Strawberries

Summer Strawberry Muffins (With Oats + Flaxseed)

by Diana on May 19, 2011

So glad to hear all the positive feedback about those yummy strawberry shortcakes! They’re really tasty! You guys should definitely try them out. And then, if you have any strawberries leftover…make these for a sweet summer breakfast.

Strawberry Muffins!!

Hey baby!

I mean…I must confess, the idea for this recipe really came for the need to do something good with my strawberries since they were on their last legs.

Although we just picked them on Sunday, they were a week past peak when we picked them and were not as perky as they could have been. They were tasty yes, but I knew they wouldn’t last very long.

Staring into my sad box of slightly wilted berries, I wondered what to do with them. Toss them? How wasteful! I could only shake my head at not freezing them the day I brought them home.

But then…another thought…bake them! Yes, bake them in something so they didn’t need to have their crisp texture to be enjoyable.

Summer Strawberry Muffins Recipe (Oats + Flaxseed Version)

These muffins make good use of your leftover strawberries, but you could also substitute frozen berries if you wanted. Be sure to cut the berries small – about 1/4 inch cubes – so they distribute nicely throughout the muffins. You can sub sugar for the sucanat, but sugar is generally more sweet, so you may want to use less.

*Vegan options included below*

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 3/4 cup spelt, 1/2 cup whole wheat, and 1/4 cup flaxseed meal – but you can use whatever flour you want)
1/4 cup oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sucanat (or use 1/2-3/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup butter, softened (or sub vegan butter substitute)
1 egg (or sub 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal mixed with 3 tablespoons of water – combine and let rest 5 minutes)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries (cut to about 1/4 inch pieces)
rolled oats and flaxseeds, optional – for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick spray or paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour(s), oats, baking powder, and salt until ingredients are evenly distributed.
In a medium bowl, whip butter (or butter substitute) and sucanat till well combined. Mix in egg (or egg substitute). Mix in milk and vanilla until well combined.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix together until just combined (careful to not over-mix).
Stir in chopped strawberries.
Evenly distribute muffin mix into prepared muffin tin. Note: I used an ice cream scoop, filled to well-rounded.
If using, sprinkle oats and flaxseeds on top of muffin batter.
Bake muffins for 17-20 minutes, until edges just start to brown and muffins are cooked through (when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean).
Allow muffins to cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Careful, they’re hot!!
Enjoy!

Reader question: What’s your favorite thing to do with strawberries? Eat them straight up? Put them in a smoothie? Do tell!

{ 4 comments }

Farm Fresh Strawberry Shortcake with Amaretto-Spiked Whipped Cream

by Diana on May 17, 2011

in Dessert,Dinner,Doggie,Home Chic,Not So Sweet,Organization,Recipe

First up, I just want to send out a big WELCOME with a giant hug to all my new readers and blog friends. I’ve been seeing a lot of new commenters, twitter followers, and Facebook friends. I’m not always the fastest at replying to comments and stuff, but I did want to say that I noticed you’re here (and you too seasoned readers!) and your comments and tweets mean the world to me! It’s so nice to have you here!

***

Did you guys like my teaser photo yesterday?

I guess it was pretty obvious what I made – Strawberry Shortcakes! I made them with the strawberries I picked on Sunday! Details in a minute, but first…

Another teaser photo! This one from my recent Crate & Barrel shopping spree. You can see a couple more photos on my Facebook page.

After strawberry picking…I got my living room organized. The furniture is a little awkward in here, but it will do till we have money to buy furniture for the space.

This stuff has been with me since my last 3 homes (2 apartments and 1 townhome!). The sofa and table set was one of my first big “adult” purchases after college.

I especially love how the desk is so nice and clear now. My desk top tends to get cluttered with random papers (which I use to jot down ideas, blog post thoughts, zumba playlists, and other randomness). Right now it looks clear and clean!

I was excited about using my farmer’s market veggies in a stir fry Sunday night.

In the mix are organic bok choy and snap peas from the local market.

I’ve never been big on adding snap peas to stir fries, but boy were they amazing in this one! They added a sweet, bright flavor and plenty of crispy crrrunch!

Hubby and I enjoyed movie night in the newly organized living room. We saw Tangled! Have you seen it? I love a good Disney movie. I thought Tangled was super cute.

And then there was dessert. I knew it had to involve some of those fresh-picked strawberries I’d just gathered earlier in the day.

My favorite thing to do with fresh strawberries is make short cakes!

Remember that time I made shortcakes for farewell pot luck at the KERF house? Meeeemories!

I used to use the Bisquick recipe for short cakes, but now I try to avoid boxed mixes. I like mixing my own ingredients together!

I did a play on the Alton Brown version I made for the KERF party.

Multigrain Shortcakes

Adapted from Alton Brown’s shortcake recipe

These shortcakes are light, just chewy enough, and plenty tender. They’re also Not So Sweet, since you get most of the sweetening from the strawberries and whipped cream. I used 3 types of flours in my recipe, but you can use whatever flours you want or 100% all purpose. Spelt is the key to keeping the fluffy texture with less processed flours, but All Purpose would work, too.

*Vegan options*

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup spelt, 1/2 cup whole wheat, and 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Earth Balance (I used it cold – straight out of the fridge) or butter (cut into tablespoon-sized pieces)
2 tablespoons All Vegetable shortening (I used Spectrum brand, which is made with organic palm oil)
3/4 cup milk or non-dairy milk
extra sugar for sprinkling on top of shortcakes, about 1 tablespoon

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour(s), sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together.
Cut in Earth Balance and shortening into the flour mixture using dough cutter or forks until Earth Balance and shortening are pea-sized.
Gently stir in the milk/non-dairy milk until just combined (careful to not over-mix, but do ensure all flour combined into dough).
Separate into 6 portions. Roll each portion into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown on top and cooked through (if a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).
Allow to cool to room temperature.

How to Make Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry shortcakes are an insanely forgiving recipe. The tough part is just making the shortcakes and that’s a piece of cake…err…shortcake! Here are some non-recipes to get you going (because you don’t need full recipes for the berries or the whipped cream). I made mine Amaretto-spiked! You can make yours plain by leaving the Amaretto out.

Strawberries (use about 1/4-1/2 cup per person, depending on how much you like strawberries!): Remove green tops (hull if you want) and chop strawberries into small pieces 1/4 to 1/2 inch large. Place strawberries in a bowl. Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice or add a drizzle of Amaretto and add a sprinkling of sugar. Stir mixture and allow flavors to combine (a pretty pink juice will form) while you make the shortcakes (or at least 5 minutes).

Shortcakes: See recipe above. Allow to cool.

Amaretto-spiked whipped cream: Pour whipping cream into a bowl (about a couple tablespoons per person). Using handheld mixer on medium high speed, whip cream until it just starts to thicken up, just a couple minutes. Add in some powdered sugar (about 1 tablespoon at a time). Mix in. Taste test. Add additional sugar as needed. Continue whipping until mixture is fully whipped (it should have the texture of whipped cream and hold its shape fairly well). Stir in a drizzle of Amaretto to taste.

Assembling: Cut shortcakes in half, top bottom half with dollop of whipped cream, top that with a spoonful or two of strawberry mixture, add shortcake top. Add additional whipped cream and strawberries as you wish. Garnish with mint (you eat with your eyes!).

Enjoy!

Reader question #1: What would you spike your whipped cream with if you were having strawberry shortcakes?

Reader question #2: How often do you organize particular rooms. I used to have a schedule, but now I just kind of do it as I have time. What about you?

{ 25 comments }

Thanksgiving Eve + Lemon Rosemary Thumbprint Cookies With Strawberry Preserves

by Diana on November 25, 2010

in Cooking & Baking,Dessert,Dinner,Doggie,Lunch,Recipe

For my US friends, it’s almost Thanksgiving time!

I have a fun new cookie recipe to share with you guys, but first…today’s eats.

I haven’t done a coffee photo in awhile, so here’s my cuppa joe from today. It’s a locally roasted coffee that hubby and I got from the farmer’s market.

Lunch was simply leftover spaghetti and foccacia from last night. I love how spaghetti is pretty tasty the day-after.

Re-heating fresh pasta tip: just drop the pasta into boiling water for 30-60 seconds till it’s warm again. It’s sooooo much better this way than using the microwave.

***

I ended up taking a half day today. I was ready for my holiday to start. I’ll probably wish I had my half day still when it comes time for Christmas, but I was happy to take off from work around 1pm today and get into a more festive mood with some baking.

I had a really special project in the works – an original creation utilizing rosemary and lemon.

The rosemary is actually from my herb garden. Woohoo!

I decided to try a new flavor profile for thumbprint cookies. I started by rolling my chilled cookie dough into about 1-inch balls.

Then I pressed an indentation into the top of each ball…thus the name.

The last step before baking is to fill the cookies with strawberry preserves.

I like the Bonne Maman brand, though I typically wait till it’s on sale to buy it.

While my cookies baked, I got ready for the day and snapped a couple Bailey shots.

I just love his little pawsl

Post-baking. These guys made my kitchen smell so divine!

Much like the dough balls, they won’t really brown much on top. You can tell they’re done with they start to brown just so around the bottom edge of the cookie.

I’m not typically very good at coming up with baking ideas (working on it, though), so I’m especially proud of this little concoction. I don’t even know where I got the flavor idea from…guess that’s what happens when you constantly brainstorm recipe ideas. lol

The cookies were so darn good I ended up eating 4 of them after they came out of the oven (with a little time for cooling of course)!

I think the recipe may possibly be better for a spring recipe…

…but who cares, right? To me, these cookies are good any time.

Lemon Rosemary Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Preserves

Makes 20 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 stick butter, softened/room-temp
1 egg (or flaxseed-egg)
1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped fine (this amount is for a subtle flavor, use more rosemary for a stronger flavor)
1 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 lemon zested
strawberry preserves (suggested brand is Bonne Maman)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix sugar and butter till creamy. (I used a handheld mixer, but you could probably just use a whisk). Add egg, rosemary, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix till combined.
Mix wet into the dry. Note: it may appear there is not enough liquid for the amount of dry ingredients, but continue mixing. It will form into a dough, it will just be a firm dough. See tips above for combining. Careful to not overmix.
Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes before forming dough into 1-inch balls. Press your thumb into the top of the dough balls to form an indentation. Fill each indentation with 1/4 tsp of strawberry preserves. Note: Be careful to not cross-contaminate your preserves. Don’t let the spoon you’re using to fill the cookies touch your preserves container. If you’re worried, move a small amount into a bowl separate from the preserves container.
Bake balls for 13-17 minutes, depending on how soft or crunchy you want your cookies, plus to allow for differences in over temperatures. Note: The tops will not really brown, but the bottoms will. You can tell your cookies are done if the bottom edges start to brown.
Let your thumbprint cookies rest on the baking sheet to cool at least 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Hello beautiful cookies!

I actually also baked some butterscotch dough balls along with this new flavor to take to a Thanksgiving Eve party.

(not sure what’s going on with my mouth but the rest of my photos from tonight look weird, too, so this will have to do. haha)

There was an insane amount of food at the party!

I normally try to get a bit of everything, but there was just too much! I ended up with some pasta salad, ham, a tamale (love!), cheesy baked potatoes, lasagna, and a roll.

I was actually so full from the savory eats that I didn’t dig too far into the dessert table. I had a Caribbean coconut cookie and some thin Moravian-like cookies.

Wishing everyone safe travels and fun times with your friends and family!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve friends!

And congrats to Kate and Nate on the birth of their adorable son!

What food item are you MOST looking forward to on the Thanksgiving table?

{ 16 comments }

I Can’t Believe I Like Eating This Now!

by Diana on June 10, 2010

in Article,Breakfast,Dessert,Dinner,Gluten-Free,Lunch,Recipe,Vegan

I LOVED reading everyone’s “I Can’t Believe I Used to Eat That!” foods. I think I was guilty of most of the same. lol

Here are some examples:

Diet Sodas
Chicken fingers (with a soup terrine of honey mustard!)
Fast Food
Hot Dogs
Ramen
Spagettios
Livermush
Snickers Ice cream
Fake parmesan

We’re much better off nowadays, right?! *high five*

I was thinking today, the opposite of “I Can’t Believe I Used to Eat That!” foods would be “I Can’t Believe I LIKE Eating This Now!” foods. Sure you used to love your diet Dr. Pepper, but did you ever think you’d LOVE brussels sprouts?! If you had told me 10 years ago that today I’d really look forward to eating a big plate of brussels sprouts, or kale chips, or tempeh, I probably would have laughed in your face. But here I am, and I’m eating healthy foods and finding them delicious!

I’m surprised I now like:

vegetables in general (I really do love them now but could care less for them when I was a kiddo)
tofu
tempeh (didn’t even know what this was until a couple years ago)
kale chips
spelt flour
quinoa
vegan and vegetarian entrees (I used to think I had to have meat in a meal for it to be complete – now I just want a protein)
non-dairy milks (almond, soy, hemp)
chia seeds
goji berries
veggie juices

What are your “I Can’t Believe I Like Eating This Now!” foods?

I started today with a big bowl of banana oats in my gorgey light turquoise handmade bowl.

The bowl also contained chia seeds, almond milk, coconut flakes, flaxseed meal and White Chocolate Dreams.

I used my last 2 farm-fresh eggs (from my first carton – I have a new one already!) to make lunch today.

On the menu: Toasted Wraps with Sloppy Scrambled (aka Hubby Scrambled) Eggs.

Where might the name come from? Well, one of the first things hubby ever cooked for me was scrambled eggs. They were easy and safe. I like scrambled eggs. I have fond memories of making scrambled eggs with my family. My parents would carefully crack eggs into a large bowl, add salt and pepper, and a dab of milk, then whisk everything together till the yolks and whites were well-mixed. Imagine my surprise when I saw hubby cracking the eggs directly into the pan! The horror! How would the yolks and whites incorporate properly? Turns out they wouldn’t…but I kind of liked it that way. There was something to that mix of yellow and white in separate, distinguishable colors and textures. I really enjoyed it.

These days, I switch between scrambling my eggs in a bowl or directly in the pan. I think each style has its own pros and cons, but the Hubby Scramble definitely means easier clean-up with one less dish to wash. (probably why I lean towards his method when I’m feeling lazy…heehee).

Sloppy Scramble How-To:

Step 1. Crack the eggs into a prepped pan (I spray non-stick in the pan) – don’t worry if the yolks break.

Step 2. Lightly stir the eggs so the whites and yolks are evenly distributed but not well-mixed.

Step 3. Continue cooking as you would regular scrambled eggs, flipping etc to ensure the eggs are cooked through.

Today I also used the same pan to saute some baby spinach.

I spread the egg onto two small WW tortillas, then added spinach, feta, and a wee bit of tomato juice. I think sun-dried tomato pesto or tomato paste would have been better, but I had the juice leftover from Sunday’s brisket so it seemed like a good idea. It turned out to be a bit watery…oops!

I wiped out the saute pan and used it to toast my wraps. I love that lightly crispy outside.

Beautiful colors inside! Tasty too! I loved the tender/crispy tortilla/wrap outside with the warm eggs and spinach. I think a cheese that melted better may have been more up my alley, but it’s nice to change up my flavors…I almost always do a more cheddar-type cheese with my eggs.

Nice and crispy and tasty dipped in ketchup.

***
This must have been a longer week than I thought. I ended up falling asleep on the couch for about an hour. I usually don’t nap unless I’m really stressed or sick/getting sick. I hope it’s not the latter!

My impromptu nap + an impromptu thunderstorm outside got me craving comfort food. I turned to some of mom’s soup stashed away in the freezer – Beef + Bean. I freshened up my bowl with some parsley from my herb garden. The soup was hot and cozy and hit the spot with brothy bites of tender beef and beans. So delish!

Plus a piece of buttered WW toast on the side. I love great bread with my soup. It’s so superior to crackers!

I decided dessert would be a good idea, too. Keeping with my comfort food theme, I thought a lovely berry crisp would be perfection.

I chopped up the last of my organic strawberries for tonight’s dessert. They were not as ripe as the others I’ve already eaten and weren’t looking their freshest. I figured baking them would help make them taste their best.

I busted out some Organic Tapioca starch to try out in place of corn starch.

Ingredients.

Fresh out of the oven. Gosh it smelled like heaven!

I enjoyed a big piece whilst catching the end of Part 1 of the Real Housewives of NY reunion. I can’t believe they have 3 parts! It must be juicy!

Mixed Berry Crisp/Crumble

Note: I like a lot of crumbly topping so I went a little heavy on the toppings. Serves 2. (vegan) (can be gluten free too if you ensure the oats and spelt are GF)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries)
1/2 tsp tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup oats (I used rolled oats)
1/4 cup spelt flour (or use whatever flour you have)
heaping 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup EarthBalance (or butter)
dash cinnamon (or 1/4 tsp)
pinch salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and prep a small baking dish (mine was 4 1/2″ x 7″) with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, mix berries, tapioca starch, and sugar. Pour into baking dish.
In another medium bowl, mix oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Use fingers to mix EarthBalance into the dry ingredients. Pour the topping over the fruit and use fingers to spread evenly.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is just browning and the sides are starting to bubble.
Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Remember to tell me your “I Can’t Believe I Like Eating This Now!” foods.

Can’t wait to see what you guys have to say about this one!

{ 21 comments }

Sunday Brisket

June 6, 2010

Compared to the rest of this weekend, Sunday was boooring. Breakfast was no-cook thanks to Kath who gave me a remnant tea loaf in Carrot Raisin. I ate most of the raisins but not quite all of them. I had a lovely slice with some hot coffee. For lunch, I made stuff from the pantry/freezer [...]

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Vega Sport Performance Optimizer Review + Breakup Recovery Week

May 4, 2010

Waste not, want not! I had half a leftover Flying Biscuit pancake this morning with more yummy peach topping, a fried cage-free egg and nice, hot coffee. I celebrated Starbucks Monday with a grande vanilla soy latte. I had to re-charge my card…using my Starbucks card gets me discounts on the syrup and soy upgrades. [...]

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Quick + Easy Hot Quinoa Breakfast Bowl Recipe

April 20, 2010

I made something cool this morning… Berry Breakfast quinoa! Nomalicious and so nutritious, too! Not to mention this is vegan and gluten-free! I was excited about both trying my quinoa in a sweet dish and trying my new Tempt vanilla hemp milk that I got on my massive grocery shopping trip last Sunday . I’ve [...]

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Vegan + Gluten-Free Mini Berry Tarts Recipe

April 18, 2010

We offered to bring a dessert to a friend’s cookout and what says summer better than fresh fruit? Since some of our friends are both vegan and gluten-free, I decided to try to make something that they could eat but something was also so tasty, everyone (meat-eaters and gluten-eaters alike) would still enjoy. I decided [...]