"Baking Bread" on Momversation.com

Recently I was invited to help tell "my story" on an episode of HerStory, located on the website www.momversation.com. I chose to talk about the challenge of finding and feeding my family foods without all the chemicals and additives they now add to make food last longer... and most particularly in bread! We've been making all of our own bread for about 7 months now. I was initially amazed at how easy it was, and am continually amazed at how easy the habit has been to keep up. I'm thrilled that momversation.com chose to include this as part of their new segment. I hope that it simply encourages other moms to be aware of what is in the food that we purchase at the store. And it would also be exciting to see if it encourages some moms to try baking their own bread! If you are one of those moms, and you decide to give it a go... make sure you leave a comment to tell me how it works out for you. I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Make sure to see the Simple Bread Recipe posted in May.

Zucchini Casserole

This little creation was a "fridge clean-up" for me last night... But I think I'll keep it in the current round of awesome summer side-dishes, just for how yummy it turned out. It was light and healthy, but flavorful. And it used all of the vegetables that are pouring out of people's gardens right now, so it shouldn't cost you that much to throw together!

Zucchini Casserole

6-8 side servings (or 4, if you use it as a main dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large zucchini (or about 2 cups sliced)
• 1 cup fresh or thawed sweet corn
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 TBSP half and half
• 2/3 cup of bread crumbs (or two slices of wheat bread grated in food processor)
• 2 TBSP freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 TBSP butter, melted

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lightly spray a 2 qt baking dish, or a deep dish pie plate.
• Wash and cut ends off of your zucchini. With a food processor with the slicing blade (or use a mandolin) slice zucchini very thin (almost ribbon thin). Place slices in a large bowl with your diced peppers and onions.
• Mix together your eggs, HnH, and garlic salt. Season with a pinch of pepper if you like. Whisk together well and pour over top of your vegetables. Stir together to coat the vegetables. Pour into your baking dish and spread them around in an even layer.
• Sprinkle the top with your freshly grated parmesan cheese, then bread crumbs, then melted butter.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Nuts

Making chicken salad is one of my favorite ways to use up grilled chicken from dinner the night before. Perhaps I'm just partial to my own, but I'm never happy with the chicken salad that I get at restaurants or in the store. The chicken is either minced so small that it resembles tuna salad, or cut so thick that it's hard to eat. The trick to making a good textured chicken salad is taking the time to shred the meat. I find it's easiest to do this by hand. I start by cutting along the grain of the meat so that I get nice long strands of chicken. Then use your fingers to tear the chicken into smaller pieces. If you don't have extra grilled chicken, this salad tastes wonderful when made with the small roaster chickens you can buy in the deli section of your grocery store. If you can find them I love the BBQ basted roasters, because it adds that smokey taste - just like the grilled chicken does!

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Nuts

Servings: 4 one-cup Servings

(This recipe can easily be doubled or cut in half)

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken breasts (or about 12 oz), shredded
• 1 cup organic red seedless grapes, washed and cut in half
• 1 cup lightly toasted nuts. My favorite nuts to add to this salad are pine nuts, but today I added walnuts. (Has anyone else noticed the recently inflated price of pine nuts?... holy cow!)
• 3 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 6 TBSP Olive Oil Mayonnaise
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Sometimes I'll add 1/2 tsp of minced garlic for extra flavor (optional)

Directions:

• Mix chicken with the dijon, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and garlic (if using), until well mixed. Stir in the grapes and toasted nuts. Can be eaten right away, but I like when the chicken salad sits for an hour (or even overnight) in the refrigerator before eating.

Easy Fruit Tart

This is a great recipe that strays from the traditional French version of a fruit tart. Most tarts you'll find call for a custard base, that although taste wonderful, are higher in fat and calories and are much more time consuming to make. This recipe is simple and easy and contains little more than fresh fruit! If you don't own a tart pan, this will give you a reason to buy one. It is not an expensive addition to your kitchen and is well worth having around for these types on confections. After you've made the fruit tart, make sure to try the shortbread recipe I posted several months ago!

Easy Fruit Tart

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

PASTRY

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 TBSP granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 TBSP ice water

FILLING

• 2 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 TBSP all-purpose flour

GARNISH - use only fresh fruit

• 3 kiwis sliced into 1/4 " slices (see bottom for a tip on how to peel)
• 1 container of fresh raspberries (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• Use could also use mandarin oranges or blackberries as well!

GLAZE

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves mixed with 1 TBSP water
• If you don't have the preserves, you could sprinkle with confectioners sugar right before serving.

Directions:

• Pastry: In food processor, place flour, salt, and sugar and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a course meal. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the vanilla. Add it to your mixture and pulse again until the pastry starts to hold together when pinched. Add the ice water, if necessary, to help it come together. Try not to process more than 30 seconds (pulses) all together.
• Transfer the pastry to an 11 inch fluted tart pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Press evenly over the bottom and up the sides on the pan. Cover and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the blueberry filling.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the sugar and flour for the filling. Add the 2 1/2 cups of blueberries and toss to coat. When the oven comes to temperature, remove the chilled pastry crust from the refrigerator and evenly pour/spread the filling mixture in the bottom of the crust. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake until the pastry edges start to turn golden brown (about 20-30 minutes). Remove from the oven and place just the tart pan on a wire rack to begin cooling.
• While the filling is still warm and gooey, start to arrange your fresh fruit in the tart, pressing the pieces down into the filling. Mix your glaze and brush on a light layer around all the fruit. If choosing to use blackberries, skip glazing just that fruit. Or, as mentioned, you can skip the glaze and dust the top with confectioners sugar just before serving. Remove the tart from the pan while it's still slightly warm and place on it's serving platter (it will remove easier when warm). I leave the bottom of the pan under the tart - just remember to cut gently so you don't score the pan! Let the tart cool to room temperature before serving. You can cover and store leftovers in the fridge.

** Tip for easy Kiwi peeling... Carefully cut off both ends of the kiwi. Take a small tea spoon (demitasse spoon) and slip it between the skin and the fruit and gently slide it all the way around the edge of the skin to where you started. You may have to do both ends that way. Then just push on the fruit and it will slide right out of the skin!

Lemon, Raspberry, and Blueberry Muffins

Here is one more "red, white, and blue" treat for you this weekend. We've been enjoying the fresh berries that we picked all week, but I needed to use up the last ones before we (hopefully) go and pick more tomorrow. My best intention is to pick enough to freeze so we can enjoy fresh local berries in baked goods and smoothies this winter. We'll see if I can pick enough... it's often hard with my little "helper" along for the ride!

This recipe is adapted from one that lives at allrecipes.com. The changes I made turned it into a more "sweet muffin" or more along the lines of a healthy cupcake. I took these along as a dessert item to a Fireworks Symphonia. They traveled well, but I will admit that I actually should not have put them in the cooler! They taste much better room temperature or slightly warmed.

Red, White, and Blue Berry Sweet Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 3 TBSP coconut oil (you can use vegetable oil as well)
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 2 TBSP half and half or milk
• 1 egg, plus one egg white
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• grated lemon zest from half a lemon
• 1/2 cup raspberries, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup blueberries, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup white baking chips (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with papers.
• In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, eggs, and lemon extract.
• In a separate bowl, stir together the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just blended.
• Gently stir in the raspberries, blueberries, and white chips.
• Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool muffins in the tin on a wire rack.

Topping:

You have some choices here. I wanted something to mimic icing without having to make some. I took some white baking bar chocolate and melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds and smeared it on the tops of the muffins. It worked great for what I was going for! But you could also sprinkle some raw sugar on the tops of the muffins before they go into the oven (as the original recipe suggests). OR, you could also mix some powdered sugar (about 1/3 cup) with a tsp or so of lemon juice to make a quick lemon glaze to stripe on the muffins after they come out of the oven.

*And remember my earlier note... These definitely taste better at room temperature or slightly warmed. If you have to chill them overnight for using the following day, just make sure to give them some time out of the fridge before serving.

Red, White, and Blue Frozen Yogurt Pops

Happy 4th of July!

This is my take on the nostalgic "firecracker" ice pops. My daughter has two great loves in her life. And although I know she loves her Momma and Daddy, the two things she goes gaga for right now are 1) FRUIT and 2) YOGURT. I've been making her blended fruit and yogurt pops (with plain yogurt, sweetened lightly with honey), and I can honestly say it's a treat that I don't mind giving her. It's a healthy and fun dessert the whole family can enjoy!

Our pick-your-own fruit is in the height of it's season around our area right now. We picked these raspberries and blueberries ourselves at our local orchard. What a fun activity for kids! Although the farm probably should've weighed my daughter before we started picking (about half of what she personally picked never made it to her basket) :0)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup raspberries or strawberries (strawberries will be more naturally sweet)
• 6 TBSP orange juice
• honey
• large container of plain or vanilla yogurt (I like greek-style) - or about 1 and 1/4 cups.
• zest of one lemon
• 4-pop, ice-pop set

Directions:

• Place 3/4 Cup of yogurt into a bowl. Add 1 TBSP of honey and half of the lemon zest. Stir to mix. Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to put the pops together.
• In two separate small sauce pans (or do one batch at a time), simmer blueberries and raspberries or strawberries with 3 TBSP orange juice each, for about 8-10 minutes, or until the berries are broken down and the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Take them off the heat and stir in the remaining lemon zest (divided between the two fruits), and 1 TBSP of honey to each, or more to your liking. If you are using raspberries and don't care for the seeds, you can strain the mixture by pressing it through a fine mesh sieve at this point.
• After the fruit sauces have cooled slightly, add 1/4 cup of the yogurt to each and stir to mix well.
• To assemble the pops: (Because all pop containers will be different sizes, make sure to allow room for all "3 layers". My amounts may make more than you need for your pops!) Start with the red layer and divide the sauce between the 4 pop containers. Then add the white "yogurt only" layer. Then end with your blueberry layer!
• Freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• If your pop makers are like mine, they will release easier after running some warm water over the outside of the cap.

Three little yogurt-pop angels at the Riverside Fireworks Symphonia.

Horseradish Cheese Dip

"You're welcome"!

This will be my response to your "Thank You" after you try this easy and tasty dip. There are oodles of horseradish cheese dip recipes out there on the internet. This particular version was thrown together by a good family friend. And her instructions to me? To use it as a base and build from there... try adding diced sun dried tomatoes, or perhaps artichoke hearts one time. Or mix in some lump crab, or even crumbled bacon! It is really great all on it's own though, and you can adjust the amount of horseradish to your particular liking. Serve it with crackers or vegetables, slather it on sandwiches, or make it a little saucier and serve it along side burgers or steaks off the grill. Again... "You're welcome"!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz of sharp (or extra sharp) cheddar cheese, grated/shredded
• 4 oz of smoked gouda, grated/shredded
• 3 TBSP mayo
• 1/4 Cup white wine or beer
• 3-4 TBSP or horseradish (I like Kelchner's brand - it's locally produced in PA)

*Here is my hope and a plea to you... Please don't buy the pre-shredded cheese in the bags. It lacks so much flavor! Buy a block of nice sharp cheddar and grate/shred it yourself. The taste is nicer and the moisture content will be slightly higher, making it mix into the other ingredients more nicely. It really will make all the difference!

Directions:

• Shred your cheese. I use my grating blade in my food processor, but you can use any hand-held grater.
• Mix your wet ingredients and add them to the cheese. The long strings of cheese will begin to break down as you stir. I like to stir and "chop" with the edge of a wooden spoon.
• Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Chocolate Crisp Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Ice-Cream... isn't it one of life's most simple pleasures? And especially wonderful and refreshing during an unusually hot month of June (at least here in Eastern PA)! I recently tried this chocolate wafer recipe posted by Joy Of Baking. I love a crisp cookie... ginger snaps, lemon snaps, anything with big flavor and a nice crunch! These certainly fit the bill - especially if you leave them in the oven for the full amount of time. I did experiment a bit with the thickness when cutting. As you'll see in the picture, the ones that I cut a little thicker got the beautiful crackles across the top... the ones that were sliced more thin, did not (but were even crunchier!). Either way you slice it (haha) the cookie is sturdy enough to mound a nice big scoop of ice cream on top of! And that's what makes this post perfect for a summer treat.

Chocolate Wafers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed) - I used Hershey's, because it is what I had on hand!
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons margarine (I used coconut oil)
• 2/3 cup (140 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and margarine/coconut oil until well blended. Add the sugars and vanilla extract and beat on high speed for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg white. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.
3. Place the dough on your work surface and, using your hands, form the dough into a log shape that is about 9 inches long. Carefully wrap the dough in aluminum foil, parchment paper or wax paper and fold or twist the ends. Try not to flatten the log. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Using a sharp knife, slice into 1/4 inch thick wafers. Place on the baking sheet spacing about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the the cookies puff and the tops of the cookies have crackles (ripples). Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for about 10 days.

Makes about 36 cookies.

An example of what the cookies look like when slicing (I know... it looks like sausage. It's not - I promise you 100% chocolate-y goodness):

Fill cookies with your favorite ice-cream flavor! We love mint chocolate chip at our house, and it is especially refreshing when the temperatures and humidity start to rise. Now, if I could just talk my husband into one of those Cuisinart Ice-Cream machines... Ooooooo!