Tasty bran muffins

This recipe is a bit of an invention/adaptation. Here it is so I don't forget. I typically store 1/2 the batch in the fridge & the rest in the freezer. Microwave a couple for 20 seconds for an easy breakfast. 

Preheat oven to 400 and line muffin tins. Makes 24 muffins. 

5 c all bran cereal

2.5 c milk or buttermilk

Combine and let sit while measuring out the rest of your ingredients. 

1/2 stick butter melted (4 T)

2 ripe bananas mashed 

2 eggs beaten

1 T vanilla

1/2 c sugar

2 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 T cinnamon

1 to 2 c chopped fruit or nuts 

Thoroughly mix all ingredients and spoon into muffin tins. Bake 20 minutes. 

For fruit or nuts I like blueberries (fresh or frozen), chopped apple, dried cranberries or apricots, pecans. I made this batch with a bag of fresh cranberries which were excellent. You can also substitute canned pumpkin for the mashed banana. Yum. 

Here's the nutrition info for the recipe made with 2 c fruit added. 

Prickly pear jelly part 1

I've always wanted to make jelly from the prickly pear fruits but always seem to miss picking the ripe fruit. 

But this year we headed out to the ranch and managed to catch the tail end of the season. I haven't actually made the jelly yet, but at least managed to clean and process the fruit to get the juice. 

I scrubbed the fruit clean and cut each in half. I barely covered with water, and boiled for 30 minutes. At the end I mashed the fruit pulp with a potato masher and strained with cheesecloth.

Hopefully this weekend I will be able to make the jelly and can it. I'm thinking plain prickly pear jelly and also hot pepper. My dad has said that he remembers it not tasting like much. At least it'll be a beautiful color.

Healthy Pumpkin Struesel Bread - by popular demand!

I made this delicious pumpkin bread this week during a cold snap. Sadly it was so good, it didn't last more than 24 hours in our house. But, its not too naughty for you given the whole wheat flour and lower sugar.

Healthy Pumpkin Struesel Bread
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 in loaf pan.

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t allspice

1 stick butter melted
3/4 c sugar
1 c pumpkin puree
1 T vanilla extract
2 eggs

2 T brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Mix together dry ingredients (flour to allspice) in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl thoroughly combine wet ingredients until smooth (butter to eggs). Fold in and gently mix dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pan (batter will be stiff). Mix together brown sugar and remaining cinnamon and sprinkle on top.

Bake for 50-70 minutes - check for doneness with a cake tester. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove from pan.

Sea Ranch and the Mendonoma Coast

We had an awesome weekend trip for our dear friends' wedding at Sea Ranch on the Mendocino-Sonoma Coast. We weren't sure what to expect of this planned vacation community about 3 hours north of San Francisco - but it was gorgeous and we had a blast!

We had a long day of plane - train - car travel on Friday which culminated with us hurriedly changing into our rehearsal dinner garb in the parking lot since we were already half an hour late. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of our delicious dinner since we left the camera in the car, but I did have a life changing avocado brulee - avocado with caramelized sugar on top - wow! We also got to chat with lots of grad school friends that we (or at least I) hadn't seen since our wedding, so it was a great reunion. And we even made it to the house that we had rented with our friends J & K, without directions or an address, in time to sit in the hot tub.

On Saturday we were up early to enjoy the beautiful weather (NO FOG!!) with a hike at the regional park. The park is located on the Gualala River, so we got great views of the ocean as well as the river.

(oven) Fried Green Tomatoes

These were delicious & even TD loved them!

Not even really a recipe here - I mixed 1/2 C panko with 2 T Parmesan which was enough to cover a cookie sheet of tomatoes. Be sure to slice the tomatoes 1/4 inch thick - thinner = mush & thicker = tough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice tomatoes and arrange on a sheet pan. Sprinkle tops with panko mixture and bake for 15 minutes. Yum! I served these with some sour cream with a bit of parmesan.

What have we been eating around here?

We had several delicious meals of wild game - Alaskan Dall Ram courtesy of my father & brother. We had one large ham roast (about 3 lbs). Usually, we'd recommend to cook this low and slow - like a pot roast. However, we just marinated this (OJ, jalapenos & garlic) and then grilled it. Medium rare perfection!

We also enjoyed some oven fried green tomatoes with this. Recipe coming soon!

We also had these delicious sweet potato patties. They couldn't be simpler - boil 1 cup of lentils until soft (about 30 minutes) combine with 2 baked sweet potatoes. Add in some flavorings if you'd like - I added diced jalapeno & feta. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees or pan fry. Yum! We ate them as patties and also as burgers - shown here with mashed turnips & purple hull peas.

Coconut Panna Cotta

Continuing with this week's dessert theme - Coconut Panna Cotta

We had dinner recently with some friends who are allergic to gluten (him) and dairy (her). I made this just like my regular panna cotta but subbed coconut milk for the half and half. It was delicious. I topped it with some mango puree (one really ripe mango whizzed in the blender, which was plenty for 10 servings). It was delicious and a perfect summertime dessert with all the tropical flavors.

Coconut Panna Cotta
Serves 8-10

2 cans full fat coconut milk, well shaken
1/2 c sugar or other sweetener
1 T gelatin
1 T vanilla
1/4 c water

Grease 8 ramekins or a deep pie plate.
Dissolve gelatin in water and stir til well mixed. Set aside to soften. In a saucepan, gently heat the coconut milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Remove milk mixture from heat and stir in vanilla and gelatin. Pour into dishes. Refrigerate at least 4 hours until well set. Serve chilled with mango puree or berries.

Calories: 194, Carbs: 12g, Fat: 15 g, Protein: 2 g

(Paleo) Zucchini Brownies

I can't really get on with the Paleo/Primal eating thing. I mean, I am all for low carb, no white stuff - we eat about 1 meal PER WEEK that has potatoes/corn tortillas/whole wheat pasta - the rest is just meat, eggs, veggies and beans. We've also drastically cut down on fruit - we each eat about 1 serving per day.

But those beans? I love them. And lowfat milk? yogurt? cheese? love those too. So paleo eating isn't really for us.

But! These brownies are GREAT! (Although I make them with peanut butter so they aren't really paleo anyway). I bake them in a 9x 9 pan and cut them into 25 squares. They are pretty moist, so I store them in the fridge.

Better Paleo Zucchini Brownies (adapted from Fast Paleo)

1 c nut butter (I used peanut)

1 c zucchini shredded/grated

1 egg

1/3 c sweetener (the recipe calls for honey, next time I'll use brown sugar)

1/4 c cocoa powder

1 T vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

Stir all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed. Bake in a greased 9x9 or 8x8 pan for 25-30 minutes. 

Nutrition Info: Calories: 86, Carbs: 7, Fat: 5, Protein: 3

Old Fashioned Chess Pie

I had family visiting a few months ago and I wanted a one bowl, chocolate free dessert - I thought of Chess Pie, which is a very old-fashioned, Southern sort of pie. I went to my source for all things old-fashioned, The Pierian Study Club Cookbook from San Saba, Texas.

My Mom gifted me with this nifty volume containing all four editions from 1948, 1956, 1962 and 1994. My family on both sides are from this small town so its fun seeing recipes from family members and its interesting to see how the recipes change through time - there's a lot more I would like to make (and eat) in the earlier years.

Chess Pie is a perfect example:
The 1948 edition has one recipe - traditional (cornmeal, no lemon), 1956 has Lemon Chess, 1962 has four recipes - including one that calls for evaporated milk, dates and raisins (!!!), 1994 only has 10 pie recipes in total and no chess.

I went for the 1948 version from Mrs. Frank Sloan - Merne is my Uncle Bill's mother and at 90+ is still living on her own out in the country (and driving!). She is also an excellent cook.

Couple of typos - should be beat thoroughly (not heat) and should be 350 degrees - not 250.

Important note: For Chess pie all your ingredients should be room temperature. And I used stone ground cornmeal - would be better with regular yellow cornmeal.

I am not much of a pie person, but this is a good one - sweet and custardy with good vanilla flavor.

Plum Clafouti

A clafouti is a french dessert - sort of like a custardy cake. It is a very simple batter - milk, eggs, sugar, flour - poured over sliced fruit and baked. Traditionally its made with cherries, but any stone fruit or berry is good.

We're at the end of the summer fruit season around here, but there are lots of (California) plums in the market. For an impromptu dinner at a friends house, plum clafouti was a perfect dessert. These particular friends are gluten free, so I made it with almond meal instead of flour. First I wizzed the almonds in the food processor to grind them, then I added all the other ingredients and blended. The almond meal was a great choice and reminded me of a linzer torte. Because of the low amount of sugar, this would also make a great breakfast.

Almond Plum Clafouti


1/2 c almonds (or wheat flour)
1/3 c sugar
3 eggs
1 c milk
1 t vanilla
halved fruit to cover bottom of baking dish (I used about 6 plums)

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a round baking dish and arrange fruit to cover bottom and set aside.

Grind almond in food processor to a fine meal. Add sugar, eggs, milk & vanilla to food processor and blend until well combined. Pour over fruit and bake for 40 minutes or until edges are browned and center is set.

Fruity oatmeal cookies

These are tasty, and almost healthy enough for breakfast cookies. They end up chewy, not crunchy and - for this very lazy baker - they are mixed by hand.

Adapted from Cape Cod Oatmeal Cookies in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (hands down the best cookbook ever - if I could own only one cookbook, this would be it).

1 c whole wheat flour
2 c uncooked oatmeal
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
3/4 c brown sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
2 ripe bananas mashed
1 T vanilla
1/2 c melted butter
1 c dried fruit (I used a combination of cherries and cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Arrange by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets and bake until edges are brown - about 10 minutes.

Venison stir fry

I made this up with what I had in the fridge/freezer but it turned out really good. I marinated some venison round steaks in roughly equal parts soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and sriracha and quickly grilled them (3 minutes) in a very hot grill pan. I have this pan and I love it!

While the venison was resting, I sauted some cabbage with a splash of soy sauce and sesame oil. I didn't stir too frequently and used a very hot pan which gave a nice combination of crunchy and caramelized.

Once the cabbage was done, I sliced the venison, tossed them together with some scallion and was done. I ate mine with out rice, but rice would be good - especially if you serve with a little extra sauce. This was sort of made up, but I would definitely make again. The strong spices are great for the venison (and would be yummy with cheaper cuts of beef too).

Swamp cooler

Also thought about calling it gator blood...

Perfect for the steamy days we've been having (and will continue to have til October...).
Hibiscus tea, shot of gin, splash of St. Germain. The St.Germain adds a touch of sweet, but sometimes I add a little extra sugar. I just discovered pure fructose in the bulk section - its perfect for drinks because it dissolves instantly, even in cold drinks.

Pizetta

Quick and healthy - zucchini pizetta. My grocery store has these great flabreads in the bakery section - the keep for a long time in the freezer and are perfect for whipping up a quick pizza (and are a great standing for naan).

I lightly grilled some zucchini and topped the flatbread with a few spoonfulls of pasta sauce, zucchini, and a sprinkling of parmesan. Just 5 minutes under the broiler and its done. This would be great with all sorts of fresh veggies and cured meats. Yum.

Better than hummus

Roasted red pepper dip! Easy and delicious. Perfect for a light summer dinner when its too hot to cook.

In a blender puree one cup cooked red lentils, 1 cup roasted red peppers (out of a jar is good), 2 Tablespoons olive oil, garlic and salt to taste (I used 3 cloves and 1/3 t). Next time I'd use slightly less garlic, but this stuff is good! A half cup of feta would be excellent as well.

Now I just need some proper pita bread instead of these whole wheat tortillas (which you may have noticed also substitute for naan...).

Attack of the rutabagas!

I grad school I subscribed to a weekly CSA basket. I prided myself in eating all of it every week - even if it made for some pretty terrible dinners - back in those days most dinners either took the form of a burrito, coconut curry or stir fry served with peanut sauce.

I found out that the rutabaga was not appreciated when I came home from a trip to find this...

...and I was actually mildly annoyed that food had been wasted.

Thankfully my cooking has improved. I followed a combo of these two recipes. (both sites are great for authentic indian recipes with instructions that a gringa can understand). Here I substituted rutabaga for potatoes. Finely (1/2 inch) diced and boiling thoroughly gets rid of any bitternesss from the 'bagas. This recipe was a winner for me - vegetarian, healthy, and can be made with pantry staples. Its worth going to a good spice shop to get all of the spices - it makes all the difference.

Better (for you) pasta

I try not to eat too much pasta because it can be empty carbs. But its an easy week night dinner. I use whole wheat pasta and mix veggies in when I toss with the sauce. I usually shoot for equal parts veggie and pasta - and any mild flavored vegetable works - here I used zuchinni tossed with whole wheat penne in vodka sauce.

Fro-Yo

Since we got Prairie my activity level has about doubled - walks twice a day, throwing the ball for an hour at the dog park, etc. I think my body has noticed because I have been craving carb heavy foods and eating lots of ice cream.

Now I am a fan of everything in moderation and I had been eating each bowl with a serving of fruit, but ice cream is full of sugar and saturated fat and not exactly a healthy option.

Enter this delicious frozen yogurt. Easy, healthy and delicious!

I followed this recipe from Heidi Swanson of 101Cookbooks. It was so easy - a large container of whole milk yogurt, 1/2 c fructose and a generous dose of Mexican Vanilla. I wouldn't change a thing - though next time I'll make it with Greek Yogurt (which is already strained) and save myself a step.

Breakfast of Champions

Home made Muesli!

Easier, cheaper and healthier than granola. The recipe came from my friend AK. The main ratio is about 10 parts oats to 1 part wheat germ. I did about 3 cups oats and 1/4 c wheat germ in this batch. I used pecans, cranberries and blueberries.

3 c oats
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c nuts chopped or sliced
1/4 c dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, blueberries, cherries are all good)
1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400. Spread oats on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Check halfway through and stir if needed. After 10 minutes, sprinkle wheat germ and nuts on top and toast for 5 more minutes. I add the fruit for the last 5 minutes because I like it chewier, but if you like your fruit soft, then add it after everything is toasted. This is also when you would want to add any heat sensitive ingredients, like ground flax seed. Let cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy with milk, yogurt, hot or cold.

Best ever banana bread!

I have been making the best ever banana bread. The recipe is from the sadly extinct Gourmet Magazine - I substitute coconut milk for the creme fraiche, pecans for walnuts and make it with 100% whole wheat flour. Its SO good!