Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

I love cauliflower but always seem to let it go bad before I get to it. This weekend I was determined, so I roasted 2 heads of cauliflower and then had to debate what to do with it. This pasta turned out to be a very excellent and easy choice. It makes the dish about half pasta half cauliflower so you feel like you're getting to eat a giant bowl of pasta even though it's actually half veggies.

The sauce recipe also makes a ton so I was able to freeze half of it and I'll pull it out when I need something to do with that head of cauliflower I bought with no plan.

Roasted Cauliflower:
2 heads cauliflower; torn into florets
2 tbs coconut oil
pinch of salt and pepper

For Sauce:
4 red peppers; roasted, skinned and cut
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 jar tomato sauce
1 lb pasta
cilantro and cheese for garnish, if desired

1   preheat oven to 425 degrees F and spread cauliflower evenly over a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Roast until brown, about 30 minutes
2   in a food processor blend cashews until it is a cashew butter, blend in roasted red peppers, water, and salt
3   bring large pot of water to boil, for the pasta
4   in a medium saucepan add the cashew pepper sauce to the jar of pasta sauce and heat
5   cook the pasta as directed
6   toss the cauliflower, pasta, and half of the sauce together in a bowl. Top with cilantro and cheese
7   reserve the other half the pasta sauce for another use

Foraging for the sake of ice cream

In spring the pines get bright green spruce tips that grow out of their ends. You can see them in the first few photos. Turns out they are edible! I wouldn't recommend just popping them in your mouth, they taste bright and bitter with pine notes. But if you use them in something they are subtle and fun. I really enjoy foraging and so I grabbed up a bunch of the little guys to try to make something out of. I made a simple syrup with some and then recently made some into an ice cream.

I started with meringues and some roasted rhubarb and then I topped it all off with some spruce tip ice cream. The colors together are fabulous!!

3/4 cup spruce tips

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

6 egg yolks (use the whites for meringues!)

1/2 cup cane sugar

pinch of salt

1   in a small saucepan heat, on low, cream, milk, sugar, salt, egg yolks. Stir constantly so you don't cook the eggs. When the mixture is hot and the sugar is melted (but not simmering or boiling) remove from heat and let cool to room temperature 2   toss the spruce tips into a food processor and chop well. 3   when mixture is cool add into blender along with spruce tips, blend well. 4   pour mixture into ice cream maker and process for as long as your ice cream maker says 5   transfer to a container and freeze

Easter Cake

I had a request for a gluten free cake with bunnies. I was teetering on how to make the bunnies when I stumbled upon these ridiculously cute, high quality, marzipan bunnies. I had to have them! Then I found licorice strips in this happy yellow that screamed "cut me into flowers," and I obeyed. I love the way this cake turned out, and I love that the bunny on top always appears to be looking up at whoever is looking at the cake.

Also I had enough cake left over, I doubled the recipe, to make a one layer cake to bring in to share with my GF coworkers. They are going to love me :)

Gluten-free chocolate cake

from here

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I use King Arthur Gluten-free multi-purpose flour)

1 cup cocoa powder

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

2/3 cup canola oil

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups water

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1   preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 - 8" cake pans

2   in a large bowl whisk together eggs, oil and water

3   in another bowl mix sugar, flour, cocoa, powder, salt, xanthan gum

4   beat dry ingredients into egg mixture 1 cup at a time

5   add in vanilla and mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds

6   pour into cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes, toothpick should come out clean

filled the cake with this caramel frosting

iced it in a vanilla rum buttercream

decorated it with white chocolate, marzipan bunnies, and a licorice I cut up to look like flowers

I snuck a duck on the back of the cake

Matcha cake with Rosewater pudding frosting

Matcha cake Monday! 

I've been wanting to experiment with matcha in baked goods. I love that it gives them a natural green color all on it's own. I also don't love overly sweet things so I felt like it would give a good earthy flavor while playing well with the almond and vanilla extracts. This cake was moist and amazing, big hit. The rosewater pudding frosting was a light simple flavor that played extraordinarily well with the matcha cake. Joshua declared it one of his favorite cakes!

I did some organic "sketching" on the cake with dried goji berries, bee pollen, matcha tea, and poppy seeds.

Matcha cake:

from Molly Yeh

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 cup flour

2 tbs cooking grade matcha

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

3/4 cup boiling water

1   preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2   grease cake pan, will make a sheet cake or 2- 8" cake layers

3   in a large bowl mix together sugar, flour, matcha, soda, powder and salt

4   in another bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, oil, and extracts

5   whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until incorporated

6   stir in boiling water

7   bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean

Rosewater pudding frosting:

1 vanilla pudding packet, make pudding ahead of time

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp rosewater

1   bring already made pudding from fridge and whip for a minute

2   slowly add in powdered sugar and whip

3   whip in rosewater

Borscht

I can't remember the first time I tried beets or borscht but I do know I'm now hooked. There is a Russian piroshky place near my office and I love to get a cup of borscht and a piroshky for a dreary day lunch. Besides being very delicious I also swoon over the perfect color of borscht. I've had a few helpings of other people's borscht recipes and this is currently my favorite.

 

 

1 lb. slice of bone-in beef shank; fat trimmed

1 onion; diced

8 cups beef broth

4 large beets; peeled & chopped

4 carrots; peeled & chopped

1 russet potato; peeled & chopped

2 cups thinly sliced cabbage

3/4 cup chopped fresh dill

3 tbs red wine vinegar

1/4 cup heavy cream

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

 

1   in a large pot brown the beef  in a few tbs of oil. After a few minutes turn over the beef and add in the onions. Let them cook for about 5 minutes

2   Add in 4 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cook until meat is falling off the bone - about 1 1/2 hours.

 

3   Once meat is cooked remove it and chop it into bite size pieces. At this point you can store the beef and broth in the fridge for the next day or keep on cooking. When you remove the broth from the fridge or continue on you should now skim the fat from the top of the broth.

 

4   Once the meat is removed bring the broth back up to a boil. Add in the beets, carrots, potato and the rest of the broth. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, beets should be easily pierced with a fork.

 

5   Once the beets are cooked add in the cabbage, beef and dill. Simmer for 10-15 minutes

 

6   Remove the soup from the stove and stir in the red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle in heavy cream, top with dill.

 

 

 

For small group last week, since our oven was out of commission, I made tahini puppy chow with chocolate covered sunflower seeds. This then made up the majority of my dinner that night!

 

Bee Pollen Sprinkles

 

Every year at my office we host a United Way Campaign. Every year I am put in charge of the bake sale and cake walk. Also every year we have to explain the cake walk to a bunch of people who aren't from the Midwest- what did they do at their elementary school carnivals!?!

 

This year I made sweet potato scones with maple glaze, candied ginger & chocolate shards cookies, & this chocolate cake draped in honey buttercream and topped with bee pollen. Bee pollen is the prettiest natural sprinkles ever. All different soft shades of yellow in the perfect little size.

 

 

Since no one was paying me for the cake I went with an easy but fabulous one bowl chocolate cake from here.

 

Honey Buttercream:

6 tbs honey

2 cups butter; room temp

8 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 tsp almond extract

4-6 tbs cold milk

3 tbs bee pollen

1   once cakes are cooled brush the top of each one with warm honey

2   beat butter until light and fluffy, slowly mix in all the powdered sugar

3   beat in salt, vanilla, almond extracts

4   drizzle in about 2 tbs honey and mix well

5   add in 4 tbs milk and beat well, if it needs to be thinner add in 1 tbs of milk at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

6   frost the cake any way you'd like and top with some bee pollen sprinkles

Fresh Mint Frosted Chocolate Cake

Last weekend was our friend James' Birthday. We started out the evening innocently with pizza cake and beers with a bunch of friends at his place. Mozied over to Seamonster which is a live funk band that plays at the bar all night. We danced around all night, drank some whiskey and twirled around a battery operated disco ball I brought. The disco ball was a big hit. Headed over to Dick's burgers to end the night. It was a bit crazy and a very great time.

The cake I made was a chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with a fresh mint frosting which was very tasty.

 

 

Fresh Mint Frosting:

1 cup butter; room temp

4 cups powdered sugar

3 tbs milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

4 tbs mint leaves; finely chopped

 

1   beat the butter until light and fluffy

2   slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix well

3   beat in the milk 1 tbs at time, beat in vanilla

4   finally mix in the chopped mint

 

 

 

photo by Molly Putnam

 

And last night we met up with our small group to drink some beer and get in a little scavenger hunt action. Got to spend some really lovely time with a lady who moved away and is back for a stint too!

 

Apple Pie

 

Saturday night I finally used up the last of the 40lbs of apples we had. I made an apple pie to finish them off and to provide instant gratification because we hadn't eaten any of the apples yet. (they are all canned) Also got to use the cute maple leaf cookie cutter I made which makes me happy. Our friend was over so we all ate apple pie and watched a few X-men movies as it poured rain outside.

 

The consistency of this apple pie was my ideal- crunchy but cooked apples, cinnamon flavor dominating a sugary flavor, and plenty of flaky crust. I topped each slice off with some homemade vanilla whipped cream.

 

Apple Pie:

recipe altered from this one

 

Crust

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

13 tbs cold butter

1/4 cup ice water

 

Filling

1 cup toasted pecans; crushed

8-10 cups peeled, cored & sliced apples

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs flour

2 tbs cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

5 tbs water

3-4 tbs honey

2 tbs butter; diced into small cubes

 

1    mix together and salt, cut or grate in butter until all the butter is about the size of a pea

2    add water 2 tbs at a time, mix together and add water only until it holds together when you make a ball. Gather half the dough and knead 3-5 times, cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge. Repeat with the other half of the dough
3   Mix sliced apples with lemon juice. In another bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, salt and spices.  Sprinkle flour mixture over apples and mix until they are coated.
4   Grease a 9" pie pan. Pull the first disc of dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface. Roll it out until it is large enough for your pie pan, test this by placing your pie pan upside-down on top of the dough- the dough should be about 2" longer on each side than the pan.
5   Cut the dough into a circle 2" bigger than your pan, fold dough in half, in half again, place in pie pan and unfold.
6   Press dough into pan and create top frill with your fingers. Sprinkle pecans into bottom of pan. Fill pan to top with the apple mixture. Drizzle on honey and sprinkle in the water. Push the butter cubes into the top layer of the apples.
7   Roll out the other dough disc and cut into desired shapes. Place over top of pie. Put pie back in fridge and preheat oven to 425 degrees F
8    Once oven is preheated bake for 20 minutes, then reduce oven to 375 degrees F and bake for about 40 more minutes. Check the pie after about half hour and if the edges or top start to brown to much cover lightly with aluminum foil.
9   Remove from oven and let sit for about 15-20 minutes

 

We also finally got around to brewing beer this weekend. Joshua tried out the wort chiller he acquired. Since he is back and forth to his machines for work he just happened to have the tube we needed to make it work!

Spiced Pumpkin S'more Cupcakes

 

Since fall is officially been infused into everything around me I wanted to bake up something with some pumpkin in it. I don't like pumpkin pies and I don't like cream cheese frosting so I combined a few things to make Spiced Pumpkin S'more Cupcakes. The pumpkin cupcake had the best texture and held together well so when you bit into it all the layers stayed held together. Also, any reason to use the torch and I'm in.

 

 

Pumpkin Cupcake:

from here

 

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1 cup brown sugar; packed

 1 cup sugar

2 cups butter; melted and cooled

4 eggs

1 can/15 oz pumpkin puree

 

1   preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake tin with liners

2   mix together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a bowl.

3   in another bowl mix together brown sugar, sugar, melted butter and eggs. Once mixed slowly add in the flour mixture and stir until smooth

4   mix in pumpkin puree

5    pour batter into cupcake liners until about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean

Chocolate ganache:

9 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

1   put cream in a pan and just bring to a boil

2   once boiling turn down heat a little and add chocolate chips

3   whisk them into the cream until they have all melted

4   once the mixture has cooled for about 5 minutes put the ganache into a piping bag with a tip on it. push the tip into the cupcake and fill until overflowing then add more ganache around the top of each cupcake


Marshmallow Frosting:

8 egg whites

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp white wine vinegar OR 1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla

 

1     put egg whites, sugar, and white wine vinegar in metal bowl

2     put water in a saucepan and bring to simmering

3     place egg white bowl in saucepan

4     constantly whisk the mixture, until the sugar is dissolved and egg whites are

       warm to the touch (don't cook the egg)

5     beat with a whisk, or whisk attachement until stiff peaks form

6     whisk in vanilla

7     use immediately, and pipe dollops onto the top of each cupcake

8     using a torch, toast the frosting until it starts to brown

 

 

Dressed up Pineapple Mousse cake

A coworker was kind enough to bring me a handful of rhubarb from his garden. I had seen images before of rhubarb pulled into strips and I've been dying to try it out. The result is crazy stunning! And since the pineapple is diluted with coconut cream I can eat big slices of it and not make my tongue angry with me. 

 

Dressed up Pineapple Mousse cake

adapted mousse recipe from here

crust recipe by me

rhubarb technique by Bernd Siefert

 

Crust: 1 1/4 cup pistachios 3-4 tbs coconut oil 1/2 tbs sugar pinch of salt   1    combine ingredients in food processor and beat until pistachios are well chopped 2    press flat into an 8" springform pan Mousse: 2 tbs unflavored gelatin powder 1/4 cup pineapple juice pineapple; cubed 3/4 cup sugar 1 1/4 cup coconut cream   1   in a small bowl sprinkle gelatin over the pineapple juice and let sit. Once absorbed place mixture in small pan and over medium-low heat until gelatin has melted 2   puree pineapple in a food processor and then combine gelatin mixture, puree, and sugar. Let sit out for about 20 minutes 3   in another bowl beat coconut cream until stiff peaks form. Gently stir a few tbs of fruit mixture into cream, then fold in the remaining fruit mixture. 4   pour mousse over top of pistachio crust and freeze for at least 2 hours Rhubarb strips: 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 4 stalks of rhubarb, best if they're long   1    with a y-peeler peel the rhubarb stalks into thin strips longways and set aside 2    in a saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil, stir until sugar is dissolved 3   lower to medium heat, a simmer, and place a double layer of paper towels on a surface nearby 4   place 2 strips of rhubarb into the simmering sugar water for 20-30 seconds, remove with tongs and set on paper towels. Repeat with remaining rhubarb strips. 5   reserve the remaining syrup for later use   Assembly: 1    remove cake from freezer and drape rhubarb strips onto top of it, they strips will stick. With kitchen scissors, trim any rhubarb that overhangs the edges. 2   brush the top of the cake generously with the reserved syrup 3   place in fridge to thaw for 10-20 minutes, if you're serving it later than this place back in freezer.

Asparagus pasta with Ricotta & Snap Peas

 

It's hot here. To hot to cook, also I'm feeling lazy in the cooking realm lately too. I found this little gem and it took about 15 minutes to prepare. It was delicious and nice because you don't have to even worry about keeping everything warm as it's meant to be room temp. Joshua loved it as well so win! I also love a good dish with lots of bright fresh color.

Asparagus pasta with Ricotta & Snap Peas:

 

2 cups  pasta
1 tbs olive oil
handful of fresh basil leaves; finely chopped
1 lemon; zest & juiced
pinch of salt & pepper
bundle of asparagus; cut off woody end ends)
large handful of sugar snap peas; slice longways
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

 

1    bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and put pack in pot. Toss pasta with olive oil and add in chopped basil, lemon zest, half of the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
2   in a cast iron pan cook the asparagus over high heat, turn over to get all sides lightly charred and tender.
3   serve pasta and top with charred asparagus and sliced snap peas. Finish off with a few generous dollops of ricotta. (it is meant to be served room temp or cold)

 

Inspired by a Donut

Ever since we were in Vancouver and had the Earl Grey Donut with Black Currant I've been dreaming of it. I'd already planned on making an earl grey cake next and the market near us so happened to be selling pints of black currants- Fate! This cake was delicious. The color and flavor of the berries was so lovely and the earl grey cake just took cake to another level. I had a lot of fun drizzling the pattern onto the cake, I'll have to try this again with other summer berry flavors!

Earl Grey Cake:

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tbs earl grey tea

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp ground earl grey tea (grind with a mortal and pestle)

12 tbs butter; room temp

1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1   preheat oven to 350 degrees F and then butter and flour 2 - 8" cake pans

2   over medium heat bring the milk to a gentle boil and add in the 1 1/2 tbs tea, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 7-10 more minutes. Strain out earl grey tea and set the infused milk aside

3   in a bowl mix flour, powder, salt, sugar, ground tea.

4   beat in butter, vanilla, and infused milk only until ingredients are incorporated

5   then beat in eggs until incorporated

6   distribute batter between the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, a toothpick should come out clean. Set cakes aside to cool

Earl Grey Tea & Lavender Frosting:

1 1/2 cup butter; room temp

6 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp earl grey ; ground 

1 tsp lavender buds ; ground

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 tsp almond extract

4-6 tbs milk

1   beat butter until light and fluffy

2   slowly beat in powdered sugar a cup at a time

3   add in milk 1 tbs at a time until it reaches desired consistency

4   add in earl grey, lavender, and extracts and beat well

Black Currant Glaze & Filling:

1 pint black currants

2 tbs sugar

2 tbs water

1/2-1 cup powdered sugar

1   place all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil

2   lower the heat and put on a lid, cook until the berries burst - about 7 minutes

3   remove from heat and push them through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, stems and skins

4   let cool and then mix in 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Continue adding powdered sugar until it is of desired consistency, you want to be able to pipe it onto the cake

I also filled the inside layer of the cake with the glaze

White Chocolate Cake with Rosewater Frosting

This cake was phenomenal. Initially I planned on making cupcakes but realized I was out of little cupcake wrappers, so cake it was. Turned out to be a happy accident because I even pushed off frosting it until that morning before I went to work and so I just ran off instinct decorating it and I love how simple it turned out. I also lucked out that the Putnam's tree was still flowering so I could place them around the cake.

The white chocolate cake was dense but somehow really light and fluffy. I know that sounds crazy but multiple people said the same thing. The flavor was subtle and just melted through your mouth. The rosewater frosting had a little zing to it with some added cream cheese and then I topped it with bee pollen, pistachio pieces, and white chocolate chips. I would totally make this again, it would be great for a baby or wedding shower, so pretty!

White Chocolate Cake:
10 oz white chocolate
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
2 tbs vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup sugar
8 tbs butter; room temp
4 eggs

1 preheat oven 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on the bottom of 2 - 9" cake pans and flour them
2   in a double broiler melt white chocolate and then set aside and let cool
3   beat butter until light and fluffy and then beat in sugar, beat in the eggs 1 at a time
4   drizzle in the white chocolate and mix
5   in another bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt
6   in another bowl combine milk and vanilla
7   slowly mix in 1/2 of the flour mixture, 1/2 of the milk mixture and repeat, don't overmix
8   pour 1/2 of each mixture into the cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean

 Rosewater Frosting:
1 cup butter; room temp
4 oz cream cheese; room temp
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp rosewater
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2-3 tbs milk

1   beat butter and cream cheese together, then slowly beat in powdered sugar
2   beat in rosewater and vanilla paste
3   beat in 2 tbs milk, and if the consistency is still too thick mix in another tbs of milk