Pumpkin Soup

Over the weekend, we sponsored and participated in the 2nd annual South Shore Celebration. I brought along a lot of the normal items we do for markets, cookies and sweet breads, but also brought along some pumpkin items. Such items were Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with a Maple Frosting, Pumpkin Cinnamon Ginger Scones, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a Maple Cream Cheese Filling, Pumpkin Cupcakes with a Cinnamon Frosting, Pumpkin Bread, and Pumpkin Sugar Cookies.

Everything that dealt with Pumpkin was a big hit and I realized that I have been slacking off on getting out some recipes on the blog. I'm cheating tonight and posting a recipe for Pumpkin Soup that I had in our October newsletter. I'll spend some time tomorrow between baking cookies and add a few more fall recipes for you to enjoy.

Ingredients: 3 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 c sliced onion, 6 medium sized scallions (separate bulbs and greens), 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 5 c chicken stock, 2.5 c pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 c light cream.
Instructions: (1) Heat oil in sauce pan ans saute onions and scallion bulbs over low heat for approximately 8-10 minutes. (2) Add spices and stir well to coat the onions. Cook 3-4 minutes. Add pumpkin, stock and salt and raise temperature to med. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (3) Let soup cool slightly. Puree in a blender or processor then return to pot and add more cayenne if desired. Heat to simmering and stir in most of the cream and heat for another 2-3 minutes. Serve Hot with a swirl of cream and topped with scallion greens.

Salsa Muffins

I love Salsa! Just saying that, has a nice Latino beat playing in my head. But it's true, I love salsa in any type of form and hotness. Personally for me I love really hot salsa. Growing up in Cajun country, you develop a taste for all things hot. My husband and I have one section of a cabinet over our stove that is dedicated to hot sauces. There are a few that just a drop gives whatever you are cooking a KICK!

When the summer season is at it's peak, that's when I'll make some homemade salsa using great local veggies; some from area farmers and some right from our own garden. Depending on the mood I'm in when I'm making the salsa will determine if the salsa is chunky or pureed. When I was in Mexico many moons ago, the owner of La Pasado and his wife made homemade salsa. I got to hang out in the kitchen and see how it was done. The type of salsa they made was more of a pureed salsa but it was very hot and very delicious. Whenever I make a pureed salsa, I use the techniques that Victor and Sonja use to make their salsa.

With family visiting and with a ton of tomatoes from our garden being ready to pick, it is salsa time. Making medium and hot salsa to use with chips, in/on dinner dishes, or in a breakfast omelet, there comes a time when you need to come up with another way to use salsa. I decided to add it to my basic corn muffin recipe. Enjoy this delicious recipe. I might just have to have a Mexican night and make more of these muffins along with tamales, tacos, and other delicious dishes.

Ingredients: 1 c flour, 1 c cornmeal, 1 TBSP baking powder, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, .5 tsp sea salt, 3 TBSP sugar, 1 egg, .5 c milk*, 1/3 c canola oil, 3/4 c chunky salsa*

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400F and prepare a 6 or 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or paper liners. (2) In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and cumin. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk egg, sugar, mil, and oil until well blended. Stir in salsa. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. (5) Divide batter evenly amongst prepare muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes on a wire rack before transferring them to the rack and cooling completely.

*Try to use at least 1% milk. Most of the time I'm using fat-free milk but in my corn muffins I always use whole milk or even buttermilk.
*If you don't want to make your own salsa, a bottle of a chunky tomato sauce will do. I love Pace but there are some great chunky salsas out there. Don't be afraid to try a flavored salsa like say Chipotle.

Strawberry Sorbet

Summertime is my favorite time of the year. I grew up in Louisiana so I enjoy the hot, humid weather. I love the smell of fresh cut grass, the hum of  the insects jumping from one flower to another in the garden, fresh produce at the local farmers markets or out of my garden, the smell of the ocean in the air, the flight of a butterfly, and of course, berries. I love all types of berries. Summertime for me starts with arrival of strawberries and continues on through raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and blueberry seasons.

Living in Louisiana, when it was hot or even if it wasn't, my favorite treat was a Sno-ball or as non-Southerners would call, a Snowcone. We're not talking a Hawaiian Ice or a snowball off an ice cream truck that is so hard it breaks your teeth. We are talking about a New Orleans Style Sno-Ball. Large blocks of ice are shaved on a machine called the Southern New Orleans snow maker and then stuffed in a Styrofoam cup and a funnel is used to make the top of it. The ice is a perfect consistency between chunky ice and very soft ice. The Hansen family from New Orleans invented this machine and if you travel to New Orleans, you can stop in at their shop, Hansen's Sno-Bliz Sweet Shop, located in the 4800 block of Tchoupitoulas. Syrup, not just water and sugar mixed, is then added to the top of the cone. The syrup is boiled and consists of pure cane sugar, water, and flavoring. My favorite Sno-ball combination was Cherry, Coconut, and Blue Raspberry. The sno-ball was a very patriotic creation. Some other choices that are added to sno-balls, besides syrup, are ice cream, cream, or chocolate. I wasn't really big on adding cream to my sno-ball but friends of mine where.  I mentioned to my husband about maybe doing a Sno-ball machine during my summer markets and he, being a Northerner, thinks that it really wouldn't take off. Maybe I'll get the machine just for me so that I can have sno-balls whenever I want instead of when I head south for a visit.

A few posts this month have been centered around Strawberries. Since I can't have a sno-ball, I figured I would go to the next best thing, sorbet. I love sorbet over sherbet. Whole Fruit has some amazing sorbets and I recently tried some sorbets from a company called Ciao Bella. I love the Lemon Zest and the Blood Orange. They have many more flavors and I just hope my local store will start to carry them.  Sometimes I'll make a fruit Sorbet. It can be done using an ice cream machine or not and is fairly simple and easy to do.

Sorbet became very popular in the 19th and 20th centuries as a palate cleaner between meals. It's usually referred to as Intermezzo, which translates into "in between the work." Sorbets  are usually known as ice and have a softer consistency than sherbets, which contain milk and sometimes eggs. Fruit sorbets usually consists of 3 ingredients: water, sugar, and fruit. Other ingredients can be added based on the type of sorbet you want.

Here's a recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. Enjoy.

Ingredients: 1/3 c water, 1/3 cup sugar, 2.5 c or 1 pound of fresh/frozen strawberries*, 1 TBSP lemon juice.

Instructions: (1) Place sugar and water in a small saucepan and over low heat, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil the mixture for one minute then remove from the heat. Pour sugar syrup into a heatproof container and place in fridge until completely chilled.* (2) Process strawberries in a food processor until pureed. Transfer puree to a large bowl and add the lemon juice and place bowl in the fridge until thoroughly chilled. (3) Once syrup and strawberry puree are completely chilled, combine simple syrup with the strawberries. Transfer to a chilled container of an ice cream machine* and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer sorbet to a chilled container and store in the freezer.

*Local strawberries at farmers markets are the best since they have flavor and sweetness. If you can't obtain fresh, local strawberries, use frozen ones. Usually the strawberries at a grocery store lack flavor and sweetness though they look all read and shinny.
*If you taste the sorbet after freezing and the amount of sugar isn't right, adjust the level of sugar syrup. Add some syrup if there is too little sugar in the sorbet or add water if there is too much sugar in the sorbet. Refreeze the sorbet.
*Since it takes time to make the syrup, make a large quantity and store in the fridge so you have it ready to go when you want to make more sorbet.
*If you don't have a machine, pour mixture into a stainless steel pan (8", 9"...). The metal will help the sorbet to freeze faster. You can use a glass pan if you want it will just take longer. Cover the sorbet with plastic wrap and place in freezer. After 3-4 hours, remove sorbet from freezer and let it stand at room temperature until partially thawed. Transfer partially thawed sorbet to a food processor and process to break up large ice crystals. This gives the sorbet a fluffy texture. Place sorbet back in the pan and refreeze for 3 hours or up to several days.

Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Popovers

Photo taken from Doughmesstic.com

I love brown sugar and I love cinnamon. I loved the Cinnamon poptarts growing up and could really care less about the other flavors. Since the school year is coming to a close, I will have more time to make different breakfast creations besides cereal or oatmeal; that's my goal and wish anyway. Awhile back I made some sugary popovers and loved them. I decided to try some other popovers and went searching for some recipes. I found a website called Doughmesstic.com and right there on the menu tab was a link for the Popover Project. Susan, the owner/blogger/baker of the site, is making popovers once a week for the entire year. I saw this recipe off her site and just knew I had to try it out.

Have a great week.

Ingredients: 1 c flour, 1/3 c brown sugar, 1.5 TBSP cinnamon, pinch of salt, 3 TBSP sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 3 TBSP butter, 4 oz. cream cheese, 3 eggs, and 1 c milk

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 375F. (2) Divide butter evenly amongst Popover Pan cups. If you don't have a popover pan, you can use either a 6c or 12c muffin tin but you will end up using all the 12 muffin cups. Place pan in the oven for 3-5 minutes while making the batter. (3) In a medium bowl, beat eggs, vanilla, milk, and brown sugar. Whisk in  flour and cinnamon and divide batter amongst prepared cups. (4) Combine cream cheese and sugar and spoon evenly into cups. (4) Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes at 375 then reduce oven to 350 and continue baking for 20 minutes. Serve with syrup, a sprinkle of powder sugar, ice cream...whatever you want.

*It's better to have the cream cheese softened so the sugar incorporates nicely.

Apple Turnovers

One of the items we will be offering at the markets are our turnovers. Since we use seasonally ingredients, we will be offering a variety of turnovers and throughout the summer, these options will change. One of the turnovers we will almost always have will be our Apple Turnovers. These remind me of the old Hostess fruit pies but without the Comstock fruit fillings.

We use our traditional buttery pie crust recipe for all turnovers. My granddad Nestor would also use this recipe for his pies. I have fond memories of him making pies for the holidays or when we visited. We don't use lard like he use to but the taste is still amazing. I usually use this crust for all my items that require a crust: quiche, chicken pot pies, jelly rolls, etc.  The filling uses granny smith apples. I love tart apples and use them in a lot of my apple recipes. I add spices to them for that perfect filling and honestly, can eat just the filling by itself.

Since I can't give you my granddad's crust recipe, I figured I would grab a recipe for turnovers that is fast and easy to make and is also delicious. This recipe is from Food Network.com and is by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, copyrighted 2006.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:  1 tsp grated orange zest, 3 TBSPs fresh orange juice, 1.25 lb tart apples, 3 TBSPs dried cherries, 3 TBSPs sugar, 1 TBSP flour, .25 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg,  sea salt, 1 package of puff pastry, egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 TBSP water)

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400 F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. (2) Combine zest and juice in a large mixing bowl. Peel and core apples and cut into 3/4" dice pieces. Add to juice then combine cherries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of sea salt. (3) Flour a surface and roll out defrosted puff pastry sheet into a 12x12" square. Cut into 4 smaller squares and chill until ready to use. (4) Brush egg wash over a pastry square and add 1/3 of the apple mixture on 1/2 of the square. Fold over diagonally and press edges closed with a fork. Add turnovers to prepared sheet,. Bush egg wash over the top of the pastries and sprinkle with sugar. Cut two slices into the tops of each pastry to vent and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Serve warm or at room temperature.


* Instead of traditional diagonal turnovers you can make a circles and fold over the circles for a semi-circle shape.
* You can omit the cherries and add other dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, figs, etc. or just have the apples.

Strawberry Glaze

The end of May, beginning of June starts up the strawberry season. I love strawberries especially just picked out of the garden. We purchase local strawberries from several farms to use in our products. Some products we offer that feature strawberries are: Strawberry Bread, Strawberry Muffins, Farmers' Market Muffins, Strawberry Shortcake, Glory cupcakes, Strawberry cupcakes and Strawberry scones. We even offer a seasonal berry tart that uses not only local strawberries but other berries.

One thing I love making is a Strawberry glaze. This is a fast and easy way to fancy up a plain cheesecake, pound cake, or even cupcakes. Since Strawberry season is starting, I figured I would post the recipe I use for my glaze. It's delicious and very fast and easy to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 4 c strawberries, .5 c sugar, 4.5 tsp cornstarch, .25 c water, 1 TBSP butter, 2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions: (1) Dissolve the cornstarch in the quarter cup of water. (2) Crush enough strawberries to make 1 cup of pulp. (3) Add pulp, cornstarch mixture, and sugar to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens and is clear. (4) Remove from heat and add butter and lemon juice and cool to room temperature.

Blueberry Muffins with Sugar Mace Topping

The farmer's market season official kicks of this weekend here along the South Shore with the opening day market for Hingham. Come June, more markets in the Plymouth and Bristol counties will be open for business. We're looking forward to this upcoming season and in celebration for the season, I decided to use up some of our last season blueberries to make room for more fresh, seasonal berries. The topping isn't a traditional sugar, crumb, or streusel. It's a mace topping, an ingredient that I usually use when making things with ginger to give it an extra bite! Enjoy this recipe.

Ingredients: 1 2/3 c flour, .5 c yellow cornmeal, 2 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp baking soda, .5 tsp ground mace, .25 tsp sea salt, 2/3 c brown sugar (packed), 2 eggs, 1 c milk, 1/3 c butter (melted), 1 c blueberries, 2 TBSP granulated sugar, .25 tsp ground mace

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400F and prep a 12-c or 6-c muffin pan with liners or cooking spray. (2) In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, mace and sea salt. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, milk, and butter until well blended. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter amongst prepared muffin cups evenly. (5) In a small bowl, mix sugar and mace and sprinkle over muffin tops. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

*Sometimes when huckleberries are in season, I'll substitute huckleberries for the blueberries. They are a little smaller and less sweet than the blueberries. Also, wild blueberries also work.
*I always use unsalted butter and let the eggs come to room temperature before using them in any recipe.
*If you are feeling really indulgent, you can make a maple butter to spread on the muffins. Use .5 c of unsalted butter at room temperature and 3 TBSP of pure maple syrup. Cream the butter and syrup together until combined.

Brownies

Brownies, the delicious cake-like treat that can have many different fillings in it and each type of brownie still taste good. Nowadays, you can purchase cute brownie cutters for certain shapes, use decorating tips to make an everyday brownie look special, or pop them on a stick. Brownies are pretty versatile. I asked my fellow coworkers what I should bake tonight and the overall census was brownies. So brownies it is.

Making brownies from scratch really isn't hard but to be honest with you, I've been known to use a box mix when I've wanted brownies because I really didn't want to have to go through all the steps. I just wanted to add eggs, water and some oil, mix it around and throw it into a pan and slide the pan into an oven and then enjoy a nice hot brownie with a glass of milk 30 minutes later. If you are honest with  yourself, you've done it too.

A funny story regarding brownies. Several years ago my husband got the urge to make brownies; he was looking for a chocolate fix. He whipped up a batch of brownies and added cherries to the mix. For 30 minutes all he could think about was having a brownie. The aroma was divine and I even started counting down the time until the brownies were ready. The timer goes off, Bob takes out the brownies and then says, "Um, Joy?!" The "Um, Joy" was comical. I came down stairs and joined Bob at the stove. They smelled delicious, my mouth instantly starting watering, the whole Pavlov's dog thing, when I looked down into the dish. I tried to ask a question without laughing. You see, brownies didn't rise at all. I asked him to tell me what ingredients he used. He rattled off the ingredients and definitely put baking powder in the mix. I asked him, "Did you put eggs in it?" Bob gave me this grimace expression, "No?" Well, that would do it. He was totally bummed because he so wanted brownies. Even now when he goes to make brownies, I always remind him to "Not forget the eggs!"

Enjoy this recipe. Feel free to add whatever you want to the mix. You really can't destroy a brownie, unless you forget the eggs!

Ingredients:  1 cup of butter, 2 c sugar, 4 large eggs, .5 c water, 1 tsp pure vanilla, 1 c flour, 3/4 c cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp sea salt, 1 c chopped walnuts*, 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips*

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep a glass or metal baking pan* with cooking spray. (2) In a heavy, large, saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool slightly. (3) Add sugar and blend well. (4) Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. (5) Add water and vanilla and mix well. (6) Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; stir to blend. (7) Fold in walnuts and chocolate then spread into prepared dish/pan. Bake until cake springs back and toothpick comes out slightly clean (a few crumbs sticking to toothpick), approximately 27-30 minutes. Let cool slightly before cutting. Serve slightly warm or cool completely.

*Depending on the dish/pan you use, the cook time might be longer. For dark or coated pans, decrease the heat to 325F. I usually use a 13"x9" nonstick pan and it takes about 30 minutes at 325F. I've used a glass 9"x9" pan it takes about 40 minutes for the brownies to cook.
* You can add anything to your mixture. If you just want chocolate brownies with nothing added, skip the beginning part of step 7. Dried fruit, chocolate chips, drops of peanut butter are all delicious. You can even frost the brownies after they cool completely with whatever frosting you want.
*We make these peanut butter brownies. They are a layer of chocolate cake-like brownies, topped with a peanut butter buttercream, and coated with melted chocolate. They are one big sugar high but they are very delicious.
*Another idea can be making S'more browines. Bake brownies like you normally would, just as soon as they come out of the oven, spread about 2 cups of mini marshmallows and 1 c of chocolate chips  on top of the brownies and put back in the oven for about 2 minutes to melt. Take out the brownies and add graham crackers to the top of the hot, melted marshmallows/chocolate and press down slightly. Cool completely and cut into servings around the graham crackers.

No Bake Cookies

Last week I headed home to spend some time with my folks. My mom and dad are retiring soon and will be moving to the Ohio area to be near the grandkids. No matter where my folks put down roots, it will always be home because that's where they are.

One of our 'homes' was in Louisiana. I moved my junior year of high school for Virginia. Before I digress, there were many experiences in Louisiana that still stand out in my mind. Between the food, the atmosphere, the music, and the friends, I can pick a pleasant memory anytime I want to take a trip down memory lane. Since this is blog is about food, I'll share a past time treasure with you.

A lady at our church, Ms. Barbara Blackwell, would make cookies for giving away. You could be having a rough day, been in an accident, had your heart broken, whatever, food always made it better. Ms. Barbara would give away brown lunch bags filled with her no bake cookies. Sometimes they would still be warm. These cookies were addicting. They wouldn't last the drive home in our family. When I think about Louisiana, these cookies come to mind.

Since I've been back from visiting my family last week, I'm cooking and baking foods that I remember eating or even turning my nose up at when I was younger. Most are Southern dinner dishes but I'm baking a few dessert dishes. I figured I would whip up a batch of no bake cookies because they are fast and easy to make and I can enjoy them with a glass of milk while I sit and enjoy the weather. I've played around with recipe to make Vegan no-bake cookies and even an gluten-free version. The sugar-free version is still being worked on.

Enjoy this trip down memory lane. Thank you Ms. Barbara for the recipe and for delicious bags of cookies when I needed them.

Ingredients:  1 stick butter (melted), .5 c cocoa powder, 3 c oats, .5 c peanut butter, 2 c sugar, .5 c milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla

Instructions:  (1) Melt butter in a medium sized cooking pan. Once melted, add cocoa sugar and milk and whisk til well-blended. Cook on the stove until bubbles form around the sides of the pan. (2) Remove from heat and add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Drop on to wax paper and let cool.

*I usually use a large ice cream scooper to drop uniform cookies on the paper and then will slightly press them down so the cookie doesn't cool raised.
*I've been known to also add coconut to my mixture for a chocolate coconut  cookie, which is quite delicious. 

Pootsin

Vernon Roger used to be an anchor for WAFB-TV and hosted the Roger At Large series. Vernon put together a cookbook called "Roger's Cajun Cookbook". All recipes in the cookbook were demonstrated by Vernon in his "Roger's Cookout" segments.

Pootsin is a different type of bread pudding. Not  Poutine, which is basically fries with melted cheese and gravy on them. I'm not usually a bread pudding type of person but since I tried some while in Utila, Honduras, I'm trying other types of bread pudding recipes.  This recipe has coconut and pineapple in it, so it's got my vote. Enjoy.

Ingredients: 8 slices of old bread, 3 bananas (chopped), 1 c coconut, 3 eggs (separated), 1.5 tsp vanilla extract, 1 c evaporated milk, 4 c milk, .5 can crushed pineapple, 1.5 c sugar + 4 TBSP, .5 tsp baking soda

Instructions:  (1)Preheat oven to 375F. Heat milk and pour over bread which has been broken-up and is in a mixing bowl and mix together. (2) Add egg yokes, pineapple, coconut, vanilla, evaporated milk, baking soda, 1.5 c sugar, and bananas. Mix well. (3) Pour mixture into a 11x13" baking dish or several pans that have been buttered and bake for about 1 hour or until it begins to brown. (4) Beat egg whites with 4 TBSP sugar and pour over pies and return to oven, which has been turned to 350F until topping begins to brown.

Supreme Banana Pudding

For the last few days, I've been enjoying time with my family that are currently still living in the South. Prior to coming home, a friend of mine in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area posted a question on Facebook regarding Banana Pudding. She wanted to know if it was just a Southern thing or did people in the North also enjoy it. All of us chimed in on our thoughts; some where down right hilarious, while others just made you shake your head.

Since I came home to grab some more recipes out of the family vault, I figured I would grab a banana pudding recipe from a lady I called 'grandma' while living in Louisiana. Mrs. Fisher, or Ms. Euince, attended Baton Rouge First Church of the Nazarene. Her husband always had a peppermint disc for me every Sunday morning. Both of them were very loving and for someone who's grandparents lived far away in West Virginia, they, along with the Hendersons, helped fill the grandparent gap.

This is her Banana Pudding recipe. I don't like bananas and never did. Grandma Wilks found that out the hard way, that's another story from my childhood in Louisiana. I would eat Ms. Euince's pudding though, just not the banana chunks. Enjoy this little bit of Southern goodness.

Ingredients: 2 large boxes of instant pudding, 5 cups cold milk, 8 oz sour cream, 9 oz. box of cool whip mix, 8 bananas, 1 box of vanilla wafers, 1 bowl of cool whip, pecans (optional)

Instructions: (1) Beat together pudding and milk. When thick, add sour cream and 1 carton of cool whip. Mix together. (2) Stir in sliced bananas and pour into a dish of your choice*(3) Stick wafers into the pudding mixture and spread cool whip on top. Add pecans if you want.

*I usually use a Trifle bowl but sometimes I'll use a 11x13" dish. I also sometimes layer wafers and banana slices between the pudding. When I get adventurous, I'll make the pudding from scratch and also make a meringue to go on top.

Almond Agave Muffins

We try to incorporate a lot of local products and organic products into our baked goods. Sometimes this is impossible. There are no local farmers growing bananas or coconut. When we aren't using organic cane sugar, we use honey from a local vendor and also agave nectar. Agave nectar has been used centuries and it is finally catching on and growing very popular in Western countries. The appeal to agave is due in part to its very low glycemic index. You get the sweetness but not the blood sugar spike that comes from other sugars. It can be used interchangeably with honey, thought agave nectar doesn't have quite the viscosity that honey does. 

We're in the process of making more items to showcase in the upcoming market season and be able to offer on-line through our store. I decided to use agave nectar in a recipe I had for almond muffins and liked it. There are a few things I would change next time, but I was very pleased with the first test batch.

Enjoy this recipe for a Superfood muffin that you can feel good about eating.

Ingredients: 1 c sliced almonds, .5 tsp cinnamon, 2 TBSP agave, 1.5 c whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp sea salt, 2 eggs, .75 c mashed ripe bananas, .5 c coconut oil*, .5 c agave, 1/3 c milk, .25 tsp pure almond extract

Ingredients:  (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep a 12-c or 6-c muffin pan with cooking spray or liners. (2) In a small bowl, combine sliced almonds, cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp agave and toss until evenly coated. Set aside. (3) Whisk flour, sea salt, and powder in a large bowl. (4) In a med. bowl, whisk eggs, bananas, oil, agave, milk and extract until well blended. (5) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Divide batter amongst muffin cups and sprinkle topping on top. (6) Bake for 28 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to a rack and cool completely.


*You can use canola oil instead of coconut oil.
*Adding blueberries or raspberries take these muffins up a notch.

Sugary Popovers

Popovers are great. They remind me of these donuts I use to get when I was a kid. Light and airy and covered sugar. To make popovers hallow, the batter has to be poured into a hot pan before it is placed into a hot oven. The pan and the oven cause the batter to steam, which causes the popovers to be puffy and filled with air. One sure way of causing the popovers to crash is to open the oven door. This will cause the heat to escape and the popovers to deflate; only open the door when they are just about ready.
Enjoy this recipe. I used brown sugar instead of white sugar but they still taste delicious. They are best served warm and with a glass of milk.

Ingredients: 2 c flour, .5 tsp sea salt, .25 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 TBSP + .5 c light brown sugar (packed), 2 c milk*, 4 eggs, .5 stick of butter

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 425F and make sure rack is in the center of the oven. Prep a popover pan or a muffin pan with butter and place in oven until hot. (2) Whisk flour, salt, cinnamon, and 2 TBSPs of brown sugar in a small bowl. (3) Whisk milk (room temperature), eggs, and 2 TBSPs melted butter in a medium bowl. (4) Gradually add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and whisk until combined. (5) Remove hot pan from oven and pour batter into cups to the rim. Bake for 20 min. then turn temperature down to 325 and continue to bake for another 40 min or until popovers are completely browned and poufy. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. (6) Place .5 c of brown sugar in a small bowl. Brush remaining butter on the tops of the popovers and remove them from the pan. Toss them, one at a time, in the brown sugar, coating each popover completely. Serve immediately if possible or within 3 hours.

Grapefruit Pound Cake

Image from Cooking Light, Jan. 2012

Grapefruit. I love grapefruit. Grapefruits are actually hybrids, a cross made between an orange and a pummelo.   I especially love Pink and Ruby grapefruits over the White grapefruit because they are sweeter. The White grapefruit isn't bad, just more tangy and less sweet then the pink/red fleshed grapefruits.  I bought way too many grapefruits so I decided to use some and make a pound cake.   Enjoy this light and tasty recipe.

Ingredients: 2 c flour, 1 tsp baking powder, sea salt, 1 2/3 cups sugar, 6 TBSP butter, 6 oz. cream cheese, 2 eggs*, .25 c canola oil, 2 TBSPs grapefruit rind*, .5 tsp pure vanilla .5 c milk, .5 c fresh grapefruit juice, 1.25 c powdered sugar


Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 325 and coat a bundt, tube, or bread loaf pan with cooking spray. (2) Measure out flour to roughly 2 cups and level. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt to a bowl and stir well. (3) Cream sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Beat in oil, grapefruit rind, and vanilla.  (4) Add flour mixture and milk to egg mixture alternately, ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cook on wire rack before inverting. Cool completely. (5) Place grapefruit juice in a saucepan over med-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to about 3 TBSP of sauce and cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and 1/8 tsp of salt and drizzle over cake.

*Room Temperature eggs work best.
*I usually add more than 2 TBSP of grated grapefruit rind and more grapefruit juice for the icing. I used ruby grapefruits over the white grapefruits.

Chai-Pistachio Muffins

I love tea; any flavor, blend, color, loose or bagged. I especially love Chai tea. I came across a recipe for a Chai cupcake and tried it last summer. I absolutely loved it. When I spied this muffin recipe, I had to try it. This recipe comes from the May 2011 edition of Cooking Light. I found that I substituted some things when I made this recipe the first time and I used a chai concentrate blend instead of opening up some tea bags. The muffins were delicious so I figured I post the original recipe for you to try.

Family Secrets Bakery will be closed from Feb. 17 until Feb. 26 so if you place an online order, it won't be processed until Feb. 27, the earliest. It also means there won't be any postings of recipes later this week or the next. Maybe I'll come back from Honduras with some new ideas or recipes to pass along to you.  Enjoy this recipe, I sure did.

Ingredients: 1.75 c flour, .5 c brown sugar (packed), 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 chai blend* tea bags, opened, 1 c buttermilk, 1/4 c butter, melted, 1.5 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg, lightly beaten, cooking spray, 1/3 c shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped, 1/2 c powdered sugar, 1 TBSP water

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a 12-c muffin pan with liners or with cooking spray. If using liners, spray the liners with cooking spray. (2) Spoon flour into measuring cups and level with knife. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add tea to flour mixture and stir well. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. (3) Combine buttermilk, butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. (4) Divide batter evenly among prepared muffing cups. Sprinkle with nuts evenly over batter. Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack. (5) Combine remaining .5 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar, and 1 TBSP water in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle evenly over muffins.

*Twinings and Tazo have a nice Chai tea and can be purchased in most supermarkets. I like to get a loose-leaf chai from a local tea shop along with other loose-leaf teas.

Chocolate Tiramisu

My husband loves chocolate and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I figured I would make a nice dinner and dessert to celebrate. Last year I made a chocolate souffle recipe and chocolate covered strawberries. While going through the stacks of recipes I've ripped out of magazines or scribbled down on a piece of paper to try at a later date and time, I found a recipe from the May 2011 Bon Appetite edition. Most of the recipes I have in this stack are dinner or appetizer recipes. This one had two things that my husband likes: coffee and chocolate.  I figured I would try a different take on a tiramisu recipe.

A friend of ours father has a nice Italian restaurant located in Hull, MA called Mezzo Mare and also owns the place right next door called Beach Food Market. The market has the best subs and pizza. You can also find imported goods from Italy at the market. We get our ladyfingers here anytime we make a dessert that calls for ladyfingers. 

This recipes makes a serving for 8 and doesn't really take all that much time to make. I'm halving the recipe since Bob will be the only person eating it. The recipe listed below is the full recipe. Enjoy.

Ingredients: (espresso syrup) 1.5 c espresso or strong coffee, .25 c sugar (tiramisu) 1.75 c mascarpone cheese, 2 TBSP + .5 c sugar, .25 tsp vanilla extract, .5 tsp unflavored gelatin, 4 large egg yolks, 1 c chilled heavy whipping cream, 6 oz bittersweet chocolate*, 48 ladyfingers

Instructions: (1) Stir coffee and sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved, set aside. (2) Combine 1 c of mascarpone cheese, 2 TBSP sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until blended; cover and chill. (3) Place 1 TBSP water in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it; let stand until gelatin softens, 10-15 minutes. (4) Whisk remaining sugar, yolks, 1/4 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup water in a medium metal bowl to blend. Place bowl over a large saucepan of boiling water (don't let bottom of bowl touch water) and whisk constantly until custard thickens and temperatures reaches 160 on an instant read thermometer, 3-4 minutes. Remove bowl; add gelatin mixture and whisk until dissolved. Return bowl over water and add chocolate and whisk until almost melted. Set aside in a large bowl of ice water and whisk until chocolate is melted and custard is cool, 5-6 minutes. (5) Whisk in the remaining mascarpone. In another medium bowl, beat remaining 3/4 c of chilled cream until firm peaks form. Fold cream into custard in 2 additions to make a chocolate mousse. (6) Spread 1/4 c chocolate mousse in bottom of each eight 1-c ramekins. Dunk ladyfingers in the espresso syrup and arrange in a single layer on top of the mousse. Repeat layering with chocolate mousse and soaked ladyfingers. Spread 2 TBSP mascarpone topping over ladyfingers. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.

*Don't exceed 61% cacao. Chop chocolate and save some for shavings for garnish.

*Chocolate Tiramisu recipe by Kriss Harvey. Published in the May 2011 edition of Bon Appetite.

Mayan Muffins

Mesoamerica, equatorial South and Central America, has a rich history regarding chocolate. The cacao pod has bitter seeds covered in a sweet pulp. These seeds were used as a form of currency, as a divine gift, a health food and a source of power. The Mayans took the seeds and ground them into a coarse powder that they then mixed with water, spices, and chilies to make a bitter drink. They also added the powder to corn and other fillings to make porridge-like meals. It would be several thousand years before chocolate would be what we know it as today.

Several years ago, I had a chance to travel to Belize and Guatemala on a research trip. While in Guatemala, we visited Tikal National Park and had a chance to see  Stelas and panels and was designated to El Ka'Kau' (the chocolate king). My mother-in-law and a friend of mine are chocolate lovers. These muffins are for them and for any other chocolate-lovers. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 1/3 c butter, 4 oz bittersweet chocolate*, 2 c flour, 1/3 c cocoa*, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, .5 tsp baking soda, .5 sea salt, .25 tsp cayenne pepper, 2/3 c sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, .5 tsp pure almond extract, 1.25 c buttermilk

Instructions:(1) Preheat oven to 375 and prep a 12-c or a 6-c muffin pan with liners or with cooking spray. (2) Melt butter and half of the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool. (3) Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt, and cayenne in a large bowl. (4) In a small bowl, whisk chocolate mixture, sugar, egg, and extracts until blended. (5) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in remaining chocolate. Divide batter evenly amongst prepared muffin cups. (7) Bake for 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.

*Don't chop the chocolate too fine. You want big, melty chunks in the muffins. Sometimes I'll use chocolate chunks or chocolate chips; depends on what is in the pantry when I'm making these.
*Cocoa powder should be unsweetened and NOT Dutch processed. You want the bitter flavor in these muffins.
*I usually add a little more cayenne than what is listed above just because I like the heat.

Roasted Banana Coconut Muffins

 

Here in New England when it gets cold, it usually gets really cold and snows. This winter we really haven't had really cold temperatures nor a lot of snow. I'm not complaining but still it doesn't quite feel like winter. Usually when I'm bummed because of the winter weather, I dream of warm, Tropical places. This year, I actually get to go some place warm while it is cold here in New England. As the date approaches for me to head to Honduras, I'm thinking about all things tropical: warm, blue water, warm, sunny skies, tons of fresh fruit and coconuts. Since I can't get the thought of coconuts and fruit out of my mind, I figured I would make a muffin that contains two things that are ubiquitous ingredients in Honduras, banana and coconut.

These muffins are a lot like the coconut banana bread we make for the Farmer's markets during the summer. They are filled with tropical flavors, topped with coconut shavings, and bring a smile even during a dreary winter. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas*, 2 c flour, 2 tsp baking powder, .75 sea salt, .5 baking soda, 2/3 c brown sugar, 2 eggs*, .5 c coconut milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla, 1 tsp pure coconut extract, 1 c coconut shavings

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep a 12-c or 6-c muffin pan with paper liners or cooking spray. (2) Place bananas on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes until skins are black and seeping. Remove from oven and let cool. (3) Whisk flour, baking powder, sea salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. (4) In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, eggs, coconut milk, butter and extracts until well-blended. Squeeze bananas out of their skins and whisk into egg mixture. (5) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Divide batter equally into muffin cups. Sprinkle with coconut and gently press into batter. (6) Bake for 22-27 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack until cool.

*Use large bananas; keep the skins on for roasting. Roasting brings out a deeper banana flavor and adds hints of caramel.
*Use room temperature eggs and make sure the coconut milk is well-stirred.  I usually use Thai Kitchen pure coconut milk in any recipe that calls for coconut milk.
*We get our coconut from Nuts.com (formerly known as nuts on line). The coconut is awesome and the shavings are huge. You can also use sweetened flaked/shredded coconut like Bakers.

Blue Cheese Walnut Muffins

One of my favorite salads has field greens (usually spring mix or baby romaine lettuce), pears or green apples, dried cranberries, red onions and walnuts and a nice balsamic dressing. When Bob and I were in Newport, RI on our anniversary weekend, we found this awesome little shoppe called Virgin and Aged. This store has olive oils, specialty oils, and vinegars that you can taste before buying. We were with a group of people and as soon as we saw the place, Bob and I headed into the store to see what they offered. Of course the others with us laughed knowing we were such foodies and couldn't pass up this kind of store.  The options were endless and seeing things like Dark Chocolate Balsamic vinegar or Coconut White Balsamic vinegar had our minds spinning on what we could make and use an oil or vinegar with. We walked out with only 2 bottles, a Cranberry Pear White balsamic and a Fig Balsamic vinegar. I had the above mentioned salad every day for lunch and paired it with the Cranberry Pear vinegar or sometimes the Fig vinegar. The salad was delicious. We even grilled steaks one night, caramelized onions, used the fig vinegar to add to the onions and made a reduction sauce, topped the steak with the onion/fig concoction and added a little blue cheese to it. Our plates were so clean you could have put them back in the cabinet. Bob and I are planning another trip to Newport just to pick up some more vinegar.

All that to say, that these muffins are a baked version of the salad I like to fix sometimes. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 2 c flour, 2 tsp baking powder, .25 tsp sea salt, 1 c sugar, 1 egg, .75 c milk, .33 c butter (melted), .25 hot sauce, 1 c crumbled blue cheese, .75 c finely chopped walnuts, .25 c dried cranberries

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400 and prepare either a 12-c or a 6-c muffin pan with liners or cooking spray. (2) Whisk flour, baking powder, and sea salt, in a large bowl. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, egg, milk, butter and hot sauce until well blended. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in the blue cheese, walnuts, and cranberries. (5) Divide batter evenly amongst muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes in the pan then cool complete on a wire rack.

*I usually add a little crumbled blue cheese to the top of each muffin before baking and serve the muffins while they are still warm.

MG muffins

What's not to like about carrots, pineapple, coconut, walnuts, and raisins? These muffins are like a carrot cake we make, minus the raisins. They are full of fruit and nuts and are healthy and delicious. These muffins are great to grab and take on the way out the door in the morning, hence why they are called Morning Glory muffins. You can find a number of recipes for Morning Glory muffins. This is a recipe we also offer as Gluten-free. Either way, this is one muffin that will start your day off in the right direction.

The best taste for these muffins is to make sure you grate the carrots using a large holed grater. We use our microplane tool for grating the carrots. A large box grater works also but I am always leery of grating more than just the carrots when I use it. One of these days I'll get another grater attachment for my processor but until then, the microplane it is. By using a larger grate, the carrots keep their texture and therefore the muffin isn't like a fine cake.  Another tip when making these muffins is to drain and pat dry the pineapple so there isn't excess juice. If there is excessive juice, the muffins can be somewhat gummy. When we make our Tropical Carrot Cake, we don't pat dry the pineapple so the carrot comes out very moist.

Enjoy this morning muffin recipe. Tomorrow, I'm going to try a Blue Cheese Walnut dinner recipe.

Ingredients: 1.5c flour, .75 c whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon*, .5 tsp sea salt, 1.25 c sugar, 3 eggs, .5 c butter (melted), 1 tsp pure vanilla, 2 c shredded carrots, 8oz. can crushed pineapple, 2/3 c shredded coconut*, .5 c raisins, .5 c chopped walnuts

Instructions: (1) Preheat to 375 and prepare a 12-c or a 6-c muffin pan with liners or with cooking spray. (2) Whisk flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt in a large bowl. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until well blended. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in carrots, pineapple, coconut, raisins, and walnuts. (5) Divide batter evenly amongst muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool in pan for a few minutes then on a wire rack.

*I use a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon because I can't get enough cinnamon.
*Sweetened flaked coconut can work but I've found that unsweetened coconut is better. We get some of our nut products and dried fruit products from Nuts Online. This company is a family-run company that has been in business since 1929 in Newark, NJ. They sell over 250 organic products and I absolutely love their coconut.