Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes:

Recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes - makes 36:
3 cups cake four (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cup sugar
5 large whole eggs PLUS 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Reduce speed to medium.  Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.  Beat in vanilla.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, about 20mins.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.  Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temp, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. To finish, frost cupcakes.  Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers.  Bring to room temp and if desired, decorate with sprinkles before serving.

Streusel Cupcakes

Well ... I seem to have taken on a new addiction ... baking Martha Stewart cupcakes.
This is for good reason: I am an awful baker.  Just awful.  No matter how hard I try, my end product NEVER looks like it does in the picture or the way it looks when I've had it at someone else's house.  But somehow ... some magical twist of fate allows me to follow Martha's recipes and end up with a dessert that is edible.  Some recipes I've had to attempt a few times, I admit.  But it's worth all that effort to get the unbelievably yummy taste that is intended when Martha included her recipe in her book.
The latest creation is the Streusel Cupcake - goes perfectly with that mid-morning coffee.  I warn you, however, if you try this recipe ... the floor will look like Cookie Monster has been there as soon as you bite into these succulent morsels.  They are CRUMBLY.

With glaze:

Streusel Cupcake recipe - makes 24
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup plus 2Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature (I never seem to have butter at room temp, or read the recipe well enough in advance to prep it ... so I just popped the butter in the microwave for 30sec ... this seemed to do the trick)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
Milk Glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on med-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Stir in vanilla by hand.  Add flour mixture and sour cream; stir until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups.  Sprinkle half the topping over cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20mins (again - I NEVER rotate or stick a cake tester in ... I just blindly trust Martha's timing and it seems to work ...).
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
4. To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; drizzle evenly with milk glaze.  Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temp in airtight containers.

Streusel topping:
(makes enough for 24 cupcakes)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp.

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives until combined but still crumbly.  Refrigerate 30mins before using. (uhh ... or just for the time it takes to plop the ingredients of part one into cupcake tins).

Milk glaze:
(makes enough for 24 cupcakes)
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 Tbsp milk

Whisk together ingredients until smooth.  Use immediately.

... The smell of these beauties baking is sell-your-home worthy!

Garden Full of Goodness Lasagna

The woman who introduced me to this lasagna said: "Besides me, there are all men in my family. Men who love to eat meat. This is the only vegetarian dish that I don't have to persuade them to eat. They love it."
Who can argue with an introduction to a dish like that?? Not me. I tried it and it has become a staple in my home. Especially during those weeks where you don't feel like cooking EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Make one dish and it lasts a few days ... it serves 8 afterall!! :)

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen from the Food Network
Ingredients
2 cups thinly sliced zucchini
2 cups thinly sliced yellow squash
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups small cottage cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 oven-ready, "no cook," lasagna noodles
12 slices provolone cheese, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Directions
Combine zucchini, squash, carrot, mushrooms, onion and peppers with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain well, and reserve.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, and eggs. Stir together.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce evenly over bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Do not overlap noodles. Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mixture over noodles. Cover cheese mixture with 1/2 the vegetable mixture, more sauce, and top evenly with 6 slices provolone cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with 4 noodles, rest of the cream cheese mixture, vegetables, sauce, and remaining cheeses. Place in oven for 35 minutes or until lasagna is hot and bubbling

Let lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

p.s. I have adapted this recipe to our personal tastes ... meaning I've left out the yellow squash and end up using a full tub of cottage cheese. This is one packed dish!

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes, a la Martha Stewart:


MAKES 30
42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Who are we kidding, do any other cookies hold a match to OREO cookies??), 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2lbs cream cheese, room temperature (Equivalent: 4 Philadelphia Cream Cheese pkgs)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temp, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
2. With an electric mixer on med-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22mins. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

This was my contribution to Easter Sunday dinner at my parents, who claim they do not like cheesecake. Either this recipe has converted them, or they were acting like loving parents and PRETENDED that they loved them. Either way, these are substantial little desserts that are packaged in single-serving sizes. I will definitely makes these again.

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Icing

From Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book (Thanks Laura!!), here are the One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Icing:


Cupcake Recipe - Books says it makes 18, I usually get 21:
1 1/2cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I just used olive oil...)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and water; beat until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating tins halfway (I NEVER ROTATE - why is this important???), until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean (I just rely on Martha's recommended time - I have a hunch that her opinion is trust-worthy!), about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight containers (good to know!).
3. To finish, fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium French star tip with icing. Pipe whatever design you choose ... Martha does a starburst pattern, but I am trying to get the hang of using the pastry bag and am starting simply. PLUS I really want my cupcakes to look like FLIRT cupcakes ... one day.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting - makes about 4 cups
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (I don't sift ...)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2mins.
2. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium. This process should take about 5mins. Frosting will be very pale and fluffy!
3. Add vanilla, and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 mins.

YUM.

Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi, and Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion

Since receiving Giada's Kitchen for my birthday, it's lovely being able to have another cookbook to work my way through (only Vegetarian sections at this point). For dinner, I chose two salads:

Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi:

Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion:



Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi Recipe - Serves 4 to 6:
2 medium zucchini, trimmed
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 oz. Pecorino Romano cheese

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini into long thin strips. Thinly slice the asparagus on a diagonal. Put the sliced vegetables in a serving bowl and toss together to combine.
2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then drizzle over the veggies. Toss to coat. Use the vegetable peeler to shave the Romano over the salad and serve immediately.
Note - this was surprisingly tasty. I was slightly cynical that the raw asparagus would taste okay, but I think I actually prefer it now over steamed. It's nice to have that "crunch".

Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion - 4 to 6 servings:
I could not find "Fregola" pasta ANYWHERE!!! And I looked everywhere ... except the Italian centre (which I'm sure is there and I should have gone there first). So I substituted Fregola with Orzo ... a pasta that is just as small and looks like rice.

Orange Oil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 orange, zested

Salad
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used 4 cups vegetable broth)
1 lb. fregola pasta (or orzo)
1 orange
1 pink grapefruit
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (soak in cold water before tossing into salad)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 Tbsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted (I skipped this one)
1 tsp course salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

To Make the Orange Oil:
Combine the olive oil and the orange zest in a small bowl and set aside.

To Make the Salad:
1. IN a large saucepan bring the chicken (or Vegetable) broth to a boil over high heat. Add the past and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the pasta and dump it onto a large baking sheet. Spread it out into a single layer and let cool for 10mins.

2. Using a small knife, cut all the peel and pith off the orange and grapefruit. Holding the fruit over a large bowl, cut between the membranes to release the segments into the bowl and catch the juices. Add the onion, mint, basil, fennel seeds (or not), salt, pepper, and cooled fregola (or orzo) pasta.

3. Add the reserved orange oil to the pasta. Toss all the ingredients together and serve.

Black Olive and Goat Cheese Tart with Sicilian Orange Salad

I was watching Anthony Sedlak on the Main (Food Network) and he made the most mouth-wateringly good looking meal. In fact it looked so good I could imagine tasting it. So that's what I decided had to be made for dinner. I took a walk to Planet Organic and picked up top grade ingredients, got home and dutifully pre-made all I could, roasting what I could ... before the clock struck 5:00 and dinner had to be made in earnest.

Here are the roasted tomatoes:

Black Olive Tapenade with Basil Pesto: (I had some MAJOR TROUBLE here ... 1.Didn't realize the olives I picked up to supplement what I already had at home were NOT PITTED. Let me tell you, the sound of the blender blade hitting olive pits can be a strange, unfamiliar sound. As I tilted my head in wonderment of what that noise was, I kept the blender going ... Arrg - had to manually pick out all the pits that were intermixed with the minced olives). THEN realized I added about oh ... 1 cup too much olive oil to the mix. Spent a while draining that out. End result:

Sicilian Orange Salad - can I just say how DELICIOUS this salad is?? Made up for the tapenade fiasco above. I learnt something cool about onions doing this salad, too. Anthony gave a tip saying that once you thinly slice the red onions, stick them in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes. This takes the oniony sting out of them. I have to say this is the only way I prepare onions for salads now ... gives a much more mellow taste.

And here's the main kahuna: Black Olive and Goat Cheese Tart. Buttery Richness would be the two main describing words for this one. Note: From my experience, I will never EVER take it for granted that Puff Pastry comes pre-made in ready-to-go sheets ever again. Ever. I had to pick some up at the last minute and was surprised to find it in a hard, unthawed block that needed to be thawed and rolled out. Set me back a little in time.

Final Product. I'm guessing we/I enjoyed a glass of wine with this meal ... took the edge off all those cooking blunders, but I think this meal really does call for a glass of vino. Just to give it the sophistication it deserves.
Bon Appetite!!

Let me just say, the below recipe is taken from the food network at the following link:

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/hosts/Anthony-Sedlak/recipe.html?dishID=8484&hostid=41633

Yield: 4
Ingredients
Oven Dried Tomatoes
4 roma tomatoes, halved, cored and seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 sprig thyme
salt and pepper
Pesto
2 cups basil leaves, washed and dried well
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste
Tapenade
2 cups pitted black olives
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 cup olive oil
1 10 x 10 inch sheet pre-rolled butter puff pastry, (1/2 450g package)
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup basil leaves, washed and roughly torn
1/4 cup goat cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Sicilian Orange Salad
3 oranges, peel and most of pith removed
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced and soaked in cold water
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Sicilian black olives, pitted
1 tablespoon salt
pepper to taste

Directions
Oven Dried Tomatoes
To prepare oven dried tomatoes, preheat oven to 375. Lightly toss tomatoes, thyme and oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange tomatoes on rack placed above baking tray; bake until tomatoes are dried, but still tacky to the touch, about 30 minutes
Pesto
To prepare pesto, combine ingredients in blender and pulse until smooth paste is formed. Season to taste with salt.
Tapenade
To prepare tapenade, combine ingredients in blender and pulse until smooth paste is formed.
Sicilian Orange Salad
To prepare oranges, peel and cut each orange along segments into eight pieces. Season orange slices well with salt.
Toss together with drained red onion slices, basil, chilli flakes, olive oil and olives. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
Black Olive and Goat Cheese Tart
Preheat oven to 425. Lightly flour board and roll puff pastry to form a 8x12 inch rectangle. (Excess puff pastry can be frozen for future use.)
Transfer to parchment lined baking tray. Pierce puff in several places with fork.
Spread pesto thinly on top, leaving a 1/2 inch border around edges. Spread dollops of tapenade on top. Arrange oven dried tomatoes on top and crumble spoonfuls of goat cheese evenly across tart.
Brush egg yolk lightly on border and sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Bake at 425 until edges become light golden and puffy, about 8-10 minutes.
Top with torn basil leaves. Let cool slightly before serving.

Easy-Peasy Grilled Meal

This meal doesn't even warrant a recipe - just threw a bunch of veggies on the grill, boiled some potatoes and made roasted garlic mashed potatoes with them then tossed a salad together which was almost my favourite part as we had mangoes on hand - zing!

Orzo Stuffed Peppers with Rebar Caesar Salad

Don't ask me where I've been for the past ... oh, month! I HAVE been cooking, I promise! It's just after coming home from holidays, I've gotten into the habit of "taking it easy" so once the labour of making dinner is complete, I admittedly have been RELAXING. Not that it's oh-so-difficult to sit on my exercise ball (making do without a computer chair) and type into this little corner of cyberspace I've found. But it's the flow of the day ... when you get out of step of doing something, it just seems so daunting to add it back in.

Anyway, here I am. And let me reassure you that there is nothing daunting about the following meal. Pure yumminess:


Rebar Caesar Salad (With the addition of Baked Sesame Tofu Croutons), courtesy of Rebar Cookbook:

Recipe - Serves 8:
1 bulb roasted garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp caper juice
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup olive oil
extra parmesan for garnish

1. Combine all of the ingredients (except the oil) in a blender and blend. Add olive oil in a slow, thin stream.
2. To serve, toss the dressing with washed, dried and torn romaine lettuce, fresh croutons (recipe to follow) and garnish with shaved Parm and lemon wedges.

Baked Sesame Tofu Recipe:
1x block of extra firm tofu
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp cracked pepper

1. Cut tofu into 1/2" cubes. Toss with remaining ingredients, spread on an oiled baking sheet and back at 350F for 15-20mins.



Orzo Stuffed Peppers, courtesy of Giada's Kitchen, by Giada de Laurentiis:

Recipe - serves 4 to 6:
1 (28oz) can whole Italian tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken (or Vegetable) broth
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 sweet bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped basil, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400F

1. Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and break them into pieces using your fingertips. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
2. Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo will only be partially cooked. Drain the orzo through a sieve, reserving the chicken broth, and add the orzo to the large bowl with the veggies. Stir to combine. Transfer the warm broth to a 3-quart baking dish.
3. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.
4. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm broth. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45mins. Remove the foil, sprinkle each pepper with cheese, and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15mins (I was in a hurry by this point so I just broiled it for a few minutes). Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the stuffed peppers to serving plates. Garnish with basil, if desired.

Both recipes make enough for left-overs ... and the left-overs taste just as great!