heat up to medium-high and reduce the liquid until it is thick and syrupy, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Plate each pear and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the warm syrup.
Note: pears and sauce can be stored in refrigerator for up to 2 days and served cold or at room temperature.
Serves 4.

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Ana

(This was Matheus' Valentine lunch for today - properly put in a lunchbox after the picture, of course! Heart-shapped Pizza and little hearts cut out from a red bell pepper!)

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Shrimp is something that both Matheus and my husband really like. I talk about having shrimp for a meal and they are as happy as can be!
And it was certainly not different with this dish. As I mentioned the above sea protein they could not wait for lunch, and were not even worried about what kind of dish I was going to make.
Luckily, Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta was a hit and lunch was an absolute success!
First you make a simple and easy tomato sauce with canned tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs: parsley and dill. Then shrimp and feta cheese are added and the dish goes to the oven for a few minutes more. And that's it!
So easy and soooo flavorful! I enjoyed this so much that I could not believe how good it was!
I like shrimp, but I am not a big fan of canned tomatoes. I love tomatoes, the fresh ones, during summertime, when they are at their peak of goodness. Maybe it is just me, but I find canned tomatoes to be extremely acidic and... well, I think they taste like, hum... the can.
Sorry, I know, canned tomatoes are a staple and a life saver during winter months, I agree, but it might be just me, so just ignore my canned tomato rant and let's move forward, shall we?!
Anyways, my surprise with this dish was exactly the tasty sauce. The dill and parsley paired so well with the shrimp and tomatoes flavors that I could not stop raving about it, really, really good!
The cheese added just the right amount of saltiness, nicely complementing the flavors of everything else. The canned tomatoes turned out into a sauce that was not bad at all!
We all gave thumbs up for this dish here at our home, pretty easy, delicious and good for you, just like all the other recipes that came from Ellie's book! Yumm!!
Ana

Ps: I am sorry about the picture, I should have taken a better one... actually, I was supposed to plate and take another picture, but we were all so excited to eat that I ended up forgetting to do it, just to find the camera sitting on the counter ready to click... oh man!

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
(Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger's cookbook The Food You Crave)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14,5oz) cans diced tomatoes, with their juices (I added 1 ½ can and it was enough sauce for us, too much more and it would have been tomato soup with shrimp swimming in it, so use your judgment on this one!)
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 ¼ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste
2/3 cups crumbled feta cheese (3 ounces) (I didn't measure mine, but I guess I used less than this amount)

Preheat oven to 425F.
Sautee onion and garlic in the olive until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes, until tomato juices thicken a little.
Remove from heat, add parsley, dill, and shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the feta cheese and bake until shrimp is cooked and cheese melts, about 12 minutes.
Serves 4.

My new Idol + Recipes + Meet Ellie + More!!

Yes, I have a new idol, and she is GREAT!!! I have been making Ellie Krieger recipes for more than a year now and every single one I have tried turned out delicious, and now I am even more excited because she just released a Cookbook, and it is the best cookbook ever!!!
I simply LOVE her book, it is pretty, full of pictures and recipes that are not only tasty and flavorful but also good for you! The book is filled with tips and ideas which beside being helpful and useful also teach us a lot about nutrition and why some foods are so good for us, plus all the recipes have nutritional information.
I love, love, love the book, so much so that I decided to make as many recipes from it as I can!!
And I have already an advantage, as I have made many of her recipes just from watching her cooking show on TV during the past year.
Ohh, but what is better than watching your idol on TV?? Of course, meeting her in person, and I did it too!!!
Ellie was in a city close to where I live in the beginning of the month for a "Luncheon" at a very nice specialty food store. In December I saw on the store's website she would be coming and immediately signed up and couldn't wait for February to come. (and I also pre-ordered the book - which was released in January)
Well, the day finally came and I got to meet Ellie, and to sit at the same table that she was! (and there were another 10 tables on the same place) Am I lucky or what?? She is the nicest person, delicate, pretty, fun, and most of all she talked just like one of us, not someone superior just because she was famous.
I loved talking to her, asking her question, and even talked a little about me, as she got interested that I was from Brazil!
It was a lovely luncheon where we tried 4 of her recipes (from the book), we talked, had good food and I even got a picture taken with her and had my book signed!
So, for now on be prepared because a lot of Ellie's recipes will show up around here!

And if you missed, take a look at the ones I have already made:
Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart : My very favorite, I love this recipe!!
Greek Style Stuffed Peppers : Declared to be the best stuffed peppers ever at our home!
Green Pea Soup : easy, delicious and with a beautiful green color, another one I like a lot!
Turkey Meatloaf : by far the best turkey loaf, I only use this recipe ever since I made it for the first time!
Dark Chocolate Mousse : creamy and chocolatey, yum!

Since it is the weekend and we have some time to play in the morning I will start by posting a delectable breakfast treat, and what better than pancakes for breakfast right?! Ellie's Pancakes, of course!! :-)
These Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce were delicious, light and fluffy and the strawberry sauce added just the right sweetness to it all!
Super simple and easy to make, plus the sauce can easily be made with frozen strawberries (which is what I did!), which make it even more convenient to make these at any time of the year!
Matheus drizzeld his with honey as he loves it, but the sauce was enough to make the pancakes amazingly good!
I will leave here with the recipe and will be back pretty soon with more from this amazing book!
Thanks Ellie!!
Ana

Whole Wheat Pancakes With Strawberry Sauce
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger's book "The Food You Crave")

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In another medium bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, non-fat milk, honey and vanilla.
Coat a large nonstick griddle or skillet with cooking spray and preheat over medium-low heat.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. The batter will be somewhat lumpy.
Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to ladle the batter onto the griddle or skillet. Flip the pancake when the top is bubbling and it is golden brown on the bottom,after about 1 1/2 minutes. Then cook until the other side is golden brown, about another 1 1/2 minutes. Keep the pancakes warm in a 200F oven as you finish cooking the remaining ones.
Ladle about 1/3 cup of the strawberry sauce onto each plate, place pancakes on top and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Strawberry sauce:
16 ounces fresh strawberries, or 4 cups frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey (I used 1 tablespoon)

In a blender process strawberries to a chunky puree. Heat the sauce in a small saucepan over a low flame, until just warm. Stir in lemon juice and .

Yield: 4 servings

Oh look, look, it's Me and Ellie!!

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree

This was one of those recipes that you want to jump in the kitchen right after you saw someone making on TV. As I was watching the lady make the pasta my mind could not stop saying "you have to make this one, you have to make this one...!"
So, I did, of course! And what a pleasant surprise!
I really enjoy eggplant dishes and this pasta did not disappoint, actually I think I just got a new pasta sauce for the top of my list of favorites!
The eggplant sauce was sooooo creamy, so delicious and flavorful, I was truly impressed and amazed by the silkiness of this dish.
Since I don't have a food processor, I used my blender to process the eggplant so my sauce was really more on the puree side, and I have to say that I loved the texture it came out. It was almost like a babaganoush pasta sauce if you will, a rich eggplant puree infused with the flavor of garlic, olive oil and a very subtle "tomatoyness" (hey, I think I created a new word!).
Very delicious and I already want to make it again!
The only thing I did different was to omit the red pepper flakes (as both me and Matheus just cannot stomach the heat) and to use basil in place of the mint, and I think that was a good move to be quite true. Oh, and I sprinkled the cheese on top, instead of mixing it in with the sauce.
Great, super easy dish, which I am sure will be even more delicious and flavorfull when I make it during the summer, at the peak of both basil and tomato crops!
Enjoy!
Ana

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree
(Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis)

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, whole
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves (I used Basil)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with partchment paper (or aluminum foil).
In a large bowl combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red
pepper flakes. Spread vegetables in an even layer on baking sheet and roast in the oven until vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables and roast until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve. (Keep and eye on these, they burn REALY fast!)
While vegetables are roasting cook the pasta until tender. Drain, put pasta in a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the mint and extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.
Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Sweet Crepes!

When it comes to end a meal with a sweet touch my choices pretty much revolve around creamy desserts, but with the cold weather we are having right now I knew that ice cream or panna cotta would not make it to the table - I wanted something warm!
Matheus and my husband both love savory crepes and a while ago Matheus realized we could make them sweet and has been asking for us to try it sometime.
With him asking and my desire for something warm (and chocolaty!) we decided to make some sweet crepes for dessert, and the choice could not have been better!
I made crepes with my regular recipe, which I use for savory ones, but added a tablespoon of sugar to the batter (recipe bellow). Then I chopped some bananas, added a touch of cinnamon and sugar to them and sauteed them in a skillet over the stove top just to warm them up and sort of let them caramelize on their own sweetness... oh my, the filling was absolutely delicious on its own, really, I didn't even needed the crepes after I tasted it!
I then put some filling in each crepe, rolled (tucking in the sides as in a burrito) and drizzle the top with a simple chocolate syrup made with warm cream (and a little milk) and dark chocolate - just melt the two together, but don't put too much milk so it doesn't turn too soupy.
It was simply heaven! Warm, sweet, plus the bananas were creamy inside, and paired with the chocolate.... ohhh it was good!
So easy, and the crepe recipe made a lot, so I saved them on a zipbag in the freezer and now we can have crepes for dessert when the cravings strike!
Enjoy!
Ana

Here you can see the yummy bananas inside!!









Basic Crepe Recipe
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

My Notes: This recipe can be used to make both sweet and savory crepes. When I made the sweet ones I reduced the salt to 1/4 teaspoon and added 1 tablespoon sugar to the batter, and it just added a subtle sweetness to the crepe.
Also, when making the sweet crepes you might want to add a touch more milk just so that the batter is a little more loose, and that will help in making thiner crepes, which are desirable for a dessert course.
For the savory ones though, I keep the batter as is, since my boys here like the crepes to be a little on the thicker side!
Also, for savory crepes you can flavor the batter by mixing finely chopped herbs into the batter (parsley, basil, rosemary, etc - but mix it with a spoon, unless you don't mind a greenish crepe batter!), even a little parmesan cheese is a good addition to flavor the basic crepes.
That's it! This is a pretty basic recipe, so you can use your imagination and create your own delicious concoction, being it savory or sweet!

Chicken Pot Pie!!

Or should I say Turkey Pot Pie.... yeah, I know, it was not chicken!
As most of my friends we also had some leftovers from our Christmas Turkey Breast, so I had to figure something to do with all the meat. Thankfully our turkey was very moist and flavorful (really, I was impressed, it was the best I have made!) so it was a pleasure to eat the leftovers over and over!!
In order to use up some of the turkey and not have to eat it right away I made one of our favorite and one of the Husband most requested recipes: Chicken Esfihas, which I have already posted and talked about here, didn't change a thing other than using turkey instead of chicken!
I make it once a month and freeze it so we can have for lunches and snacks when the hunger attacks.
With what was left I decided to make a Potpie, which came out soooo delicious that it wished I had more turkey to make it again on the following week. We loved it so much that we polished of most of it in one meal.
I actually did not follow a recipe, but used the veggies and turkey we had leftover calling for us in the fridge. But I based my Turkey Potpie on the recipe that appeared in the cover of November's Everyday Food magazine.
You basically make a white sauce (bechamel), a more "loose" one than you would if making sauce for pasta, and then add the cooked chicken and veggies of choice, creating this way a very flavorful filling which can be covered with a variety of toppings: pastry crust, biscuits, phyllo dough.
I chose to use phyllo dough for mine, as I wanted to experiment and have some fun with it! However, as fun as it is to work with phyllo, you do have to be extremely careful as the dough sheets are very delicate and tear easily. Plus, always keep a damp towel covering the pieces you are not working with so they don't dry out, because let me tell you, they are so thin that they really do start to get dry in a matter of seconds.
For our potpie we used the roasted turkey breast, carrots, peas, corn, broccoli and mushrooms. Also, I made my "white sauce" with half milk and half chicken broth, just because I wanted to add some more flavor other than just having a milky sauce. It worked pretty well and I liked the results much better than other potpies I have tried (which were not many I don't find comercial/restaurant varieties to be "that" good). And I also brushed the top of the phyllo topping with olive oil and sprinkled some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on it - this top part was so yummy!
I will leave here the link for the Chicken Potpie from Everyday Food, as well as for another recipe I had marked to try from Cooking Light (my favorite cooking magazine!). They are both really similar and use phyllo as a topping. But feel free to browse on the websites and see the potpie options they have to offer, and they do have quite a few!
Either using a recipe or creating your own, this is a dish worth trying, especially now during the winter months, as I found this to be a delicious and very satisfying comforting meal, just perfect for when we were all together at home during the school break.
This homemade chicken potpie won my stomach and warmed my heart!
Ana

For the Everyday Food LighterChicken Potpie: click here.

But check this Chicken Potpie from Cooking Light too!

Chicken Stuffed with Garlic and Goat Cheese

As promised, here I am with new recipes to share! And what a better way to start this year's posts than with a recipe involving goat cheese??? I love, LOVE this cheese, it is so creamy and tangy, one of my very favorite cheeses of all!
I had high hopes when I first spotted this recipe, and it certainly did not disappoint. Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Garlic and Herbed Goat Cheese is a very flavorful and delightful dish. The chicken was moist and perfectly cooked, and although the goat cheese mixture did escape a little from the insides I still did not complain because it created a wonderful sauce on the bottom of the pan, in which the chicken was sitting in, so it was completely infused with the flavors, inside out.
The recipe comes from Cooking Light and is very easy to prepare. Chicken is stuffed with yummy, creammy deliciousness, then browned on the stove top and finished in the oven.
Perfection, so flavorful, so juicy, so good! No need to say it will show up in our tables many times to come!
Ana

My notes and a tip before you read on: I had plain goat cheese at home (prefer buying plain, this way I can flavor it however I want!!), so I chopped some fresh basil, parsley, and rosemary and mixed into the cheese. No need to fuss here, use the herbs you have at home and I assure you it will turn out great! (I wouldn't however use dried herbs for this, I believe fresh would be best, but if that's all you have on hand, then why not try, right?!) Also, I made half recipe.
My tip for this recipe: go ahead and roast two garlic heads and save the other one for later use. I like to do this because I love roasted garlic, as it adds lots of flavor to savory dishes and having it ready is very convenient. After roasting it, let cool; then squeeze the garlic out of the papery skin, place the cloves laying them flat on a small zipbag and freeze it. This way when you need/want some roasted garlic they will be ready for you. Plus, laying them flat into one layer in the bag helps a lot, as you can just "break" apart (from the sort of "garlic slab" you made) the amount of garlic you need at the time without needing to defrost the whole thing!









Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Garlic and Herbed Goat Cheese
(Adapted from Cooking Light, October 2007)

1 whole head garlic
1/3 cup goat cheese with herbs (3 ounces), left at room temperature to soften
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grounded black pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cut a small "lid" from the bottom of the garlic (to facilitate squeezing later) head, wrap it in aluminum foil and roast for about 1 hour. Let cool, squeeze garlic cloves and discard skins.
In a small bowl combine garlic pulp and goat cheese (plain cheese and herbs if you make it like me!), set aside.
Make a horizontal cut into the thickest part of the chicken breast to form a sort of "pocket" and stuff 3 to 4 teaspoons of cheese into each breast. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large skillet, add chicken and cook 3 minutes, until browned. Turn chicken over and put skillet in the oven, bake at 350F for about 20 minutes (start checking around 16 minutes so it doesn't overcook), or until a thermometer register 165F. Let it rest 5 minutes, serve and be happy!!
Yield: 6 servings

Happy New Recipes!

And a wonderful 2008 to all my wonderful friends!!!

I have been so lazy with updating my blog lately that I do need to apologize big here. I have been cooking, and a lot, new recipes, old ones, some that we loved and have made two or three times in the past few months, and even though the kitchen has been busy something got into me and I just kept delaying my posts around here.
But now, it is a New Year, and I want to start it well! And of course, my blog is something I love, the friends I made here I heartily treasure, and I don't want to let this space fade in the blogsphere, so here I am, back with a lot of posts to share, I promise!!
First let me say that I haven't posted any Thanksgiving recipes just because we did not have any... I know, as weird as it may sound, last November we used our Turkey-day-off to take Matheus to Disney, and that was the VERY BEST THING we could have done! It was so worth it, we had soooo much fun, he loved every second of our 4-day trip and it was by far our favorite time of 2007 (together with our trip to Brasil last Jan/Feb!).
So, that's why no turkey recipes appeared here. However, we filled the gap on Christmas Day, which by the way was very calm and peaceful, just the three of us in our home, sweet home!! :-)
We had Turkey (a whole turkey breast which I seasoned the day before with lots of herbs, butter, salt and pepper, and then roasted on the 25th) with Vegetable Gravy on the side (which I will post here because it was amazingly good!), Honey Glazed Carrots, Broccolini sauteed with garlic, and a "Christmas Rice" (as Matheus named it!) with dried fruits and nuts- which was a hit, we all loved at home. Matheus liked it so much and he could not believe I came up with it without using a recipe! hohoho!!!
And here is a peek of the rice so you can take a look, it did came out pretty, huh?!









Anyways, Christmas was simple, easy, but very nice. Matheus had fun opening presents and spending the day playing in his pajamas, so yes, we did have a happy time!
For New Years Eve and Day we also kept low key, on the 31st Matheus was in bed by 10:00 pm and the husband and I watched a movie while we waited to toast 2008 with a little champagne (and i do mean little). Nothing fancy, but special for us nonetheless.












So now you all know how that I am still here and will be posting a lot more recipes this year!
And I do wish all the best to all of my dear friends, and Thank You, Thank You to for the time that we spent together, here in my kitchen during these past few years of kitchenspace!
Ana

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
FELIZ NATAL!!!
For all of those who visit my blog, all my friends around the world, I wish you a Very Happy Christmas, a Wonderful and Special day!!
And I Thank you all for making this space a very special one for me, so dear and close to my heart!
Thanks and Happy Hollidays!!!
Ana

(PS: yes, I am alive, and I am coming back with new posts and recipes to share!!)

Chocolate Soufflé

Although it is a nice day outside it is quite cold for us, so we opted to stay inside today. We called grandma and grandpa in Brazil, saw them on the computer through the camera and ended up having fun in our own way.
Part of our fun today was making and eating these Chocolate Soufflé Cakes. They were warm and delicious, perfect for the cold weather. And they were so light and airy that I love the way I felt satisfied with a sweet treat without feeling I had an entire cake for dessert. Plus it makes just enough for the three of us and we don't have tons of leftovers, which I like since I do love to cook and experiment with different recipes quite regularly.
We all loved and totally agreed that this is certainly going to be repeated during the winter.
Really yummy!
I have had this recipe marked to try since it appeared in the magazine, in April... now, why did I wait so long to make it?????
Enjoy!
Ana

Note: I used less sugar in this recipe (thought it would be too sweet as written) and both the husband and Matheus agreed it was perfectly sweet. Since I am a 70% dark chocolate girl I still found this a little on the sweet side, but I know that if I made it less sweet they would not enjoy it as much.
Anyway, just wanted to suggest that as you make this recipe give the soufflé base a taste and from there see how much more sugar you would like added to the egg whites, just so that you can control the sweetness to your taste.










Individual Chocolate Soufflé Cakes
(Adapted from Cooking Light, April 2007)

Cooking spray
9 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
4 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg white
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat 4 (6-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle each with 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar.
Combine 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring until thickened and smooth. Spoon chocolate mixture into a medium bowl; cool 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
Place egg whites in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Add remaining 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times to level. Place dishes on a baking sheet; bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until puffy and set. Sprinkle each soufflé with 1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.
(Recipe can be made to serve 2. Use 1 tablespoon flour and just half all other ingredients!!)

Vegan Pumpkin Muffins

At this time of the year we just cannot resist the many pumpkins we see around us. They are everywhere, decorating houses, in front of yards, grocery stores, and its many varieties just make the farmers market shine in an various tones of orange glow.
Every place you look a pumpkin pops out, and luckily we love this fruit a lot, so enjoying its flavors is definitely a pleasure for us!
We already made pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and even a chicken in creamy sauce that I served inside a whole roasted pumpkin (very popular in Brazil, this dish is usually made with shrimp, but when you have chicken, it is chicken that you use!). But this year the star of the season for us were the Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, they were simply THE BEST! And yes, they do deserve the capital letters!
We liked it so much that I have made this recipe 4 times already, in little more than a month, and keep getting requests for it again.
The Husband declared it to be one of the best muffins yet, and Matheus just loved the pumpkin and chocolate in it. I loved the yummy pumpkin flavor, the texture, and the fact that it is completely whole grain.
Really, what is not to like about this one?! Plus it is vegan, which means there are no raw eggs and we can lick the bowl as much as we please - which Matheus and I love to do together! And this batter is goooood! :o)
I got this amazing recipe from the book "Vegan Lunch Box", which has been a wonderful source for me and Matheus to make creative and delicious lunches for him to take to school. The author also has a super nice website with the same name, vegan lunch box, that is absolutely worth checking out. (By the way, it is from her website that I got the idea for the cool "mummy calzone" I showed in the Halloween post bellow).
Bellow I am posting my adaptation for the recipe in the book. I reduced the sugar a bit (plenty sweet this way, 1 1/3 cups sugar was waaaay too much for us) and didn't add pecans as the recipe asked for.
Also, based on an idea I saw in the blog baking bites, we used chocolate covered raisins in place of the chocolate chips, it added a surprisingly "tchans" to the muffins and Matheus (raisin lover) enjoyed it a lot. I still do prefer chocolate chips, but made it with the raisins twice as the boys seemed to really like that.
If you find pumpkin + chocolate a weird combination (and some do) give it a try, you may be surprised by how yummy it is. Believe me, it is really good!
These muffins are truly worthy trying, they ARE delicious! It is amazing how moist and flavorful they are, and with all the nutrition in them... yummm, I might make them again this week!!
Ana










Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
(adapted from the book Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer Mccann)

1 cup pureed pumpkin (canned or home cooked)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
2 TB ground flax seed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup vegan chocolate (or carob) chips

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a nonstick muffin tin well with nonstick spray, set aside.
Put pumpkin, water, canola oil, ground flax seed, and vanilla in a blender and process on high for at least one minute, until light in color and well-blended. Reserve.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and cinnamon. Add the pumpkin mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon or large spatula until well-blended. Fold in the chocolate (or carob) chips.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a cake tested inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then lift each muffin from the tin and let cool on a wire rack.

Happy Halloween!!
Have a healthy and safe day, full of Tricks and yummy Treats!!
Ana

And here is Matheus' halloween lunchbox: A "mummy calzone", plus cherry tomatoes and the last tiny slice of pumpkin pie that he made Sunday and saved for today!

2 Years of Kitchenspace!

First it took me a while to find out that the real birthday of the blog had actually been last month. Then some more time to figure out something special to make for a proper celebration of my so beloved space.
As I looked for recipes with a mind full of ideas I just got a craving, but not for one food, no, for two! "Blink!", and the little light bulb over my head just instantly lit!
Of course, how could I better celebrate my 2 years of blogging if not with 2 of my favorite foods: chocolate and ice cream! (yes, because anything involving big celebrations must have chocolate, right?!!)
So there you have it, the perfect treat for my 2 year "blogversary": simple but delicious, yummy and easy, just as my kitchen has always been! Full of goodies that are fun and easy to make, but also delicious and good for you!
This blog has already brought me happiness and friendship that will certainly last for a lifetime. And today I celebrate with all my heart the 2 wonderful years we have spent together around my kitchen; wishing for many many years more! Pfffffff........ make a whish!
Enjoy!
Ana

Caramel Popcorn!!

This was so good that we had to share!
Matheus had a craving for caramel popcorn this week and we decided to try making our own at home. It is always fun to make stove top popped corn, plus he could not wait for it to get ready - and let me tell you, he really enjoyed this caramel corn!
It was very simple to make and the result was so yummy, and fresh, we loved it!
First you pop a lot of popcorn, set it aside and make a very simple caramel sauce, pour the goodness on the fluffy popcorn and stir to coat evenly. The part that takes a little while is when you bake it for about 30 minutes, just to get the caramel to set and guarantee the crunchy crispness. And although we did have to wait for it to bake, it was not that long and they cooled real quickly, so we were able to enjoy it almost immediately after I pulled it out of the oven and had them all spread in another pan onto the counter.
The one thing I made different here was to use "brown rice syrup" in place of the corn syrup the recipe asked for - I don't keep corn syrup in my home as I don't like it and it gives my body a hard time whenever I eat something with it in it (believe me, my stomach really hates the stuff).
Great treat to make for the kids over the holidays, and I am pretty sure that both kids and adults are going to like this one!
Enjoy!
Ana










Caramel Popcorn
(Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light-colored corn syrup (I used brown rice syrup)
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 cups popped popcorn

Preheat oven to 250°.
Coat two baking sheet with cooking spray. (I lined mine with foil and them sprayed the foil - easy clean up!!!)
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 4 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Place popcorn in a large bowl; pour sugar mixture over popcorn in a steady stream, stirring to coat.
Spread popcorn mixture into prepared pans and bake at 250° for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. (mine were ready in 30 minutes, they started to smell like they were starting to burn so I took it out of the oven, and they were just perfect!)
Remove from oven; stir to break up any large clumps and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

18 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

Carrot Cake, Brazilian Style!!

I was watching a cooking show this past Monday and the lady was making a carrot cake. Matheus was playing around when he saw and we started to talk:

Matheus: -Humm, carrot cake, it's been a while since you have made a carrot cake mommy.
Me: - Yes, you are right... we could make some, I like carrot cake.
Matheus: - Humm, good idea. Ohh, but I like the other one...
Me: - The other one, which one?
Matheus: - That one that you make with the chocolate on top!

But of course, that was the carrot cake I was suggesting we make!
We do like the American type cake, with the grated carrots, raisins and all (which I have made before and already posted here), but for me carrot cake will always be this one, yellowish, moist, with tender crumbs, with the glossy chocolate sauce on top. Just like my grandma made to us, just like my mom made to us, and just the way I now make for us.
This recipe was handed down to me by my grandmother Anna, which I loved with all my heart.
I would spend my vacation months at her house and she would bake simple but delicious cakes on the weekends afternoon when my aunts and uncles came to visit.
We would also bake together "bolachinhas de nata", which would probably translate to "cream cookies" (I guess...), and an Italian concoction called "crostole", which consisted from a simple dough that was rolled, cut into diamonds and then fried, finished with a sprkinle of sugar and... yummmm! These were delicious, and it has been years since I last had it, but hey, this is another post.

Today is Carrot Cake day!!
This is one of the simplest and easiest cakes you can possibly make, yet I guarantee you it is one of the tastiest cakes ever. I just absolutely love this cake, each bite brings me back to Brazil, to my mom's house, to my vacations with my grandmother....
You can't get better than this, and to prove how easy it is to make all I can say is: Matheus basically made this one!
All I did was to wash, peel, and chop the carrots. He measured and put everything else in the blender, poured (with some help) the batter into a bowl and stirred in the flour and baking powder. Cake was ready to go in the oven, and this part I helped too, of course.
I am not able to express how much I love this cake. Making it with my son is the most rewarding thing I could ever wish for, and let me tell you, a slice of warm carrot cake with the chocolate sauce still running around the plate is a very comforting food, perfect to lift me up after a week when I was not feeling my best.
We juts made this one today, and I had to come here and share. Matheus said it was the best carrot cake.... it was!
Ana















Brazilian Style Carrot Cake (Grandma Anna's recipe!)

4 carrots - raw, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 cups sugar (I use 1 1/4 cups)
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I use canola oil)
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

Grease and flour a bundt pan (or a 13x9, rectangular pan). Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
Put carrots, sugar, oil, and eggs in a blender and whiz until all pureed and smooth.
Pour batter into a bowl, add flour and baking powder and stir well with a wooden spoon until all incorporated (but don't over mix!).
Pour batter into prepared pan, bake at 350F for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Wait a few minutes for cake to cool (while you make the chocolate sauce) and invert cake into a plate. Pour hot chocolate sauce over the cake while it is still warm.
Serve cake warm or cool to room temperature (if you can wait all that long, that is!).

Chocolate glaze
2 tablespoons cocoa
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons milk

Put all ingredients into a saucepan, heat over medium-high heat and let boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, until it has thickened up. Pour hot chocolate sauce immediately over the warm cake.

Notes: I usually double the chocolate glaze recipe, especially when I make the cake on a rectangular pan (the surface area is larger and you really need more chocolate sauce to cover the top)

Here is the batter, ready to go into the pan. The picture didn't capture it well, but it had such a beautiful orange hue, it screamed Halloween to us!! hehehe!!