Recipe: Colorful Summer Slaw

This is an easy, tasty recipe and a great way to get nutrition from some colorful, raw veggies! I'm not a fan of creamy-based slaws, so this is a great alternative. I didn't really measure with this recipe...I just shredded and sliced until my bowl was full! I have the rotary slicer/shredder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer which made the shredding pretty quick and easy.

Red cabbage, coarsely shredded
Green cabbage, coarsely shredded
3-4 Large Carrots, coarsely shredded
1 Summer Squash, finely sliced
2 Apples, coarsely shredded
4 Lemons, juiced

Shred and slice the cabbage carrots, squash and apples in a large bowl. Add lemon juice and mix well!

Recipe: Homemade Lemon Sherbet

This sherbet is the taste of summer! It reminds me of spending my summer days at the neighborhood pool with my best friend and snacking on lemon ice. I absolutely love lemons. If you love the taste of fresh lemon, I would highly recommend this recipe as a delightful and refreshing treat!

Lemon Sherbet (Makes 1 pint)

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Zest from one large lemon
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup raw sugar

Combine all ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Chill in refrigerator and process in ice cream machine.

So easy and so much better than sherbet from the store with yellow artificial coloring and who knows what else!

Little Alice

Jake and I did some spring cleaning last weekend. It feels so refreshing to deep clean during the first signs of Spring with all the windows open and the warm sun shining down. While I was crawling around the kitchen scrubbing the floors, I stopped to take some shots of our little kitty cat, Alice. She was laying on one of the bar stools.

She looks so fat in this picture!

 

Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Blackberry Port Sauce

Blackberries are my absolute favorite fruit. I wish I could have them fresh all year. I picked a ton of berries last summer and froze them to hold me over until this summer! I've enjoyed them in oatmeal, blackberry pie and smoothies. I found this recipe to use some berries and it is a keeper!

The blackberry port sauce is delicious. It could easily be used as a dressing on a summer salad. Can you tell I'm excited about the warm weather we've had lately?

I served the scallops and blackberry port sauce with mixed greens tossed with roasted walnut oil and fresh fruit.

Blackberry Port Sauce (serves 2)

3/4 cup Blackberries (If using frozen berries, thaw and drain completely)
3/4 cup Port wine (use sweet red wine if you do not have port)
1 1/2 T. Sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the blackberries, port, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by 1/3 and the berries are tender (about 15-25 minutes).  Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and puree until smooth (about 35 seconds). Set aside. 

Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops (serves 2)

1/2 lb. Scallops
2 T. Butter, melted
1 T. olive oil
Sliced bacon
Salt to taste

Cut bacon in half and bake bacon in oven at 400F for about 10 minutes, set aside. 

While bacon is baking, pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Dip scallops in melted butter. Sprinkle both scallops with salt. Wrap each with 1/2 slice of bacon. Fasten with toothpick.

In a saute pan that can be placed in the oven, set pan on medium-high heat with olive oil in it. After two minutes sear each scallop for one minute on each side. Transfer to the oven to broil. Broil, turning once, for 5-10 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Serve with blackberry port sauce.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Butternut Blondies

I love baking treats with vegetables like pumpkin cookies and zucchini bread. I've never baked a dessert with butternut squash, so I thought I'd try this recipe. The grated butternut squash, ground nutmeg and white chocolate were a delicious combination in these butternut blondies!

Ingredients

4 tablespoons melted butter, plus more for the pan 
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated butternut squash 
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour 
1 cup white chocolate chunks 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 1/2 teaspoons grated nutmeg 
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 
1 cup cane sugar
2 eggs 
1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; set aside. In a medium bowl, toss together squash, flour, chocolate, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. In a large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs together until pale and thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in butter and vanilla, then add flour mixture and stir together just until combined. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until just set in the middle and golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes. Set aside to let cool, then cut into 16 squares and serve.

The Last Train From Paris

Jake and I dressed up on Friday night for round 2 of the murder mystery dinner party, this time at the Meeker's house. Last time we did this, we hosted the 50's themed dinner party at our house. We had so much fun the first time that the three other couples decided to purchase a different theme and host a party too! The Meeker's got The Last Train From Paris. The evening took place in June of 1940. German troops were about to enter Paris and to remain in the city under Nazi control would not be pleasant. We were all aboard the last train from Paris to southern France.


Jake's character was a fighter pilot in the British Armed Forces. My character was a well-to-do daughter of a wealthy French perfume king. We had fun dressing up!

From left to right: Noel was a military swordsman of noble bearing; Erin was a journalist for a large metropolitan US newspaper covering the war in Europe; Dave was a mysterious distinguished businessman who traveled between Berlin and Paris regularly for work; Elissa was a royal refugee driven to Paris by the advancing German troops; Andy was a gangster who made a living in the black market of Europe; and Andrea was a fashion designer and owner of a thriving high-fashion studio.

Elissa made a delicious blackberry baked brie

The drink of the evening was champagne mixed with Midori melon liqueur.

Andrea made an awesome chicken marsala dish! We also had green beans, roasted red skin potatoes, salad and creme brulee.

Wigs started coming out after dinner...haha!

Love the hair, guys!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I made these delicious cupcakes a few weeks ago for my Sunday school class. I tweaked the original recipe quite a bit...it called for white sugar, but I used a mixture of raw cane sugar and maple syrup. I also substituted coconut oil for the vegetable oil and doubled the chocolate and carrots! The original recipe also made a TON of icing...since I was making these for my Sunday school class, I doubled the cupcakes and had just the right amount of icing.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

• 4 ounces white chocolate
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

 

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 1/4 cups cane sugar
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In small saucepan, melt white chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth.
3. In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate, vanilla, and orange extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Mix in heavy cream. Set aside.
4. Beat together the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl, and mix in the oil and vanilla. Fold in carrots and pineapple. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix flour mixture into the carrot mixture until evenly moist. Fold in walnuts. Transfer to prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before topping with the icing and sprinkling with remaining walnuts.