Cake Fun

Recipes to come soon. These cakes are organic. The pasta has a 10 minute scratch basil sauce that is magnificent. By the end of the week my recipes will be here.

Princess Jewels Salad

I developed this recipe for Charlotte. A beautiful little vegetarian who I so admire for making these choices at age 5. She needed to try something and i don't blame her for not liking some of those packaged vegetarian meat substitutes. This salad combines TVP and lentils for protein and its so colorful and has a clean delicious taste. It can be done with or without the TVP. TVP is textured vegetable protein. Basically the aftermath of making soy products. This stuff is easy to cook and I feel an important addition for vegetarian diets. Especially the little ones who need substantial protein for growing. This travels well even in warm temperatures (picnic!)since no animal ingredients are lurking. It can be served chilled or warm. Important to toss immediately so ingredients suck up the flavor.



Makes 3-4 petite lunches 2-3 grown up
Tools needed

Medium Saucepan
Large Spoon
Small bowl for dressing
Medium bowl for serving
Whisk
Strainer
Measuring cups

1 purple viking potato diced
1/4 cup tvp textured vegetable protein
(http://www.bobsredmill.com/tvp-textured-veg._protein.html)
1/3 cup green lentils

for dressing
2 TBS Olive Oil
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
1 small Roma tomato chopped
s&p to taste


For dressing
Zest lemon and squeeze juice in a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil and S&P Stir in basil and tomato. Set aside.

In a sauce pan place approx. 4 cups of water and some salt. Add lentils cook until boiling about 5 minutes. When water is boiling add potatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes. When water boils again or potatoes are done add the tvp. Remove from heat and cover until tvp is cooked . About 3 minutes.
Drain water. Place in bowl.
Immediately toss salad with dressing and serve warm.

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

I love hamburgers, however nowadays I'm less and less of a red meat fan. The delicious combination of sun dried tomato and spices combined make this one of my favorites. I decided to use a combination of cheeses rather than feta, just to show that they too can fit the bill and still be perfectly melted!

Mediterranean Style Turkey Burgers!
One loaf Ciabatta bread
one lemon
4 cups arugula
2 roma tomatoes
1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
8 sundried tomatoes in oil
1/2tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
dash paprika(I know! secret ingredient)
10 pitted kalamata olives
1/2cup shredded coastal cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmigano reggiano cheese
olive oil cooking spray


For the Lemon Dressing
Zest one lemon place in bowl, then squeeze the juice into that small bowl. Add dash salt and crank of pepper. Take a whisk and beat in 1-2 Tbs olive oil or until dressing is slightly thickened. Set aside.
For the bread
Preheat oven to 400* Fahrenheit. Take loaf of Ciabatta and slice into 6 portions(yes burger will be bigger than bun but that makes it fun!)Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Mist a fine mist of olive oil on top of the bread. Let toast for 5- 10 minutes or until warmed throughout.


For The Burger:
Finley chop onion, garlic, olives add sundried tomatoes. Use a food processor if you have one. Remove mixture and place in a large bowl add ground turkey. Mix in salt pepper tarragon, oregano paprika. Separate into 6 patties. Spray a nonstick pan with oil spray. Heat it up to medium. Add 3 patties at a time. Flip over once then cover to allow the burger to steam. About 4 minutes each side. Right before it is ready to remove from heat add a good handful of cheese to bottom of Ciabatta roll. Top with a burger. Allow cheese to melt. Add sliced tomatoes, arugula, and drizzle with lemon dressing.

Apple Pie Two Ways

Apple Pie, an all American dessert. Who has never made Apple Pie? Well me, until last week. I have never really been a pie person. I only ever ate pies when it was Grandmas homemade pies at Thanksgiving. Other than that, commercial pies always had the chemical packaged super sweet bland flavor that I didn't care for. (same for cakes, I'll get into that another time) Last week my grandmother and I decided to bake two pies in two different fashions to taste the difference. The main differences are apple variety, thickening agent, flour vs. tapioca. Then you have fom scratch crust vs storebought packaged crust. Making apple pie is time consuming yet simple.

Grandmas Old Fashioned Apple Pie vs. Apple Pie Americana

Grandmas Old Fashioned Apple Pie
Bake time 50-60 minutes
Bake Temperature 400 Degrees Fahrenheit

Filling
5-6 small-medium apples (4 Granny Smith 2 Macintosh)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
dash ground cloves(pssst...dash =one quick shake of tinned spice container)
dash ground allspice
2 Tbs Flour
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
Pinch salt
2 Tbs butter for dotting

For Crust
2 cups flour
1tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
6Tbs cold water

In large bowl combine flour and salt. Cut shortening either using a pastry blender, two knives or pulse with a food processor.(For these techniques see ***Pastry Methods) Combine until the shortening is pea sized lumps or smaller. Add water one tbs at a time until it starts to combine.
Hand form into two round balls. Press down on each ball to have a flat round mound. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap or zip top bag to store each half in refrigerator for at least an hour. When thoroughly chilled, one at a time place pastry on a floured surface and roll out to fit 9"pie plate. Set one aside for top.

***Pastry Methods
Pastry Blender- $3.00 and up kitchen supply stores. a kitchen tool with several wires bent in a half moon shape connected by a handle used for making pastry! If you have this tool use it in a rocking motion and literally cut the fat into pieces while combining the flour.
Two Butter Knife Method- Free in your cutlery drawer! Using two butter knives literally cut the fat into pieces while combining the flour. This method is the slowest but is good for the frugal cook who doesn't want any gadgets collecting dust between uses!
Food Processor- $50 and up kitchen supply stores. If you have this pricey multi talented appliance, use it whenever you have the chance to. Food processor makes this an easy task. Unless you don't have a dishwasher. Pulse flour salt and fat until pea like consistency pulse while adding cold water. Be careful not to over pulse or turn on full blast. This may turn your pastry into shortbread!

Filling-

Step 1. Peel, core and thinly slice apples. In a large bowl add apples sugar, salt spices, lemon juice and 2Tbs flour. Should be a more dry grainy consistency. If soupy then you may need to add another apple.

Step 2. Pour apple mixture into prepared pie dish. 2Tbs butter cut into several small pieces and dot the filling. Top With second crust. Tuck the top crust 1/8" under bottom crust. Then using Thumbs and forefingers pinch the crust edges to finish.
On the top of the crust you may use a cookie cutter to cut out a shape or using a paring knife slice out a 1/2" circle in the center and use a fork to create vents. very important because the pie filling will bubble. Before its journey to the oven make sure to line the crust edges with foil to prevent burning. You may also brush melted butter on top to ensure a golden crust. Place a cookie sheet on middle rack of oven. Put pie on that sheet and bake for 40 minutes then remove foil to finish off baking. Allow pie to cool completely before serving. At least 2 hours.


Results: 5out out of 5 This pie came out decadent. I especially enjoyed the mix of apples, it added a complexity of apple flavor and texture. The filling produced a caramel like color and consistency and the apples were super tender. The pie crust was perfect contrast to the sweet filling. This is how I remember Thanksgiving!


Apple Pie Americana
Bake Time: 45-55 minutes
Bake Temperature: 400 Degrees Fahrenheit

Filling

5-6 Medium Granny Smith Apples
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tbs Quick Cooking Tapioca
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2Tbs butter cut into pieces

Crust
Packaged prepared crusts like Pillsbury brand Line 9" pie plate with one set aside other

Filling
Step 1 Peel core and thinly slice the apples. In a large bowl toss the fruit with sugar spices tapioca. Line a Pie plate with one of the prepared crusts.

Follow step 2 of first pie here.

Results: 3.5 out of 5 stars! Surprisingly the prepackaged pie crusts were perfect.They were simple and resulted in less dishes.They tasted homemade without the work. The filling had a slightly sticky consistency, almost pasty. The apples were tender but it seems that the tapioca almost coated the apples and prevented them to fully absorb its full pie potential. Other than the texture, this pie lacked the deep velvety Carmel texture that grandmas had.

Lessons Learned:
Pastry Blending Tools and Methods
Difference in thickening agents for fruit fillings
Prepared Crust vs. Homemade