Christelle's Scones with Strawberry and Lemon (The best scone recipe ever)

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 cup white sugar + 1 tbsp sugar reserved
* 5 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins, dried strawberries, or whatever you want.
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon milk

*zest of 2 lemons, or an orange, or a lime, again whatever you want

strawberries and lemon are good, and blueberries and lime are good.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and sugar into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a cheese grater or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the currants or whatever fruit you choose. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Grate your zest into this mixture. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until mostly blended. A little flour not fully mixed in is about when you should stop. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!
3. With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. The dough is very sticky so just do the best you can. They don't have to be perfect. Place onto a baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Do not grease sheet, there is plenty of butter in the scones that will take care of the sticking and you may end up with burnt bottoms if you grease. Let the scones barely touch each other. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash, and sprinkle each with a little bit of sugar.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

I made this batch into 4 big scones and if you do that then they are 10 weight watchers points a piece. Ouch!!!

Dark Chocolate, Smoked Almond, & Sea Salt Bark

While enjoying a cup of coffee and a bowl of cherries one day with her son, a young woman (OK, not sooo young woman) STUMBLED upon a recipe that quite took her fancy. If your were a reader from the start you may already know about the woman's penchant for a certain dark chocolate, caramel, sea salt creation from a trendy store that's all the rage, I'm sure you've heard of it. That Trader Joe's. Well anyway, the recipe she found reminded her of those very chocolates. She thought perhaps even more extraordinary.
Out the door she ran, fur flying. She nearly took off the dog's tail with the door in her haste to get to the store!

OK, so really she waited for her mother-in-law to arrive, checked and double checked to make sure the baby had what he needed, put the dog outside (tail safe, intact, and still a dangerous weapon), and slowly backed down the driveway, hoping that she had remembered to put everything on her grocery list. The chocolate, almonds, and sea salt especially!!!
(Read to the end of recipe for the end of the story)

• 8 oz 53% Cacao Dark Chocolate Baking Bar

(I couldn't find this so I bought a 10 oz bag of 62% and used the whole thing)

• 1/2 cup smoked almonds coarsely chopped

(save a few to sprinkle on top)

• 1 tsp sea salt

2 hours and $175 dollars worth of groceries (for just one week!) later, the lady was back home and ready to tackle her latest desert.

Dark Chocolate, Smoked Almond, & Sea Salt Bark

It became clear very shortly that this beauty would take mere minutes. A major plus for a mommy with a 4 month old.

Melt the chocolate in a glass microwave safe bowl for 40 seconds. Stir. Replace in microwave, cooking in 10 second intervals, stirring between, until chocolate is almost but not completely melted. A little bit more melted than in the picture. The more you stir the chocolate the more it will melt. If you heat it too much the chocolate will seize up and you will have to start over with new chocolate. (I don't personally know how to save seized chocolate, or if there even is a way.)

Stir in the almonds.
(I added a handful of raisins to half of my chocolate mixture because I began to think that maybe something a little sweeter might break the monotony of all that salt and dark chocolate. Totally up to you.)

Spread the chocolate over a sheet pan covered with wax paper. Tap the pan to spread out the chocolate. (My pan was too big and its an 8 in)
Sprinkle with the reserved almonds and the salt.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.


When the woman removed the bark from her Frigidaire later that evening, broke the bark into pieces, and tasted her latest treat, she fainted right there on the floor, in the kitchen, and that is where her husband found her when he got home. With dark chocolate all over her face and a stupid grin from ear to ear.

The end!!!!!

Dairy Free Mocha Mocha Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This recipe does not come out tasting like coconut one bit. Its just as good if not better than store bought dairy ice cream. My ice cream maker is pretty small so if yours is a big one double this recipe. Also, if you leave out the egg, which is totally fine, this recipe is vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 egg yolk
1 13-15 oz can of coconut milk
1/2 cup or more strong coffee cooled
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp Nutella



In a pot that is not Teflon coated combine the sugar and the water and heat over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved. This is called a simple syrup. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the egg yolk. Add the coconut milk, coffee, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Whisk together. Return the pot to medium heat. You want to see steam coming off the top but you don't want the mixture to be boiling. Reduce the mixture for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a container and cool. Add to your chilled ice cream maker and churn as directed. When the ice cream is nearly done add the nutella and continue to churn so the nutella is spread throughout.
Please note that I did all these ingredients to taste so just add as much or as little of whatever you want until the unfrozen mixture tastes good to you. If it tastes good hot it will taste good frozen too. :))

Racheal Ray's Recipe Shrimp Scampi Bread Bowl.....

So last night I made my first RR recipe. I was pessimistic. For some reason I assumed that her recipes were shit. I don't know what gave me the idea. Maybe because she is a little foolish, and sometimes her recipes lack sophistication. Who knows? Anyway, I made "Shrimp and Bread Bowls" . Basically shrimp in lemon, butter, caper sauce, but this recipe uses anchovy, and clam juice. It came out really delicious. Very, very rich, but really nice. I added some leftover pasta that I had in the fridge just to get rid of it. The sauce was great for bread dipping. I didn't really follow her directions because if I would have the shrimp would have been very overcooked. Terrific otherwise. I recommend the clam juice and anchovy addition to any lemon, butter, caper sauce. I just wanted to share that.
You can find her recipe here

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=1625

Pasta Fagioli

OK, so I just saw this recipe and it looked delicious and I decided to try it. I do not claim any knowledge of Italian cooking. It is pretty yummy though, and jam packed with a ton of shit thats bad for you. Italian sausage, pepperoni, meatballs. It also has tons of stuff thats good for you. onion, garlic, peppers, fresh basil and oregano, and pasta and beans. Pretty hearty pot of goodness. Probably better suited for a winter day, not a 90 F day in the middle of the summer. Oh well. I'm sweating my ass off over a hot stove today. At least the end result is worth the work.

Ingredients

1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3 peppers (red, yellow, orange)
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
6 oz package pepperonis cut into quarters
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp basil
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
32 oz box of chicken stock
28 oz can of stewed tomatoes
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
10-15 frozen meatballs
15 oz can white beans
15 oz can chickpeas
1 lb small pasta like macaroni or these piccolini mini whatever the hell they are called


Heat your dutch oven over medium high heat.
Chop your onion, garlic, and peppers add to pot

In another pan cook your sausages.

When they are done and cooled a little bit, slice them and add to the stew.


Cut your pepperoni into quarters and add to the pot.

If you have it use fresh basil and oregano. Chop and add to pot.

This is how you should look so far. Yummy. I know you've already been munching on the pepperoni and sausage.

Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes to the pot. Crush the stewed tomatoes with your hands.
Let simmer for 30 to 60 minutes

Before you eat drain and rinse both cans of beans and add to the soup.

Cook the pasta.
To serve, pour the soup over the pasta in a bowl.

Italian Sausage and Broccoli Marinara Over Polenta

This was surprisingly delicious. I was, of course, juggling baby, dog, Kevin, laundry, and a million other things while I was making this so...no picture.
I feel that I have to share this recipe with you, picture or no. Why? Cause its yummy. Duh! Pretty easy too. I had never made polenta before. Easy peasy. I though it was some complicated crazy thing that only fancy people made but guess what...it's just cornmeal and water. Hullo! It's kind of like grits but thicker with a finer meal. I always add so much cheese to my grits that they turn into a brick they are so thick anyway, so polenta is right up my alley. I think I like them better than grits because of the thick texture, and no need to add a pound of cheese here. Alright, alright, the recipe.



1 pound of broccoli florets
4 tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1 chopped onion
2 chopped cloves of garlic
1/4 white wine
1 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp thyme
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
4 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 cups cornmeal

Now I just wrote in the previous post that I always like to use chicken stock instead of water where I can. Well I didn't try it with the polenta because I wasn't sure what was gonna happen because I had never made it before but next time I am going to do it with stock. If you try it that way before me let me know.

In a large pan cook Italian sausage until browned and cooked through.
About 10 minutes

Add onions and garlic to the left over fat and cook until translucent.
Add the wine and simmer. Return the sausage to the pan and add the tomato, broth, thyme, and 1 1/4 tsp salt
Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes
Add the broccoli and pepper and continue to simmer until the broccoli is done.

Meanwhile bring water and remaining salt to a boil. Pour in cornmeal slowly while whisking. Add the remaining olive oil and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently until very thick.

To serve make a bed of polenta on the plate and then scoop the sauce into the middle.

Enjoy.

Spicy Chicken and Chickpea Stew Over Couscous

So I don't have any cute pictures of the baby to post, or any pictures of yummy food to share with you. I have been making a new recipe every day but keep forgetting to take pictures. There was only one that was really noteworthy anyway.

Spicy Chicken and Chickpea Stew Over Couscous.

Pretty yummy. Kevin was impressed. Best reaction out of him to any of the new things I've been making, and I've been making a lot, so it must be good.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
8 chicken drumsticks
3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 onion thinly sliced
1 turnip peeled and cubed
2 tbsp tomato paste
(I didn't have tomato past so I actually used some cocktail sauce I had laying around)
1 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 cups chicken stock
3 carrots pealed and cut
1 15 ounce can of chickpeas
1/2 cup parsley chopped
Couscous
(However much you want, you poor the soup over it so its good to have a lot. I used two boxes of Near East flavored couscous. I think Parmesan was one and some pine nut one was the other. I just mixed the two. Yum. It wasn't quite enough though. You could do three boxes.)

In a big deep pan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Cover chicken liberally with salt and pepper.
Brown chicken well. 10 minutes. Turning half way through.
Remove chicken. Reduce heat to medium low. Add the onion and turnip and cook until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste, spices, and 2 1/4 tsp salt.
Cook for another minute. Add the 4 cups of chicken stock, the carrots, and the chicken. Bring to a simmer.
Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and the parsley and simmer another 5 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Meanwhile make your couscous as per the instructions. I usually replace water with chicken stock whenever I can and this is a great time to do it. Rice, couscous, anything that is going to suck up moisture will also suck up flavor so why use something flavorless like water when you can use stock.

Serve the stew ladled over the couscous.

Enjoy.

Blueberry Banana Bread Hmm...

I made this recipe I found for banana muffins a few days ago and I had so much other stuff going on that I completely forgot to put in the butter. I also added 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar that was not called for, and guess what...They were awesome!!!!! They have strudel on the top which is probably why. Anything with strudel is good usually. I also added fresh strawberries from my garden. They were really yummy. Today I am making them as a loaf instead of muffins. I am leaving out the butter again and changing the sugar to half cup brown half cup white because I think the extra brown sugar was good but maybe a bit too much, they were kinda sticky. I am also adding 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries.

OK. Lets discuss the outcome. There is a ravine running through the middle of my bread. It seems that all the berries dropped to the bottom creating a very soggy messy blueberry puddle, and the whole loaf is structurally unsound. Flavor wise the bread is good. Like I said, strudel, but the blueberries really don't add much. The strawberries were much better. I did cut it while it was still hot so maybe...ultimately though the strawberry muffins were much better. Maybe the batter just cant stand up as a whole loaf of bread, only in muffin cups. Wont be using blueberries again. Wont be using a loaf pan again. Will be using strudel and brown sugar though even though it makes it sticky.

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  

Strudel

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  (I forgot the cinnamon this time OOPS well see what its like)
  
• 2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven 375 F

In a large bowl mash up 3 very ripe bananas with your mixer

Add 1/2 cup white sugar

Add 1/2 cup brown sugar

Add 1 egg

Beat until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp baking powder. Mix until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

In a food processor if you have one, (if you don't just use your hands or a spoon but try not to overwork and melt the butter) add 2/3 cup brown sugar, 4 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbsp butter. Process until butter mixes into sugar and flour evenly.
Sprinkle over loaf and bake in oven at 375 F for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cubano Inspired Tamales

In lieu of actually having a picture of the finished product, which although tasty, was not the prettiest thing to look at anyway I have a picture of Danger Butt in his outfit for Kevin's sisters wedding. He was not amused.

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds trimmed boneless fresh pork shoulder or butt
2 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 onion quartered
1 carrot quartered
1 celery stalk quartered
1 bay leaf
salt
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup masa harina (corn flour)
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 crushed red pepper flakes
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium sauce pan cover your pork with water and stock.
Add your onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and peppercorns.

Simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender, but don't let it fall apart in the broth.
Transfer the meat to a bowl and once it has cooled shred the meat with a fork.

Strain the stock and get rid of the veggies. Over high heat reduce the stock to 1 1/2 cups

Once you have 1 1/2 cups of stock lower the heat to a simmer and add1/4 cup milk. Next, whisk in 3/4 cup cornmeal, 1/3 cup masa harina, 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, and 3 tbsp cilantro


Stir in the pork. Place in the freezer for a few minutes to cool the mixture down. When it is cool enough to handle for corn mixture into 8 ovals. Wrap each one in aluminum foil and steam over boiling water for 30 minutes until the cornmeal is no longer gritty.
Enjoy!!!

Happy Late Mothers Day Carrot Cake

I made this carrot cake with carrots from my garden. It was the first time I have ever used this recipe. I am used to carrot cake being a layered cake, not a sheet cake. I feel like the frosting layer for this cake was almost as thick as the cake itself and I didn't like this ratio. Also this recipe is not very spicy. It was good but I feel like it needed some clove or something. I think I may try another recipe next time. It tastes good, its moist and carrot cakey. I just don't think its the best recipe out there.
(The flowers and strawberries are from my garden too)

Hes not from my garden but hes growing like a weed thats for sure.

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

Add 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Add 2 cups white sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix in 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon

Add 3 cups grated carrot
(forgot to take picture sorry)

Pour into prepared pan.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.