Balsamic Strawberry Crumble

This Sunday I was inspired by the beautiful weather to create a nice yummy treat. I moved into a new apartment and had fun making a new treat in a new place with new roommates. Since I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet, all I had was strawberries. This was the end result:

Balsamic Strawberry Crumble

Balsamic Strawberries

3 c of strawberries, sliced

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cardamom

Heat balsamic vinegar over med. heat. Stir in brown sugar and cardamom. Simmer for 2 minutes on low. Stir in strawberries so they are well coated. Remove from heat after 1 minute.

Scoop into individual ramekins.

Crumble

1/2 c oats

1/2 c flour

1/2 c brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter

Beat all ingredients and sprinkle over strawberry mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

*eat with a scoop of ice cream or a little bit of whipped cream

Sugar Cookie Cupcakes

**This post does contain reviews!!!!

Last night, I messed up big time! I tried to make coffee cake (p.s. coffee cake doesn't have coffee in it, in case you didn't know) and I accidentally read the recipe wrong. In my efforts to fix it, I failed miserably and instead came out with something even BETTER! I made Sugar Cookie Cupcakes! Don't get it? I'll explain

Light and fluffy cupcake + taste of a sugar cookie = Sugar Cookie Cupcake

Sugar Cookie Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter

3 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 1/3 c soy milk (or regular milk is fine)

2 tsp vanilla

3 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin pan or use muffin liners. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and salt until well mixed. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each cup. Mix in baking powder.

Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into each muffin cup. Bake for 25 min. Let cool for 10 minutes. Frost with sugar cookie icing (recipe below)

Sugar Cookie Icing

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp milk

2 c powdered sugar

Mix butter and milk. Mix in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until thoroughly mixed.

*Frost quickly because it will harden fast.

Reviews:

(Quinn: They're good!)

(Dave: Let me tell you about these cupcakes, right here. You can never stop at just one! MmMm Good!)

(Ben: Crispy exterior that when you bite into it, you experience the soft texture of the interior. It tasted like a sugar cookie, but felt as light and fluffy as a cupcake)

(Even the boss man liked it!)

Tres Leches

Over the weekend I made Tres Leches Cake. It is a sponge cake soaked in 3 kinds of milk - heavy cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk. It was AMAZING! It was my first time ever making it and I will make it a billion times more! I revised the recipe from the Pioneer Woman

Tres Leches Cake

1 cup All-purpose Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
5 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
⅓ cups Milk
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
¼ cups Heavy Cream

Icing:
1 1/2 c Heavy Cream, For Whipping
3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 (9-inch) cake pans liberally until coated. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. Spread over the surface of the cake. Cut into slices and serve.

Banoffee Pie

Before I left to go home for the holidays, I made my roommate her favorite dessert. Here's what you need to understand... I don't like making desserts I've never made before. It scares the heck out me. I can modify and I can make things up, but to make something I am not the least bit familiar with is not my forte.

Now, there are only two reasons why I decided to rise up to the challenge. #1 Naomi was having a hard week and this was her favorite dessert on the planet. #2 I love that girl to death. So given those two reasons, that's all I can think of what could have possessed me to take on such a task.

Granted, the recipe wasn't all that bad to make, in fact it was fairly easy. It's the fact that 1. I've never made it and 2. she's never made it, that I had no idea how it was supposed to turn out! According to Naomi, it was yummy. I think ok with that.

*P.S. it takes a a little while to make this so I'd recommend watching a movie while this bakes... like The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds (it's a favorite of mine)

Banoffee Pie (Banana + Toffee)

1 (9 in.) graham cracker crust pie dish

2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk

3 large bananas

1 1/2 c whipping cream

1/3 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Toffee filling:

Pour sweetened condensed milk into 9x12 baking dish. Cover with foil and place into larger poaching pan. Fill poaching pan with water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hrs (I told you it was long...better watch The Proposal like I suggested.)

Once filling is cooled, spread half of the filling in the graham cracker pie dish. Cut bananas into thin slices and distribute evenly over the filling. Spread remaining filling over the bananas.

Whipped Cream:

Whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff and spread over the pie. Cool in the refrigerator for 1 hr or until ready to serve.

** Keep in mind the whipped cream takes a few minutes to be fully whipped so keep that beater spinning!

*** This is probably something that is best to make the night before you serve it. Let me tell you it tastes HEAVENLY when you wait for it and it's nice and chilled and... ok I'll stop...

Cranberry Crumble

Over the holidays, I was kind of obsessed with Cranberries. I was making things up left and right. This one I made right after Christmas and I was very surprised at how yummy it turned out to be. Cranberries can be quite scary to cook with, in my opinion. Either they're too tart or too sweet. This recipe turned out just how I wanted it...a mix of both! With my blackberry crumble recipe, I was inspired to make this yummy Cranberry Crumble.

** I would've taken a picture of it except for the fact that we ate it too quickly... whoops!

Cranberry Crumble

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c quick cooking oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c flour
1/4 c butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 c water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine cranberries and sugar. Allow to sit for several minutes. Combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until well mixed. Cut in butter and mix until crumbly. Spoon cranberries into a buttered 8x8 baking dish. Pour water over cranberries. Sprinkle crumble mixture over the cranberries and bake for 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Words of Inspiration...

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."

~Julia Child

Chocolate Cupcakes

When there are 3 birthdays in one weekend, what do you do? You make cupcakes! And then you evenly distribute them amongst all 3 birthday friends! I tried to modify this and make it as healthy as I can. Hope you enjoy!

Fluffy Chocolate Cupcakes

3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter)

2 1/4 c flour

1 c cocoa powder, unsweetened

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 c firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 large eggs

1 1/2 c yogurt (regular or chocolate flavored!)

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease 12 cup muffin pan, dust with flour, and tap out the excess.

Sift 2 1/4 c flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another large bowl, beat 3/4 c butter on med. speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and continue beating for 1 min. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Mixture will look slightly grainy. Beat in sour cream, then add flour mixture in 3 batches. Mixture will be thick. Divide evenly and pour batter in muffin tins. May take a couple batches.

Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Frost when cooled completely.

Olive Oil-Lime Salad Dressing

The best recipes come from mothers. This one came from my friend's mother. I am so lucky to be joining them for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I first tried this at their home while they were on a raw foods diet. Most of the time I would find that disgusting, but I was very impressed with the diet and the meal we had! I could totally do a raw foods diet... ok maybe I'm getting too ahead of myself... anyways, here's the dressing that so gracefully adorned our yummy salads.

P.S. This is me trying to recreate the dressing. So as far as her exact measurements, I'm not sure, but this is what I now use.

Olive Oil-Lime Salad Dressing

1 c olive oil

juice of 3 small limes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients. Let sit 10 minutes to fully infuse. Drizzle desired amount over your salad of choice.

Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

Hold on... don't turn away! Do not let the title scare you! Yes, there is peanut butter, but it's so complimentary! Like other curry dishes with peanuts, just think of this one as using the creamed version!

A couple weeks ago, I went on a date and we made this meal in an Iron Chef competition with other dates. Our secret ingredient was peanut butter and this is what we turned out with. The original recipe came from here, but I made some modifications.

Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• One 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt
• 1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Pepper
• 2 cups shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
• 3 heads bok choy, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 pint (about 1 cup) cherry tomatoes

1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender but not browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the curry powder. Add the chicken broth, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in 2 tablespoons peanut butter until smooth. Add the coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Season to taste with salt. Keep the sauce warm over low heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter with 3 tablespoons warm water until smooth. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and brush with the thinned peanut butter. Mix in coconut and toss until shrimp is fully coated.

3. In a medium skillet, warm 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add the bok choy and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until the bok choy and tomatoes are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Keep warm.

4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and fry until the bottoms are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently stir shrimp; drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon oil around the edge of the skillet. Lower the heat and fry until the other sides are golden, about 1 more minute. Spoon the reserved sauce into the center of 4 serving plates. Divide the bok choy mixture among the plates and top each serving with spoonful of shrimp.

Herbed Foccacia Bread

Sometimes I get lazy... And when I do, I cheat. As in cheat, I mean its not entirely homemade. However, when I made this the other night, I didn't cheat. Here's the cheating version...

Herbed Foccacia Bread

1lb refrigerated pizza dough (make your own to not cheat)

1/4 c olive oil

2 tbsp chopped rosemary or oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp salt

thin onion slices (optional)

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

On a floured surface, roll out 1 pound refrigerated pizza dough into a 10-by-15-inch rectangle; press into an oiled rimmed baking sheet. Mix olive oil, rosemary or oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Brush half of the herb oil over the dough. Make dimples in the dough with your fingers and top with thin onion slices and grated Parmesan. Bake at 400 until golden, about 20 minutes. Brush with the remaining herb oil.