Coconut Chickpea Curry

This is delicious! Even my boyfriend who isn't a huge fan of Indian food

1 large or 2 small yellow onions
1-2 T canola oil

2 tsp garlic powder
1 T Tandoori spice blend (http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2012/09/whole-roasted-tandoori-cauliflower-with-mint-chutney/)
Salt to taste (about 1/2 - 1 tsp)
Cayenne to taste
Dash of smoked paprika

1 large tomato (garden-fresh or farmers' market preferred!)
1 cans chickpeas
1 can lite coconut milk
1 tsp honey

Saute onions in canola oil until tender and translucent. Add garlic, tandoori spice, salt, and chickpeas. Stir until chickpeas are covered and cooked slightly. Add tomato and stir again until all ingredients are well connected. Add coconut milk and honey and simmer over low heat for an hour, until all ingredients are tender and flavors are absorbed.

Add the spinach and stir over low heat until wilted. Serve immediately over brown rice. It's also great as leftovers, since the flavors have more time to combine and intensify.

Decadent Frozen Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt adds a delicious tartness and extra creaminess to this simple but decadent ice cream recipe.

 

Ingredients

3/4 c cream
1 c plain greek yogurt (I use 2% or 0% fat)
1/2 c milk (low-fat or non-dairy is fine)
1/3-1/2 c sugar, depending on taste
1 tsp vanilla or other flavor extract of your choice (I have rum extract and almond flavor on my list to try)

Chocolate ganache for topping (combine 1 part chocolate and 1 part cream, whisked together over the low heat until smooth and creamy)

Preparation

Whisk together all ingredients. Chill overnight and freeze in an ice cream maker. Voila--delicious!

Optional flavor boost: For even more vanilla flavor, you may want to scald the cream first with a 1/2 vanilla bean. You can also thicken the cream and milk with cornstarch over the low-medium heat before blending with other ingredients. If you do either of these things, be sure to chill the ice cream mixture long enough to get the mixture very cold (at least 12 hours) before attempting to freeze it.

Three-Layer Oatmeal Fudge Brownies

These brownies are delicious (and also dangerously addictive!). Whenever I'm asked to bake brownies for an event, these are the ones I make. The recipe is adapted from the Junior League Cookbook.

Ingredients:

Oatmeal Layer

½ cup                    all-purpose flour

1 cup                     rolled oats

½ cup                    packed brown sugar

8 tablespoons    regular salted butter (1 stick), melted

Brownie Layer

7 T          butter

2 oz        unsweetened chocolate

2              eggs

2/3 c      sugar

¼ t          salt (or to taste…I sometimes leave it out)

2 t           vanilla extract

¾ c          all-purpose flour (can also experiment with spelt or whole wheat pastry flour)

Icing

1 ¾ c      powdered sugar

4 T          butter, softened

2 T          milk, cream, or half and half

1 t           vanilla extract

To make:

For the oatmeal layer: Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Mix flour, sugar, oats, and brown sugar. Add melted butter and stir until well incorporated. Press mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. (Remember this layer will be cooked again, so it should not be completely “done” when you take it out.) Prepare brownie layer while oatmeal layer is baking.

For the brownie layer: Melt the butter and chocolate together over low heat or in a microwave and cool. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the chocolate mixture and flour. Spread brownie mixture over the baked oatmeal layer and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan.

Combine the sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy. Ice the brownies after they have cooled.

Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Buttercream

These are absolutely delicious. This makes a small recipe (about 18 small cookies), which is perfect for me. You can leave out the tea, and you'll have a great base for any type of shortbread cookie. Next time, I think I might try lavender shortbread...yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (preferably at room temperature)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (I used a mixture of whole wheat pastry and all-purpose)
1 tablespoon of Earl Grey tea, finely ground
a couple pinches of salt (to taste

For the frosting: I made a buttercream out of butter and powdered sugar. Buttercream is so standard to me that I don't even use a recipe anymore. But start with 1/4 c butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 T lemon juice, and then add powdered sugar until the frosting is sweet enough and the proper texture.

Instructions:

Cream the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and blend again. Mix the flour, tea, and salt together in a bowl, then blend into the butter mixture at low speed. Be careful not to over-mix, or you'll end up with tough and dense shortbread.

Chill dough in fridge for at least a half-hour. Slice log into disks of 1/4-inch thickness and bake at 375 for 8-12 minutes, until edges are just beginning to brown. (I always bake my cookies on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper, so you may need to grease the cookie sheet if you don't use parchment.) Baking time will depend on how large you decided to cut your cookies, so keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't overbake. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for up to 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Once the cookies are completely cool, mix the frosting and spread over each cookie. You can also frost them with lemon buttercream instead, which I think I'll try next time!

Homemade Deodorant

Is conventional deodorant toxic? Does it promote breast cancer? Depends on which "expert" you ask. I'm guessing that the connection to breast cancer is a bit less clear-cut than people make it out to be, but I found gelatin listed as one of the ingredients in my latest conventional deodorant purchase. That simply goes against my values as a vegetarian. In addition, there are tons of ingredients on that label that I can't pronounce, and even more whose internal effects I'd rather not look up on the Environmental Working Group's cosmetics ingredients database. I tried Tom's of Maine deodorant once upon a time, but it seemed to make me sweat more, rather than less, and didn't do much to cover up the smell. So, I've decided to make my own.

Here's my adaptation to this recipe I found online:

Deodorant Paste (paraben-free, aluminum-free)

1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c baking soda
3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1 tsp olive oil (up to 1 tablespoon, depending on how pasty or smooth you want your final product to be)
Essential oils of your choice to scent it (I did 3 drops peppermint, 3 drops spearmint, and 3 drops rosemary)

Mix all ingredients together with a spoon, adding the essential oils after everything else is well incorporated. If necessary, mix together with your hands to get it as smooth as possible. Add more olive oil if it ends up too pasty for you. Remember, the olive oil will just help soothe and smooth your much neglected underarm skin!

Here are some photos of the finished product. I chose to store my in an 8-oz glass jar that used to hold Ginger People brand minced ginger (which I am addicted to, by the way...):

Now, the question is: does it work? So far, so good (I used it today). It's definitely not something I want to use when wearing a little black dress to a cocktail party, but it seems to keep me dry in a t-shirt during the day-to-day shuffle. And not covering my armpits with toxins every day? I think that's definitely worth a little white mark every now and then.

Basic Seitan Recipe

Dry Ingredients:

3 c vital wheat gluten

¼ nutritional yeast

herbs/spices of choice (I use garlic and onion powder, oregano and basil, and crushed red pepper)

Optional for extra texture: ¼- ½ c finely minced vegetables

chickpea flour to stiffen batter as needed

Wet Ingredients:

2 c vegetable broth (add some salt or 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce if you use low sodium broth)

2 T unsweetened ketchup or tomato paste

2 T apple cider vinegar or other acid

½ c canned white beans

 

Instructions:

Mash the beans in a bowl until they form a paste. Set aside. Mix together all dry ingredients (except the chickpea flour) in a large bowl (leave out the beans). Whisk the ketchup, broth, and vinegar together until well blended. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and slowly pour the liquid into the well. Add the beans. Blend everything together with a fork until the mixture becomes difficult to stir, then knead it all for as long as you can stand to do so. The more you knead, the less doughy and more meat-like your seitan will be. You can adjust the liquid and gluten ratios as needed, based on how the dough feels, and based on your own preference for seitan texture.

Once kneaded, form the dough into logs or loaves of the desired size, and wrap tightly with foil (2 layers is sometimes best—the seitan will expand when heated and needs to be tightly confined to maintain its shape). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes to one hour, until the loaves are firm to touch but still spring back slightly when you press on them. Let cool on a cooling rack, then remove from foil and serve.

Here's a picture of the finished product. Not the most glamorous thing, I know, but it's good protein, a good source of B12 from the nutritional yeast, and it's much cheaper than seitan from Whole Foods!

 Note: I shaped this one into a log, but I also shape it into a loaf for easy lunchmeat slices. The little red specks are red kidney beans (which I used because I ran out of white beans).

My Favorite Recipe Links

These are a few of the recipes I've found around the internet that are delicious exactly as they are--wouldn't change a thing!

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/03/raspberry-coconut-macaroons/


Tandoori Spice Blend: http://mynewroots.org/site/2012/09/whole-roasted-tandoori-cauliflower-with-mint-chutney/

Weekend Pancakes: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Whole-Wheat-Oatmeal-Pancakes-241530 

Pesto: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/five-herb-pesto-recipe.html

Savory Zucchini-Ricotta Cheesecake: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/zucchini-ricotta-cheesecake-recipe.html

St. Patty's Day Dessert (Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes): http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/03/14/irish-car-bomb-cupcakes/

Honey Walnut Pumpkin Bread

I followed this recipe:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1461

Notes: I made the following changes:

• Added a dash of cayenne to the batter
• Used wheat germ, not oat bran
• Sprinkled 1/3 cup chopped walnuts on top, instead of added them directly to the batter. Next time, I might also sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar mix.
• Spread 1/4 of the batter into a small loaf pan and added chocolate chips to make pumpkin bars.

They turned out really well, and they're good for you too! I might try using maple syrup in the future for a slightly different taste/texture.

Cranberry-Wheatberry Salad with Chives

I found this recipe in an issue of Yoga Journal, tweaked it a bit, and fell in love.  It's a great salad to make on the weekend and have leftovers for lunch the next week.  I served it over a bed of wilted greens with smoked tofu.

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat berries (I use hard red)

2 cups water

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

large pinch of salt

1/3 cup dried cranberries, soaked for 6 hours in water, then drained

1/4 c chopped chives

1/4 c chopped parsley

freshly ground black pepper to taste, and a pinch of brown sugar optional

Place the wheat berries and water in a pot, bring to a good boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 40 minutes, until the berries are soft and chewy in texture, with no crunchiness left.  (Note: the original recipe called for 3 cups of water, and that was way too much!  I ended up having to drain the wheat berries like pasta.)  Set aside.


To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice, along with the salt.  Add the cranberries and mix well, then fold the entire thing into the wheat berries.  Mix in the chives and parsley, add pepper, and add more salt if desired.  You can serve immediately for a warm salad, or chill in the fridge before serving.  Either way, the results will be yummy!

Easy Weeknight Curry

I have never made curry before from scratch, but I just had a craving for it last night.  I decided to give it a go, and here's what I cam up with:

Easy Weeknight Tofu Curry

Ingredients:
2 tsp each fresh coriander seed and cumin seed
1 large sweet yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 potato, scrubbed and diced
1/2 lb asparagus stalks, chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
2 small-med tomatoes
1 block extra-firm tofu
2 T butter or ghee

1 can coconut milk (I used lite, but regular works too)
2 T your favorite curry powder
1/2 tsp of salt (more to taste as it cooks)





How to make it:

1. Toast the seeds in a fry pan with no oil, then grind up in a spice grinder or 
2. Melt the butter over low heat in a large and deep saucepan, and add the ground seeds to let the butter soak up the flavor.
3. Increase heat, add onions and potato, and saute until translucent.  Add garlic, stirring to get all ingredients covered in spice.
4. Add tofu and all other veggies except tomatoes.  Continue sauteeing and stirring until they start turning bright and colorful and softening a bit.  Then add tomatoes and curry powder.  Saute until everything is evenly coated with butter and spices.
5. Add coconut milk, salt, and more butter to taste.  Simmer for an hour or more--the more the better, because the spices get more and more infused the longer everything cooks.
6. Add more spices, salt, etc. to taste as it cooks.

Serve with rice, naan, etc. You can adjust the recipe to include any vegetables you want, use meat or paneer in place of tofu, or halve the recipe (which is what I did) My friend who doesn't like curry (which she didn't tell me until after we made it!!) thought it was absolutely delicious.  Go figure.  Oh, and it gets even better after a couple days in the fridge.  Dee-lish!

Whole Wheat Carmelitas

Carmelitas are an old standby in my family for a quick and easy bar cookie that everyone loves!

1/2 c plus butter, melted
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (plus freshly grated nutmeg to taste)
1 c oats
3/4 c chocolate chips (dark or milk will work; semi-sweet mini chips are my favorite)
1/3-1/2 c butterscotch caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients from butter to oats (including oats) until crumbly in texture.  Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 8x8 baking pan, reserving the rest for later.  Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden.  Remove pan from oven and sprinkle on the chocolate chips, spreading evenly.  Drizzle butterscotch evenly over the

Notes: you can always add nuts if you wish.  I'm just not a fan of nuts in my baked goods.  Also, I've found that using mini chocolate chips gets a better chocolate-to-crust ratio.

Reaching My Breaking Point

Sometime in the past few months, I started referring to myself as "recovered," rather than "in recovery." I didn't know exactly why I made the switch, or how I personally distinguished between "in recovery" and recovered.  What I did know was this: I simply couldn't see myself ever going all the way down the road to my eating disorder again.  Even if I were to have slip-ups along the way, I trusted in what I'd learned so far to talk about it openly, reach out for support, and stop the downward spiral.

But even with this fluid definition of recovery, I had had enough conversations with my treatment team and support people to start believing that I'd never fall prey to to even the thoughts again.  For me, "recovered" was beginning to mean being completely done with the eating disorder and constantly at peace with my body. 

So I was pretty shocked when I found myself fully engaged in an episode of actively using eating disordered behaviors during finals week.  Afterward, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  I was afraid to tell anyone, even my therapist.  Did it mean that I was no longer "recovered"?  Had I been fooling myself into believing I was doing better than I actually was?

Surprisingly, no.  Returning to ED symptoms was not a relapse or a failure in recovery.  It was simply a signal to me that I had reached my breaking point with stress, and it was my body's way of telling me that I was asking too much of it.  My mind-body-soul had reached the point where it was dealing with so much stress that it knew of nothing else to do but revert back to habits that used to comfort and distract me.


I have ultimately decided that the symptom episode will be no more or no less significant than I choose to make it.  And at this point, I've let it go.  I took it for the red-alert signal that it was, and I responded by adjusting my expectations of myself during that week.  I took it as a message that I needed more self-care, less self-judgment, and that I also needed to shift my expectations about how much I could accomplish.  I set my intention for the rest of finals week to frequently check in with myself and make sure that my personal needs were being met.  "Powering through" the stress simply wasn't an option.

Last week, I learned that recovery, like life, is messy.  I was reminded that no state of being lasts forever.  Mastering recovery, self-care, and learning to cope with stress in a healthy way is never really a done deal.  But in my mind, that's a good thing.  It makes life dynamic and exciting, and it gives me the chance every day to learn something new about finding that inner peace that I trust will always be available to me, as long as I'm willing to plug out of my old habits and plug into my heart.

What to Do With a half a Can of Pumpkin, part II

...or you can use a whole can, as I've discovered gives a richer pumpkin flavor to the soup.  Anyway, here's my curried pumpkin soup recipe, a new staple for me during the winter time!  If you are using the second half of a can of pumpkin, just halve the entire recipe.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

1 head of cauliflower

1 whole 15-oz can of pumpkin

1-15oz can lite coconut milk

2T olive oil

1 T red or yellow curry paste (flavor preference)

1 T fresh grated or minced ginger

1 tsp salt, more to taste

Steam the cauliflower until it is easy to break apart with a fork, and puree in blender until completely smooth (it will be a mashed-potato-like consistency).

Stir together pumpkin and coconut milk on the stove over medium heat.  Allow to come to almost a boil, stirring occasionally.  Add cauliflower and olive oil and heat again.  Add curry paste, ginger, and salt, and any other spices you think will add pizazz.  Serve or freeze until use.  It's especially delicious served on a cold winter's day with crusty rustic rolls to dip!

Chocolate Cookie Base Variation I: York Peppermint Patty Cookies

I found a fabulous recipe on Allrecipes.com for a chocolate cocoa cookie recipe that I've had fun experimenting with and finding all different ways to jazz them up.  The time of year is right for some minty chocolate goodness, so I decided to start with York Peppermint Patty cookies.

http://lifeasprayer.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/yorkpatty.jpg

Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
2/3 c good-quality cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
8-10 1-inch diameter York Peppermint Pattie candies, finely diced

Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350F and grease two cookie sheets with a generous amount of cooking spray.  (The peppermint will melt in the oven and harden the cookies to the sheets if they are not greased well enough).

Cream together the butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until pale tan and fluffy.

Mix together flour, cocoa, soda, and salt, and blend into butter mixture.  Fold in York pieces.  I prefer the pieces to be quite small so that they melt right into the dough and make every bite of cookie taste minty and delicious.  :)

Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, until puffed up and cracked on top.  Remove cookies from cookie sheet immediately to avoid sticking, and cool on cooling rack.  Then share.

What to Do With a half a Can of Pumpkin, part I

I've been trying to bake recipes with smaller yields lately, since there are only two of us at my house to finish them off at their peak. Since most recipes I find are for a 9x13 pan, I often have to convert. I decided to make pumpkin pie bars, and I started off with a couple 9x13 recipes, but then I ended up sort of inventing my own version for an 8x8 pan. They turned out delicious! This officially marks the first time I feel I can take credit for "inventing" my own recipe. If all the results end up like this, I'm going to have to do it more often!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 c oats

4 oz cream cheese (I always use neufchatel)
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
  1 c pumpkin puree (about half a can)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  For the crust , mix together sugar, flour, and baking powder, then cut in the butter (I just used my hands).  Add oats once the other ingredients are completely mixed.  Press 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of a greased 8x8-in baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust has puffed up and is slightly golden on top.

Meanwhile, whip together the cream cheese and brown sugar, then add the egg and beat until completely combined.  Add final ingredients and blend until uniform throughout.  Make sure there aren't any globs of cream cheese hanging out at the bottom of the batter.  Add more pie spice or sugar if necessary.

You can pour the batter onto the crust as soon as it's ready and the crust is out of the oven.  Then crumble the rest of the oat mixture on top of the pumpkin batter, spreading evenly over the whole pan.  Bake again for about 20-25 minutes.  I like mine a little firmer, so I baked them for 25.  Allow bars to cool completely before cutting and serving.  They go great with ice cream!

S'mores Cupcakes

I had half of a sleeve of graham cracks sitting on my counter one day, and I just up and decided I wanted to make s'mores cupcakes.  So I scoured the internet for a gelatin-free recipe that would strike my fancy, and I found it at http://annies-eats.com/2009/11/16/smores-cupcakes/.  I halved everything in the recipe, except for the frosting.  Enjoy!

S'mores Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 

For the cake:
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork.  Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom.  (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.)  Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine.  In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full.  Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I created my own frosting from a thick vanilla buttercream frosting (1/2c butter, powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla) and a half tub of marshmallow fluff.  I didn't have a blowtorch, but it's on my wish list after making these!

This recipe is definitely a keeper, and I'll have to make it again very soon.

Whoever put coconut in macaroons was wrong!

I've never been a fan of coconut.  I'm not sure if it's the texture, taste, or a little bit of both.  I have always steered clear of macaroons specifically because of the fact that I thought they always contained coconut.  Only last year did I discover that the original French macarons rarely, if ever, contain coconut.  They are actually an almond sandwich-cookie-type confection, and they're absolutely delicious: tenderly crisp and airy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, with a rich and decadent chocolate or cream layer in the middle.

These were my first try at making my own macaroons, so I stayed with a recipe that is about as basic as you can get.  Still, they turned out pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself!

Limoncello Macaroons

 

1 large egg white
14 oz / 400g almond paste
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55g confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus quite a bit more for surface and coating

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon limoncello, plus 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract or to taste (I like mine extra lemon-y and tart!)
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Beat the egg white, the almond paste, confectioners' sugar, and almond extract together either by hand or with an electric mixer, until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Add the zest, limoncello, and salt and beat until combined, another 30 seconds.

Coat a clean/dry surface with a generous handful of sifted confectioners' sugar then turn the dough out onto it. Shape and roll out the dough into two 3/4-inch thick logs, roughly 18 inches long. Cut each log into 24 equal pieces (see photo). Make sure each piece is entirely coated in sugar, tapping to remove excess.

Transfer to prepared baking sheets. They don't spread much so you can crowd them a bit more than you might with other cookies. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C degrees. Use three fingers to gently pinch each piece of dough to form an irregular pyramid shape of you like, or you can leave them pillow shaped. Another idea: cut out circular shapes with a small cookie cutter for sandwich cookies. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. [I followed the recommendation of baking until deep golden, about thirty minutes, and I thought they would have tasted better with less time in the oven.] Transfer the cookies from baking sheets to wire racks, and let cool completely. These cookies keep well in an air-tight container for a few days.

Makes 4 dozen bite-sized cookies.

Source: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/limoncello-macaroons-recipe.html

I found some Godiva liqueur in my cupboard recently, so my next idea is to try this same recipe with that instead of the lemon.  Mmmm, I salivate just thinking about it!



We served our macaroons with delicious, fresh homemade ice cream with raspberry puree from the garden.  They were absolutely perfect together!

Raspberry-Almond Poundcake with Chocolate Glaze

I realized I haven't baked in the longest time (traveling to China makes that difficult, I suppose!), and I had some fresh, organic raspberries that needed using.  This is what came of it.  I've had this recipe sitting on my computer for the longest time, and I can't even remember where it originally came from.  Most likely epicurious, but who knows?  Anyway, it turned out just as a poundcake should- rich, heavy with moisture, and full of flavor!  Enjoy!

Raspberry Almond Pound Cake

Ingredients:
3 Cups Sugar
2 sticks of real butter
1/2 pint sour cream (1 cup)
5 eggs
2 tsp. real vanilla

3/4 tsp. Almond Extract

3 cups Cake flour
If you don't have cake flour, use 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 to 2 cups of Fresh or Frozen Raspberries 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325.  Cream butter and sour cream together until light and fluffy. [I didn't have sour cream, so I used greek yogurt instead, subbing in a 1:1 ratio.] Add sugar and cream again.
Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla & beat again. Add flour & soda and mix until well blended. Carefully fold in the berries. Grease & flour a bundt pan or 2 bread pans. Fill pans, tapping side to release any air bubbles.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake sit in pan for ten minutes, then run a knife along the edges to loosen and turn out on a plate or cake dish.  Drizzle the glaze over the top, Slice and serve as is, or top with raspberries and whipped cream.

GLAZE (I made this part up...but it worked)
about 3/4 c powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (be generous)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2-4 tablespoons milk

Mix the coca and powdered sugar together in a small bowl, then add the vanilla and butter.  Use a fork to whisk together.  You'll end up with a strange-looking, crumbly chocolate mixture.  Add milk slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you want.  The glaze should be thin enough to pour onto the cake, but not so runny that it immediately runs down the sides of the cake and puddles at the bottom.

*Note: If making this cake again, I would probably use a deep, dark chocolate ganache to drizzle over the cake, rather than the chocolate glaze.  I've always got to have my chocolate fix!  Food network or epicurious have great recipes for ganache, and they're pretty easy, too.