Applesauce Snack Cake

This cake was a total winner here at our house, it is by far the best apple cake. Or at least the best one I have made and/or eaten!
Matheus and even the husband loved the cake too. So much so that they asked me to make another one just as the last two pieces were being devoured - by them!
I made it twice already and as I was separating the pictures to post the recipe today, Matheus took a peek at the computer and said

Matheus: "Is that the apple cake mom?"

Me: "Yes, I am going to post the recipe on the blog"

Matheus: "Yummm, that cake is good... so, when are you making it again?"

Seem like we will be having applesauce cake pretty soon around here again!
The key to this apple cake is using the right kind of dried apples. You should use the ones that are soft and moist, not the crunchy, chip-like ones.
Here is how the ones I used look like:










The apples not only add lots of flavor to the cake but, together with the applesauce, contribute for a very moist cake. And such moisture content brings me to the adaptations I made to the recipe.
The original recipe, from American's Test Kitchen, was made with a full stick of melted butter and all white flour. A first glance through the recipe told me that all that butter, besides being a whole lot for a small 8-inch cake, was not at all necessary for a desirable outcome. I didn't use quite nearly that amount of fat and got an amazingly moist and delicious cake. In fact, I believe I could decrease the fat even a tad more, but didn't want to change too much too soon.
Also, due to the high moisture ingredients present here I did what I always do to most of my cakes and baked goods: used half all-purpose and half whole wheat flours. Again, perfect texture and still very moist, with a boost on nutritional contents!
The version I am posting here is the recipe with my adaptations to it. If you want to see the original one take a look at the American's Test Kitchen website - you need to register, but it's free.

Now truly, if you like apple cake as much as I do then you definitely should try this recipe. It is a very simple cake, easy to make and really, really good. It's totally worth searching for the dried apples. This cake is awesome, and for once everyone around here agrees with me!
Enjoy!
Ana

A pic of the slice, see how moist it is?? I told you, go get some dried apples and make this cake. You are not going to regret it, I promise!










Applesauce Snack Cake
(Adapted from America's Test Kitchens)

3/4 cup dried apples (2 ounces) cut into pieces
1 cup apple cider or apple juice (I used apple juice)
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I omitted)
1/8 teaspoon cloves (I omitted)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare an 8-inch square baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray, then line it with a long rectangular strip of parchment paper and spray the parchment paper too. Set aside.

Put apples and apple juice in a small saucepan and cook, simmering, for about 15 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Measure 2 tablespoons sugar-spice mixture into small bowl and set aside to use for the topping.

In a food processor or blender, process the dried apple mixture until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl and to it add the sugar + spices mixture, egg, salt, vanilla, oil, and applesauce, mix well to combine. Add the flours and baking soda, mixing just until all is incorporated and moistened.

Put batter into prepared pan, smooth the top with a spatula and then sprinkle it evenly with the 2 tablespoons of reserved sugar+spices. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool and serve!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Even though I am turning 30 today (ouchhh!) I still find myself in the mood for celebrating my birthdays and having fun on my special day.
Age is all in the head and as with everything in life what counts the most is your attitude, so the 30's are welcome and I am ready to celebrate!
Aren't those cupcakes lovely?? Thanks Barbara for taking your time and making them for me!
I had a great time with my girl friends this week already and today we went to my favorite ice cream place in the whole world: Henry's Gelato! (at least for now, since I haven't been in Italy yet...).
I just happen to love ice cream and recently dicovered something even better than that: Gelato. It is the-best-dessert, ever! I could not ask for more today than spending my birthday with my family and enjoying my favorite dessert! I will skip baking a cake this time, but bring on the ice cream goodness!
Ana

And here is me with the prettiest cupcake! (well, I did have cake after all!)

Salad, and radishes...!

I am a girl who likes salad! A person who truly loves vegetables and fruits and am more than happy to have colorful and healthy salads for a meal!
Since I love my veggies so much I am always on the lookout for the purest and freshest produce, so there was nothing more obvious for me at this point than to join a CSA! (community supported agriculture)
Yes, now I have my own organic basket too! I am soooo happy and excited to get my little basket every week! Today is the second basket I will be getting and I can barely wait.
I wish we could get these baskets all year long but due to the cold weather over the winter the farm I joined has their deliveries done only between April and September, which is a good chunk of the year and I am happy to get that!
Last week we got some mix of greens, asparagus, radishes and green onions, plus the best farm fresh eggs I have had here in the US!
The greens were tender and even slightly sweet, the asparagus were by far the very best I have ever had, they were sweet and so tender, perfect to just eat it quickly steamed, you didn't even need any seasoning as it was very flavorful by itself. Oh and the radishes... I actually found a radish I like! This part was funny as I am not a radish fan but when it showed up in the basket we sure wanted to try it and it was not bad at all, actually it was something the three of us enjoyed a lot when eating our salad over the weekend. Who would have thought that radishes can be tasty, have a sweet undertone and not be all bitterness as the ones I had tried before?
See, good veggies are awesome, even the radishes! And I was so happy to have gotten this ones for Matheus to try again. He had tried it once with me and we both agreed at the time that radishes were not the veggie of our choice, but this past Sunday we were converted to the fresh, organic ones. Matheus really liked and every time he ate a slice he would say "yep, they are good mommy, these radishes are good!" I love feeding my child!
So our weekend was filled with soccer practice, the local spring daze fest, friend's birthday parties and, yes you guessed, radishes!
We had a great salad, so fresh and flavorful. This is why I like spring, summer, warm weather. It is the season that makes me happy and brings us delicious fruits and veggies too!
Ana

2009! And summer is coming.... tomato salad!

Man, it is already April and I haven't posted yet.... tsc tsc tsc!
Well, I am here, yes, I am!
The year has been good to us, everything is going well but I am somewhat into a crisis with myself, trying to figure out what I really want for my life, professionally speaking that is.
As kids we are always talking about "what we are going to do when we grow up", thinking about what we are going to be when we are adults, which career to follow...
But, what happens when you already grew up and still don't know?
We sure do plan all those things but for some of us life takes its own path and when you realize you have a bunch of other things going on that were not on your plan, or at least for not that particular time of your life.
My life sort of went on a different direction than that I had thought would happen. I do love the outcome and am proud of everything I have done up to this point though! I have no regrets, I am happy with my choices and I love my family more than anything I can imagine.
But sometimes a girl sorta need to find herself in the middle of all this family thing, right? Or am I over thinking all this life process?
See, I am a little lost in my own mind, but I know I will be fine and whatever I chose to do will turn out to be of value for me, even if it doesn't go as planned. Life is forgiving in its own way, time helps to mend things and chances to start over are infinite.

I think turning 30 (ugh!) this month got me thinking too much about what I have done and still need to do for myself...

Sorry about all the talking, but hey, you are all friends and that's what friends are for!
But, one cannot live on thoughts alone so of course while I do all this thinking and try to find my own little self I have been cooking a lot too!
I love this blog and keep taking pictures and more pictures, trying recipes and inventing in the kitchen, so now I think I had enough time already to think and be away from this space, and I hope to be coming back with recipes and more!

For today I am only going to leave you all with this picture I took from a tomato salad I made this weekend when we got home from the farmer's market! Fresh, fresh, fresh tomatoes, ripe and juicy, so, sooooo, sooooooooo good! Simply seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, and basil, it was the star dish of our lunch. The basil was fresh from the market too, from the little guys I bought to plant in my backyard herb pots.
I like spring but I LOVE SUMMER and this salad tasted just like that to me! I am so ready for the warm weather, bring on the heat, the juicy fruits and ice creams, I am ready for that all and to say goodbye to the winter blues who definitely got me thinking this year.

Love you all!
Ana

Ps: Thanks to all those who send me comments and e-mail asking if everything is ok!

Cinnamon Cookies... Hummmm!

I made a few different batches of cookies (and granola - but more of that on a later post) this month to give out to friends as yummy gifts and after the Butter Pecan Cookies (our very favorite cookie lately - and some of my friend's too, I was asked twice for the recipe on those!), these Snickerdoodles were the second best.
Matheus is a cinnamon fan (he loves cinnamon rolls!) and really liked these, he declared one of the best cookies we have made!
These are super simple cookies and what I liked the most about them was that they had a perfect balance of a crispy edge and chewy center, and I like chewy cookies. They had cinnamon flavor throughout without being overpowering and were on the sweet side (at least for me) due to the sugar coating, but were not extremely sweet that you would not be able to eat a couple in a row.
The cookie dough comes together quickly and the only part that takes a little longer is the rolling and coating in cinnamon sugar process, but still they are easy and simple to make.
One thing to note is to make sure to leave a good space between the dough balls because these cookies do spread a bit while baking. Also, let them cool a couple of minutes before removing from the baking sheet after baking as they are quite soft right out of the oven.
These are the kind of cookies to make on a rainy afternoon when you are at home without much to do. To me they felt like more comforting-type cookies, a little treat to satisfy an occasional sweet tooth.
If you are a cookie person (which to be true I am not...) make sure to give these a try, I am sure they will not disappoint!
Ana

Snickerdoodles
(Adapted from Cooking Light, September 2007)

3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cream granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt to the bowl and beat just until combined. Shape dough into balls.

Mix 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small dish. Roll balls in sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake for about 8 minutes or until tops crack. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

The yield on these will depend on the size you roll the cookie dough, but you will certainly get at least 20 out of a single batch.

Winter Break!

Yay! I am so happy it is break time at work, at school, it's Christmas time, the New Year's is right around the corner, and now I have some time to rest and post all the recipes I have been collecting this past month.
Man I miss posting here, really, from the bottom of my heart, I truly do miss my blog. But this past month was craziness at its best at work and I did not have much free time to come here and share my recipes as I would like.
I care too much about this space and coming here to simply leave a recipe was not an option to me. Posting is something I really like to do and writing a bit does make me feel like I am connecting to my blog.
So here I am, back with time to spare and recipes to share, because I don't want to abandon any longer this space I love so much!
Thanks all for coming here and checking out the blog, and most of all for making this space so special to me!
Wishing to all a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS and a 2009 FULL OF HOPE AND HAPPINESS!
Love you all!
Ana

Ps: tomorrow I will be back with some cookies to share! (and yes, I know you are all probably kinda of sick of making and receiving cookies, but there is always Christmas to come and cookie recipes are welcome, right?!)

Happy Halloween!!

Hope you all had lots of fun! We had spiderweb pizzas for dinner before trick or treating and came back home with lots of candy and smiles to keep us happy for at least a week! :-)
Ana

Butter Pecan Cookies!

I made these cookies last week and they just disappeared. It was definitely the most popular cookie with my husband, son, and coworkers I have made so far!
My husband kept commenting on how he liked the cookies and after taking some to work when I came back home there were no cookies left for me to even take a picture, nonetheless to eat. So... of course I had to make it again!
It is easy to see why these cookies were so welcomed by everyone. You get sweet and buttery and nutty all in one cookie, a truly delicious cookie, good for giving out to friends!
These are buttery but without being too rich/strong on the butter department, does this even make sense?? I guess some would find a similar aspect to shortbread cookies (which I am not too fond of) but I have to say that I like these a lot more.
The nutty flavor from the roasted pecans is just a great complement to the sweet butter cookie, really, one of the best cookies I have made.
Even its smell is deliciously inviting, plus they came out perfect both times (which is not the rule when it comes to cookies for me, I am not a good cookie baker I have to admit) and I still can't believe how so many people loved them!
I came across these cookies at Elise's blog when looking for a recipe to help me use up a bag full of tiny pieces of roasted pecans. Click here to see her post and pictures, plus if you haven't seen it yet check out the blog, she has some good stuff in there!
Here I post some step by step pictures that I took as I made them. They are the easiest cookies ever to make and the end result is just amazingly good, believe me, you gotta try these ones!!
Ana

Since I founf these to be just perfect to have with a cup of tea while chatting with your girl friends I decided to submit this recipe to Cris' October event "Cha da Tarde", so at the end of the post I will have the recipe translated to Portuguese to those who would like to try it too!

Butter Pecan Cookies
(Adapted from Elise's blog Simply Recipes)

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar, plus about two tablespoons more for coating the cookies
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt (if you use salted butter omit the salt in the recipe)
1 cup all-purpose flour

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Toast the pecans in the oven for about 4 to 6 minutes. Take a look around 3 to 4 minutes if they are already chooped, up to 6 if they are still whole. Let cool and if whole finely chop them before adding to the recipe.
Using a stand mixer cream the butter for a minute, then add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and cream together for a couple minutes more. Add flour and beat just until everything is incorporated. Fold in pecans with a spoon or spatula.
Shape dough into balls, roll them in sugar and place on a baking sheet (I lined mine with foil but since it is a butter cookie there isn't a real need for this). With the bottom of a cup flatten the balls slightly just so you get a nice round but still substantially thick cookie.
Bake at 350F for about 12 t 15 minutes, depending on how big your cookies are.
I got 18 cookies from my batch and they took 12 minutes to bake. You don't want them to get too much color, just a lightly golden color around and at bottom of the cookies.
Let cool and be ready for the compliments when you serve these!

Here is how big my pecan pieces were...












Roll balls of dough into sugar...









Placed onto baking sheet...









Flatten with the bottom of a cup (I used a measuring cup for these!) and into the oven they go!










Biscoitos Amanteigados com Noz Pecã

3/4 xicara de pecãs picadinhas
1 tablete de manteiga em temperatura ambiente (1/2 xicara)
1/3 xicara de açúcar, mais 2 colheres de sopa para envolver os cookies
1 colher (chá) de extrato de baunilha
1 pitadinha de sal (caso use manteiga ja salgada omita o sal da receita)
1 xícara de farinha de trigo

Pre-aqueça o forno a 180C.
Toste as nozes no forno em uma assadeira por 4 a 6 minutos. De uma olhada em 3 a 4 minutos se suas pecãs ja estiverem picadas. Se estiverem inteiras fique de olho a partir de 5 minutos. Deixe esfriar e reserve p/ usar na receita. Caso as nozes estejam inteiras pique as antes de utilizá-las.
Na batedeira bata a manteiga ate ficar macia, 1 minuto. Junte o açúcar, o sal e a baunilha e bata novamente por uns 2 minutos. Adicione a farinha e bata somente ate incorporar. Com uma colher de pau ou espátula incorpore as nozes à massa.
Modele a massa em bolinhas, passe-as no açúcar e coloque-as em uma assadeira (eu forrei a minha com papel alumínio mas como os biscoitos contém manteiga nao é extremamente necessario, eles nao grudam muito).
Com o fundo de um copo, gentilmente amasse os cookies somente para que nao fiquem arredondados, mas nao deixe-os muito finos.
Asse a 180C por 12 a 15 minutos, dependendo do tamanho dos seus cookies.
Eu consegui 18 cookies com a receita e os meus levaram 12 minutos para assar.
Nao deixe que assem demais, o que voce quer aqui eh um leve dourado na parte de baixo dos cookies, assim eles ficaram crocantes na borda e amanteigados no meio.
Deixe esfriar, sirva e se prepare para os elogios pois esses cookies sao um sucesso!!

The Popcorn Disaster...!

Anyone who cooks on a regular basis know how many times we end up trying a recipe or a (sometimes not so) brilliant idea and the results are way less than what we expected it would be.
Well, this week I had one of those disappointments, and even though it wasn't anything major (no one was hurt and there was no big waste of food either!) I was kinda of curious to know why it didn't work.
Soooo, here I come to post it and ask you guys to help me figure out what I did wrong. And to start with, here is what I was trying to do: make popcorn right from a fresh popcorn cob!
I got this fun and cool popcorn thing from my boss. She went to visit family members in Massachusetts and came back with some of these for each of the ladies that work at the chocolate shop where I work (She also brought some delicious apples which are already gone... some we ate and some turned into apple muffins, yumm!! But this is another post...)
She mentioned we could either use it as decoration or try popping it. Obviously I thought this was the most fun thing ever (I like having fun with food!) and of course I tried to pop it!!
If you like food like I do you would probably understand my excitment and try to pop it too, right?! (I thought so!!)
However, the thing didn't go as I expected. The popcorn did come with instructions on how to pop and it was as simple as could be: "Place cob inside small, brown sandwich bag. Fold bag... and place in the microwave... Cook on high power for about 2-3 minutes. When popping slows down... it is ready."
Sounds easy, doesn't it?? And that's what I though!
So I took one of the popcorn cob...










... placed inside a brown paper bag, being careful to not fold too tight and in the microwave it goes, we hear it popping and do the popcorn dance around the kitchen (!!)...













... popping sound slows down, we turn off the microwave and remove the bag...
... the smells of popcorn invade the kitchen as we open the bag ("hummm, fresh popcorn!"), and then... Look what happened!!!
The popcorn surely popped, but it didn't come out of the cob!










Well, I think, I might have done something wrong, lets try with another one.... same thing again, carefully popping the precious cob and.... nope! Didn't work again, thus why you see 2 popped corn attempts on the picture above.
So, my questions are: Has anyone tried this before? Is this supposed to happen?
We were sort of disappointed (not much though, as it was simple to get my pan and some popcorn kernels and pop my own popcorn at the stove as I always do), but at the same time we could not figure out what went wrong.... was the popcorn too young? too old? too tight in the cob? (does that even make any sense?)
The 3 of us (me, Matheus and hubby) stayed there, trying to pick the popped corn from the cob but it was no help, it was tough and not really very edible.
After a day of thinking and not coming up with anything, Matheus had this idea which got us both thinking: "Mommy, why don't you take the kernels out of the cob we have left and pop them in a pan on the stove, like the ones you make for us all the time?"
Man, I didn't even think about doing that, but it does make sense, doesn't it? So, would scraping the kernels off the cob I didn't use (I had 3 cobs) result in the same kind of kernels I buy for popping popcorn? I sound so silly, but this popcorn thing did get me puzzled!
If I don't get another idea I will definitely try that and post a feedback here to say what happened!
See, I always post the good and yummy recipes we try, but even though this was not a recipe (more like a fun culinary experiment!) it was a failure and I wanted to share. Not just to see if someone might have some insights about my popcorn disaster, but also to show that not everything goes right in the kitchen.
There are always "those days" when nothing seems to cooperate and everything sort of goes to the wrong direction of what initially was planned, but even with all the kitchen mishaps and a few errors here and there I still love cooking and experimenting in my kitchen. To me this is still the most fun place to be!
Let's see if someone can help with this one, I will be here, waiting for your comments and responses! And, even if you don't know the answer, please comment and add your ideas, it is always fun to read what my blog friends have to say!
Ana

3 Years of KitchenSpace!!

Yes, it's been 3 years since I started this blog and it is amazing how much fun I've been having here. I tried new recipes, created delicious dishes, and best of all made a lot of great friends!
Thanks to all that keep visiting my blog through the 3 years I have been around, I love each and all of you!!

The "blogversary" was actually on the 15th, but I barely had time to sit down and post these past few weeks, so I decided to celebrate today, as today Matheus is also turning 6 1/2 years old.
Yep, he likes celebrating "half-birthdays", so this is something special we do every year, and today we started the day with a yummy breakfast treat: cupcakes with yogurt "frosting", and some m&m's to keep the happines around!
The recipe for the cupcakes is one of my favorites, it is one of my favorite cake recipes, a super easy and simple Yogurt Cake that always come out tender and moist and make me happy any time I make it!
For the "frosting" part I use either greek yogurt or plain yogurt drained overnight. I then add a touch of vanilla to it and sweeten with either honey or sugar. Simple, but delicious and healthy nonetheless!
Matheus loves this "frosting", and I love it even more as he is getting something good for him and at the same time he is as happy as one could be. The only catch here is that since it is yogurt based, the "frosting" does not hold very well for too log, so it is best to spread it on top of the cupcake right before serving.
And as far as "half-birthdays" celebrations go, you can't get much better than this, cupcakes are always a nice treat, and this one is a healthy one to boost!!
Enjoy!
Ana

And here goes the Yogurt Cake recipe with my notes and some variation ideas I have tried and enjoyed. I have talked about it before (click here!), but am going to post again as it is such a versatile cake that it is worth repeating!

Yogurt Cake

1 cup plain yogurt (one 8oz container - use the yogurt container to measure up the rest of the ingredients)
½ cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder

In a blender put yogurt, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla, whiz until everything is very well incorporated. Put the wet misture into a large bowl and to it add the flour and baking powder. Mix it all together with a whisk until the batter is uniform (do not overmix). Pour batter in a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350F for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Since every oven is different, keep an eye on the cake after the first 30 minutes)

For Cupcakes, pour batter into muffin tins (greased or lined with cupcake liners) and bake at 350 for about 18 to 20 minutes, keep an eye on them after the 18 min. mark!

My notes and Variations:

You can use less sugar if you prefer, I sometimes use only 1/2 cup and that seems to be enough for us. Also, I have made it with half all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat flour (the white or the pastry variety though) and it worked out beautifully!

You can add some flavorings you like to this cake too and make it:

- an orange cake: add orange zest to the batter!,

- a lemon cake: add lemon zest and/or lemon exctract to the batter.

- a marble cake: divide batter in two and add a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder to half of the batter. Pour the white batter into the prepared pan and then dollop the chocolate batter on top, use a butter knife to make "swirls" and gently mix the two colored batters for the marble effect.

- a blueberry cake: gently fold some fresh frozen blueberries to the batter (coat the berries first with a tbsp. flour just so they won't sink to the bottom).

- a chocolate chip cake: gently fold some mini (or regular) chocolate chips into the batter (or sprinkle them on top - if folding do the flour trick and coat the chips with some flour so they don't sink into the batter).

- an "anthill" cake: add chocolate sprinkles to the batter! This is one of our favorite cakes, my son loves it! When you cut the cake the chocolate sprinkles look like little ants, that's why the anthill name to this variation.

- add colorful sprinkles to the batter for a "carnival" effect

- Jam cupcakes: fill muffin tins half-way with batter, add a small dollop of your favorite Jam then cover with some more batter. Bake as directed for cupcakes and when they are done you will have some cupcakes with a surprise inside!

-Also, any of the flavorings and add ins works for cupcakes/muffins as well!

As you see, this cake is ultra versatile! You can flavor it or complement with some add ins and never make the same cake twice. It is a super easy cake to make and the end results is a very tender and moist cake that everyone is sure to enjoy!

Ana

End of Summer Salads
Grilled Eggplant with goat cheese and Tomato Salads that we had over the weekend. I don't want summer to end...!!
Ana

Caprese Salad

No mater how you present it, skewered in appetizer form, cut into cubes, with both tomatoes and cheese displayed in a sliced manner, Caprese Salad is one of my favorite summer dishes!
Here we had red and yellow tomatoes, both from out backyard, fresh basil leaves and the sinfully creamy and ultra delicious fresh mozzarella (I love this cheese!), all covered in great olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of balsamic vinegar.... sooo good! I can have only this for a meal and be happy all day!
Ana

Grilled Vegetable Salad, one word: Yum!!

I am sorry I have been absent on these past few days... a sudden and unfortunate death of a dear family member just got me into a very sad state of mind and I was in no real mood to think much about anything else other than how fragile our bodies and life are. Cooking was done by a way of necessity and that's the reason I took this little break. However, life goes on, and here I am, back and with some more good food to share!
(Thanks for letting me vent a little about other aspects of my life here too!)

During the warm months our greatest culinary pleasure is being able to fire up the grill! Everything that comes out is so flavorful and delicious, plus there is no smells or much cleanup to be done inside, and the not-turning-on-the-stove/oven-on-an-absurdly-hot-day factor too!

It is a win-win situation which we truly enjoy! And one of the foods I love most done in the grill are vegetables. You can grill almost any veggie you like in there and the outcome is always tasty; it gets that "charred" flavor that you only get from the grill and there is no mystery on doing it: the easiest way is to simply cut your veggies in similar size pieces, then season them with salt, pepper and a decent amount of good olive oil and throw them in the grill. Keep an eye on them as some veggies do cook a lot faster than others, flip along the way and as both sides get those wonderful grill marks you have a healthy and flavorful meal that can be enjoyed warm or kept for later to be eaten at room temperature or even cold (grilled veggies are great cold too!).

I make grilled vegetables all the time during summer and we never get tired of it!
The ones I like the most are eggplant, red bell peppers and zucchini/yellow squash, which by the way is what I used in the salad pictured above (minus the pepper on that day though!). Corn is also delicious, as are asparagus and onions too!

For the salad I grilled some eggplant and squashes that I had from the farmer's market, to them I added some grape tomatoes from our backyard and little pieces of fresh/soft goat cheese (which I absolutely looooove!), then I topped it all with a simple Dijon mustard vinaigrette that I made by mixing roughly 2 parts rice vinegar (I find this kind of vinegar to be lighter in taste) to about 1part olive oil (a tablespoon or so), a teaspoon honey, a teaspoon Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
It was the perfect finish to complement the salad, which we enjoyed a whole lot, the vinaigrette added at the end really gave it some extra nice flavors, a great tang to the soft veggies! (Balsamic vinegar is another way I like to dress up roasted vegetables too!)
To me there is no easier or better way to have fun with the vegetables during the summer than making salads, and a grilled one is always welcome too!
Enjoy!
Ana

I know, I have said this already, but I will have to repeat... I LOVE WATERMELON!!
There isn't anything better during summertime than a cold and refreshingly juicy watermelon! Yumm!

Garden Muffins
First of all I have to mention that my picture doesn't do justice to the goodness of this recipe. That being said, I will only add that these muffins were very good!
The recipe came from the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards, posted by "Canice", and the cornmeal flavor combined with the veggies and Parmesan cheese created some delicious savory muffins.
We really enjoyed these, I made half recipe and they were gone in a matter of seconds!
The Parmesan cheese was my touch to improve the original recipe, so feel free to omit it if you don't like, but we liked the flavor it added a whole lot, especially to the top, where I sprinkled a tad more Parmesan on each of the muffins. As I ate mine I was even thinking about adding pieces of cheese the next time I would make them, which will probably be soon as it has been requested already!
They are very simple but flavorful as could be. Plus it is easy to make, and you could even change the veggies accordingly to what you have on hand - yellow squash instead of zucchini, adding some corn bits would enhance the cornmeal flavor, even peas would be nice here too. These are a great complement to soup or salad, just what you need to round up a light meal!
Ana










Garden Muffins
(Adapted from "The City Gardener's Cookbook" )

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (can add more if desired!)
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and finely diced tomatoes
1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 400F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, Parmesan cheese, and salt and mix well. In a small bowl, beat together the egg, milk, oil, and butter. Stir in the dry ingredients. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, carrot, and green onions, blending thoroughly. Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins, filling about three-quarters full. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.
Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Top 10 Kitchen Space!

Valentina invited me to be part of this "Top 10" event that is going around the blogsphere!
I was very happy to be part of it and went right through my archives to select ten recipes we enjoy most at our house and... well, it was really hard!
The recipes I post here are always the ones we really like and will most probably make again, so it wasn't an easy task to select only 10 among the hundreds of recipes we like. But I did it and here are the results.
Hope you all like them as much as we do!
Ana!

To visualize the recipe just click on its title!

Grilled Eggplant Stacks
These are awesome! I make them all the time during the summer when eggplants and summer squashes are abundant and fresh. They are worth every second it takes to prepare them! The balsamic syrup on top is amazingly good!









Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
This is another dish we truly enjoy! I make it without even looking at the recipe as it is very easy and I have made it many times already. Whenever I make this recipe Matheus cheers at the table, he even knows the name of the recipe and the chef it came from!









Creamy Quinoa Primavera
Now this is one recipe that I love! I chose this one because it is not only quick and delicious but also very conforting. It can be made using any vegetables you have around, fresh, frozen, whatever you prefer and most like. the end result is always creamy, flavorful, and good for you. The texture of this dish could e compared to a "quinoa risotto", so it is definitely a "feel good food" in all senses to me!









Chicken Stuffed with Garlic and Goat Cheese
Another one I enjoy a lot! Chicken is usually my protein of choice and to pair it with goat cheese you can't go wrong. Goat cheese and roasted garlic are two ingredients that are already delicious by themselves, combined in this dish they create the most velvet and flavorfull sauce for the chicken. So good, makes me want to make it for lunch today!









Italian Panzanella
This is Matheus' favorite summer dish, he asks me to make panzanella every week during the warm months! He enjoys the way the bread absorbs the flavors of the vinaigrete and complements the salad with the crunchy vegetables. Plus we both love white beans and cheese, and along with everything else we get a complete and satisfying meal in one bowl! Oh, and lately we have been using little parmesan chuncks for the cheese part... oh so good!









Cornmeal-crusted Ratattouille Tart
Another one of my very favorites! The cruts in this tart is super easy to make and the end product is delicious, flavorfull and crunchy, just as a nice crust should be! Full of vegetables and cheese on top this dish is delicious and filling, another one I like to make when we have a lot of produce around! Can't say enough about this one, I just love it!









Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
I could just not have a top 10 without a Muffin recipe, as muffins are definitely loved around our house and something I make at least once a week. Since we tried this recipe these muffins became the most requested and the ones I make more frequently. They are delicious, chosen by far the best muffins around here!









Flan
Now, this would be one of the husband's favorite desserts! And since I also love creamy desserts I opted to choose this one for my top 10. It is not only good but also so easy to make. A simple dessert that it usually enjoyed by everyone!









Macaroons
It just would not be my top 10 withouth something with chocolate in it, right? And when looking through my recipes this one just kept calling me. These were the best "cookies" (if they can be called cookies) I have had, the flavor is great and the textures are so complementing, the delicate crispy shell with the creamy filling.... oh, there are no words to describe it. Plus, it has one of my favorite chocolate confections: ganache! So here it is, the chocolate fix of the top 10!









Mango Sorbet
Fruit also had to be included into my selection as it is present in my table everyday. And so I chose my favorite summer treat of all: Mango Sorbet!! Creamy, delicious, sweet and flavorfull, how can you go wrong with this?? Love, love, love mangoes! My favorite fruit is still watermelon, but mangoes are right up there too, and this sorbet definitely gets on my very top choice of sweet treats!









I know, I know, I already picked 10... so what am I doing here with one more picture?? Well, I just wanted to leave here an honorable mention to the Homemade Ricotta Cheese. We love cheese and ricotta is one of my favorites, plus there is nothing like homemade ricotta! Believe me, the taste and texture are way superior that whatever ricotta you may find at the store. Maybe this should not be considered a "recipe" per se, and I guess that is why I just wanted to mention it at the end, but I had to include the method for making this cheese, which is not only good but extremely versatille and can be used in many delicious recipes out there!









Now, I am supposed to ask for more 5 friends to participate of this event. So I will mention some friends here but will leave it open for them to opt if they want or not to participate! Please, don't feel obligated, ok?!

Fernanda, from Chucrute Com Salsicha
Laurinha, from
Joe, from Culinary in The Dessert
Patricia, from Technicolor Kitchen
Agda, from Agda

How can you not LOVE Summertime?!!
Spinach, tomatoes and bell peppers salad, all fresh from the farmers market! And the grape tomatoes are from our backyard!
A simple vinaigrete and some fresh goat cheese sprinkled on top and you get a party in your plate, colorful and healthy, can't get much better than that!
Yes, I LOVE this SUMMER, hot weather and all!!!
Ana

Cakes
Since I have been sharing here some of the cakes I have made, here are a couple more!
I made these while in Brazil. The small one was a little gift to my sister's mother in law, thanking her for the pretty basket and treats she sent us while there. And the big one I made with my sister (she wanted to learn and see how to use the fondat!) for my parent's 32nd Anniversary, man, what a milestone!
Hopefully I will celebrate that many years with my hubby too!
Ana

Blackberry Sorbet!

Throw in the blender a couple handfuls of blackberries (the ones I used were from our backyard, yum!), two very ripe peaches and a little bunch of fresh cherries, sweeten it lightly with simple syrup* and puree away. A few minutes churning in the ice cream machine and you get the most luscious and flavorful fruit sorbet. Not to mention the pretty color it has!
This was so good there was no leftover. Lovely and super delicious on a hot summer afternoon!
Ana

*To make simple syrup: boil together 1 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar melts and the mixture becomes syrupy. Let cool and then use to sweeten your beverages or sorbet mixture. Good thing is that this keeps in the fridge for a good couple weeks, so it is always handy for making yummy frozen desserts!

We are Back!

It's been a week since we came back home and only now it seems like I am getting back to our normal routine.
We had a great time this past month in Brazil! We had lots of time to do things we like, see our family members, and pass some good time with wonderful friends!
It was truly a trip to keep in our hearts, but I have to say that after 5 weeks away from home I was starting to miss my things and it was more than time to come back.
Even though my parents and sister are still all in Brazil now my family is here and this is our home, and as they say... there really is no place like home!
I missed my kitchen and I was glad to be back to my own schedule and way of doing things, which of course include posting on my beloved blog!
And now I promise I will post on a regular basis, I really promise, I do!!
With the summer weather I haven't been cooking much indoors, but I have been grilling and sure have recipes and pictures of goodies we have been making to share, so please visit me again soon because I am really back this time!
So, to get things going I will post some pictures from our trip, and tomorrow I will be back to what this blog is really about: cooking, cooking and more cooking, yay!!
Ana

This is a very young coffee plant on my dad's backyard!









Here are some coffee beans...












And here they are opened. The coffee beans are white/yellowish inside when harvested, they only turn black after being roasted. And did you know that when picked like these they are sweet inside? Yep, when we were kids it was a lot of fun to pop the coffee bean into our mouth and suck the sweet nectar that comes from the inside. At first my grandma had one coffee plant, but with the kids spiting beans here and there soon she had about four little plants for us to destroy...!! :o)









While there, I got a beautiful basket of goodies from my brother in-law, it was full of nuts, dried fruits, sesame seed bars and the most delicious natural cookies that I have had! Everything was so delicious, and so pretty. It was all wrapped with bows, both on the outside wrap and on each little baggie of nuts/seeds/fruits inside. We all liked it so much that the basket was into pieces soon after I got it. We started sampling the goodies in a matter of seconds! I should have taken a picture before opening because, believe me, it was beautiful!









He also brought our family some "Pao de Mel", honey cakes covered in chocolate, that his mom makes, oh my, those were really yummy too!









And here is a picture of Matheus having some fun at the pool! Even though it was winter, the weather was nice and I was able to get him into some swimming lessons at an indoor pool. He had some fun and at least had a chance to play with some kids. He is the only child in both sides of the family, so I guesses that seeing someone of his own height would be good for him too!