The Homegrown Gourmet

POM Wonderful Pomegranate Dinner Party

2010-11-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

As some of you may have already read in an earlier post, I was selected by POM Wonderful to be one of one hundred hosts of a dinner party featuring POM Wonderful pomegranates. I have been so excited to finally get everything put together and posted.

Let me just take a moment before we begin with the photos to tell you that I will post the recipes from dinner party as well as a couple of bonus recipes that came about as a result of the preparations for the party. However, for the purpose of keeping the dinner party post cohesive, I probably won't post every recipe in this post.

Next, I'd like to mention that POM Wonderful sent the most incredibly generous party kit! I received tote bags for each of my guests which contained a coupon for a free 16oz. bottle of POM Wonderful Juice, a set of their chef series recipe cards and a "wonderful inside" bracelet. In addition to the guest tote bags, they also sent one for me which contained 5 coupons for free pomegranate juice, a really cool cutting mat with step by step directions for opening a pomegranate printed on it AND the cutest apron ever! Oh and lets not forget the TWO CRATES of fresh pomegranates. Yes...I did say two entire crates! I counted 58 pomegranates in all! Needless to say...we have done our share of picking seeds for the last two weeks!

Here is some of my POM Wonderful loot!

THE best apron ever!

A peek inside one of the pomegranate crates. Aren't they gorgeous?

Not to toot my own horn BUT...I am probably one of the best people they could have chosen to host a pomegranate party for two very important reasons.

1. I LOVE pomegranates! I am fascinated by the beautiful jewel like seeds,

their tart and sweet taste, the way they burst in your mouth when you eat

them and lastly, (and this leads us to reason number 2), they are

gloriously RED!

2. I am totally and unapologetically obsessed with the color RED!

My little brain went straight to work taking inventory of all the marvelous red things that I have with which to decorate. Unbelievably, I even had a set of beaded pomegranate christmas ornaments.

I decided to create my decorations in two different venues; my dining room table and the patio table by the pool. For those who don't know, you can still go to the beach during the day here so I was not too worried about an outdoor setting!

All this jabber when what you really want is to see the pictures! The perfect blend of bling (of which I have plenty) the gorgeous, shiny pomegranates made for an elegant and VERY red theme. See for yourself...

I began with a clear glass platter filled with a stack of polished pomegranates which I threaded through with strands of glass beads and there are also some battery operated lights hidden between the poms. The platter was set on an antique lace tablecloth and then wrapped with sparkling red tulle. Branches of berries were used to create some interest and a perch for my two fabulous red sequinned peacocks.

To add more glamour, I draped the chadelier with string pearls, added red globe candle holders which I wrapped with silver beads and crystals. Clear glass crystals were tossed about on the table. Small antique gold trimmed shot glasses were used as votive cups.

For the outdoor venue, I used my incredible "chandalabra" (tabletop chandalier). I just added some red crystals, used my cardinals with their feather boa tails, crystal candle sticks, beaded pomegranates and berries, red silk and fresh pomegranates interpersed into the setting.

Here they are...beautiful! I used some highly polished fresh poms woven in with the boa tail feathers of the cardinals. It was a stunning table!

We began the evening by sipping refreshing Pomegranate Spitzers until all the guests arrived. They are made with a lime simple syrup, freshly juiced pomegrante juice and sparkling mineral water. Garnish with some fresh pomegranate seeds (arils).

The menu for the evening:

Pomegranate Spitzers

Brie en Croute with Pomegranate Molasses

Butternut Squash and Rum Raisin Savory Pastries

This is a simple yet elegant starter made simply by wrapping a wheel of brie in layers of phyllo dough brushed with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until dough is browned and crispy. Top with a drizzle of warm pomegranate molasses and sprinkle liberally with arils. I made the pomegranate molasses myself and I will post the pictures and recipe in another post.

The second appetizer is also quite simple and utilizes won ton wrappers to hold a filling comprised of roasted butternut squash puree which has been combined with cream cheese, rum soaked raisins, pomegranate juice, chopped pecans, a tiny pinch of cayenne and topped with grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with some arils for a pop of sweet-tart goodness in every bite.

I have to say, the salad course was my favorite. This was quite simply...a marvelous salad!

Mixed Baby Greens are topped with walnuts candied in brown sugar and pomegranate molasses. The nuts are dusted with ground cinnamon while they are still hot. I made them ahead and stored them in an airtight container in the fridge. I also added some amazing ultra-white hard, mild goat cheese crumbled atop the salad greens. Of course, pomegranate arils were added to complete the salad.

It is dressed simply with a Honey Pomegranate Vinaigrette. I made the vinaigrette with 1/3 cup freshly juiced pomegrante juice, 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar, 1/4 cup saw palmetto honey, a couple of pinches of kosher salt and about 1/2 cup organic grapeseed oil. I also added a couple tablespoons of walnut oil for the flavor. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve. Dress the salads just before serving. Store unused dressing in the refrigerator.

Our main course:

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pomegrante Gastrique

Candied Sugar Pumpkin Wedges

Browned Butter Haricots Vertes

To make the Pomegranate Gastrique, I brought 1 1/2 cups sherry vinegar, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 cup fresh pomegrante juice to a boil. Boil until mixture is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups liquid and use to baste pork as it roasts. Bring the gastrique to a boil and serve the extra with the pork. It's amazing!

The little sugar pumpkins were cleaned, cut into wedges and basted with melted butter. I then grated fresh nutmeg over them and baked until they were nearly tender. In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter and add 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses and another 1/4 cup brown sugar to make a syrup. Toss in a couple of cinnamon sticks. Bring the syrup to a boil and pour over pumpkin wedges. Roast until they are tender. Baste with juices while pumpkins roast.

The haricots verts are lightly steamed and then flash sauteed in browned butter. They are seasoned very simply with some coarse sea salt.

I also served a drink with each coarse. For the main course we had Pomegranate Tangerine Iced Tea. Simply combine 2 quarts of freshly brewed black tea with 3 cups freshly juiced pomegranate juice and the juice of 3 large tangerines. Sweeten as desired.

This was a totally incredible drink!

Last but by no means least...dessert! Now everyone knows I never had a dinner party that didn't end with a killer dessert and this one is no exception.

Pears Poached in Pomegranate Juice and a bottle of 2007 St. Supery Moscato have been hollowed out and filled with a Pomegranate Mascarpone Mousse and drizzled with chocolate ganache. They are topped off with some chilled pomegranate arils and a drizzle of pomegranate simple syrup. I served it with a cup of Mulled Pomegranate Cider. This dessert was divine...truely the piece de resistance!

For those who have never tried opening a fresh pomegranate; I have a video tutorial available on my youtube channel. Drop by and check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDzxeLk-xrc

This party was such fun and I'd like to extend my thanks to POM Wonderful for the opportunity to participate!

The Great Gingerbread Project of 2010

2010-11-14T09:11:00.000-05:00

Here I am again...another two week gap between posts. To be honest, I REALLY couldn't eek out the time for it. I mentioned in my last post that there was a lot going on and I've got the pictures to prove it!

First of all, stay tuned! The photos, recipes and a video from my wonderful POM WONDERFUL party will be coming up this week. The dinner party is tonight and I have pulled out all the stops! I can't wait for you to see it.

Second, yesterday was the annual Christmas Shopping Extravaganza at my mother's church. We had a booth there selling some of the items that I made and cookbooks. This was an emourmous event by the way...95 vendors! There were probably around 5000 shoppers that came through.

The great gingerbread project of 2010 was to be the focal point of our booth. Granted, I try to make one every year but I usually don't make it till after Thanksgiving. However, this year I made it early. I'm just going to post pictures and let them speak for themselves. LOL...trust me, unless you are nuts like me, you won't be interested in the recipe or the instructions!!!

Here it is...in all of it's glory; standing 3 feet tall and weighing in at around

thirty five pounds.

back view...you can see, it is lighted -both the cottage and the tower. The "rocks" are chocolate rocks and the white capped waves are royal icing. The "sand on the cliff face is brown sugar adhered to royal icing while its still wet.

The railing and light cage at the top of the tower are made from piped gingerbread that had to be first tinted black. The process is a MESS! You take some of the already made dough (the dough for the entire piece is made at once and then smaller amounts are tinted or otherwise manipulated as needed), chuck a little piece in your blender with a spoonful of warm water and gel black food coloring paste. Add water one spoonful at a time until dough is the consistency of thick icing. Fill pastry bag fitted with a writing tip (sizes vary depending on what you are piping) and go to town! The easiest way to pipe your pieces and know that they are going to fit properly is to slide the pattern piece under a sheet of waxed paper and then pipe over it; rather like tracing a drawing. You then slide the patter piece over to the next clear area of the paper and pipe some more. Or you can just do like me and lay the pattern piece to the side for reference and freehand it. This isn't my first time at this particular rodeo however! The railings and light cage pieces are baked right on the waxed paper. The open window panes have also been filled with piped gingerbread BEFORE the pieces are baked.

Here is a closeup of my little cliff face with the rocks and some white caps breaking against it.

This close up of the tower shows how smooth the royal icing coat is on the buildings. My hand is NOT that steady! In order to "whitewash" an entire building you need to use what is known as "the flood technique" It's like coloring inside the lines really. It must be done BEFORE assembly.

The pieces are first outlined with thick royal icing in a pastry bag fitted with a number 1 writing tip. When flooding with dark colors, such as the red checks, do the colors FIRST. Allow to dry for 20 minutes before proceeding. When ready to begin coloring in the rest of the piece, place some royal icing in a small bowl and add water a spoonful at a time to reach a pourable consistency. Too thin will result in a frosting that is too wet though. It will still set but you'll be able to see through it AND it could warp your pieces from the extra moisture. When flooding, frosting should be about the consistency of corn syrup. It is also important to note that you are NOT painting the frosting onto the pieces...you are merely coaxing it into the corners. I try to pour evenly and as close to the lines as I can and let it spread how it will and then use a silicone pastry brush (so it does not leave streaks) to push it into the corners that did not get covered. You must do this within a couple of minutes of pouring however. It will form a "skin" within just a few minutes and if you touch it once the skin forms it will leave a bumpy imperfection in the coating. It helps to complete all detail work while the pieces are lying down in this manner. Especially on tall pieces like the tower of the lighthouse. I let flooded pieces dry for a FULL 24 HOURS before assembling them. You want that coating to be completely cured. By the way, this technique will also lend a bit of extra stability to really tall pieces of "naked" gingerbread.

Here is a close up of the piped railing and tower pieces. ALWAYS make twice as many as you need when doing delicate piped pieces like this. I guarantee that you will break several. The do not stick to the parchment at all when baking but they are very thin and brittle. It does not take much to break them. Here the cooled pieces are just stacked together on an extra sheet waiting for me to assemble.

This is one of the coolest techniques for making more realistic evergreens. Begin with a set of nesting star shaped cookie cutters. My set has four sizes. Tint some of the basic dough green with gel food dye. It's brighter and truer color than the liquid stuff AND it does not thin down your dough. You'll definately want to wear rubber gloves for this and simple knead the coloring in like you are playing with playdoh! Roll out the dough onto sheets of floured parchemet and then cut stars. The amount you'll make will depend on how many and how tall you want your trees. I had four trees on this piece. Two are taller and have around 25 cookies total. The other two have around 15. Make at least 3 or 4 of the largest sized star for the base of the tree and just proceed from there, making several of each size. BEFORE you bake the cookies, use a straw to punch out a hole in the center of each. Construction dough has no levening so it does not spread or rise. Your hole will not close up! Once baked and cooled you simple insert a bamboo skewer into the base (in this case mine was styrofoam blocks under all that sugar) and simply slide the cookies onto it in descending size order. Make sure that you turn each cookie a quarter turn so the points of the stars are between the points of the previous star. Otherwise the tree doesn't "fan" out. Glue them together as you go with blobs of royal frosting piped around the skewer before the next cookie is inserted. Finish with extra frosting for snow and add "colored lights" while the frosting is still wet. Allow to dry overnight and then snip off the skewer at the top of the last cookie. Tree tops are made with four triangles cemented together with frosting.

To make the snow "glisten", it has been dusted with micro fine edible glitter.

All in all, I am pleased with this year's project.

Here is my table at the bizzare. I had to finally put a "for display only" sign on the lighthouse!

Last Day To Vote!

2010-11-09T07:15:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder...I really need your vote! Please go to

http://www.moovision.com/gourmoo/episodeDetail.php?videoid=165

and vote for my entry: Creamy Pumpkin Polenta Two Ways.

Halloween Food Drive

2010-11-08T00:13:00.000-05:00

I know I mentioned before about the food drive for the Harry Chapin Food Bank at Around the Clock Fitness in Cape Coral. It was a great event and a lot of food was collected for the hungry.

It is difficult sometimes for those of us who are so blessed to even imagine that there are people right here in the United States, in our cities, our towns and maybe even in our own neighborhoods who go to bed hungry. It is hard to imagine that somewhere RIGHT NOW there is a mother who can't sleep because she doesn't know how she is going to feed her children tomorrow.

For us foodies who make our livings or pursue our hobbies with and around food this is nearly unthinkable. Sometimes I have to admit it...I'm ashamed of myself because I have made a dish for a post of a photo and it was never intended to be eaten so I have thrown it away. We've probably ALL done it.

Most of the Publix Supermarkets here in Florida sponsor food drives in conjunction with the Salvation Army or the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Granted they aren't going to take food that is already cooked BUT...nothing would prevent me from dropping it off at a local soup kitchen or rescue mission.

The fact is ONE in SIX Americans faces hunger on a daily basis and if you believe it only affects certain areas, populations or demographics you may be sadly and shockingly surprised. Statistically speaking, we probably ALL know someone who is struggling with or affected by hunger and we are not even aware of their plight.

In the 2009 report over 49 million Americans lived in households with food insecurity. Households with children reported almost double the rate of food insecurities as households without children. Those statistics appear to be increasing at an ever more alarming rate.

I know we all get on our soap boxes from time to time. We're always trying to save this and save that, free something, preserve something from extinction or whatever. Sometimes I think we just forget that hunger is real and it's not going away and we COULD do more. For myself, I plan on volunteering at Second Harvest. One day a week of my time at a local soup kitchen is not so much to ask really.

Please buy an extra can or two...especially during this holiday season. Many grocery stores provide drop boxes for non perishable goods and if you can't find one; go online and look up a food pantry, rescue mission or soup kitchen in your area. They won't turn down your help...no matter how minimal!

Aside from the benefit being for such a good cause, it was also a lot of fun! It gave me an opportunity to go out with a good reason to wear all black, have spider web stockings, a pointy hat and flamboyant makeup. Wait a minute...don't I do that anyway?? Some smarty pants commented on my facebook that I had not changed a bit since my high school senior picture....

Indeed!

"I'll get you my pretty...any your little dog too!"

Wicked cool huh?

"Oh...come in, come in! We like children. They taste good!"

"Get that water away from me....."

"Do you see this face? Do you even THINK I won't turn you into a frog just for the fun of it?"

Creamy Pumpkin Polenta Two Ways

2010-11-07T21:18:00.001-05:00

As is par for the course lately, I am behind in my posting. I feel guilty about this but until I can learn to squeeze a couple more hours out of the 24 we've got...that is just the way it is!

There is SO much going on that I feel like I can't do it all justice by trying to cram everything into one post so I'm going to take them one at a time.

First...last week I got an email from the folks at Lactaid asking me submit an entry in their Gourmoo Cookoff on http://www.moovision.com/

I was actually flattered that they found my blog on their own and invited me to participate, which I was glad to do! I use Lactaid milk anyway when I use cow's milk at all.

Here's the deal on this one...click on either of the links above and find my entry either under my name; Jill Anderson OR the name of the recipe which is Creamy Pumpkin Polenta Two Ways.

The contest entry video is only 3 minutes long however, I did record the full instructional video to post on my youtube channel. My husband is the director, editor and chief officer in charge of posting to youtube though so hopefully he'll have time to get it posted tomorrow. The contest entry is up though.

The recipe can be found on cookoff website and I will also include it on the youtube companion page on my blog once he gets it up. For now, I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Voting closes on November 9th so I would really, really, really appreciate it if you'd pop on over and vote for my entry!

BTW...part of this recipe is also going to factor into my POM WONDERFUL dinner party on Sunday, November 14th. I'll be posting all about that later!

Remember to VOTE at http://www.moovision.com/

So much to catch up on...

2010-10-27T01:30:00.000-04:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger...once again. I do apologize to my regular readers. The last couple of weeks have been a bit busier than usual and I find myself occupied with things all day long and never quite finding the time to sit down and write.

There are several items that I need to include in this post.

First: Thank you to Biren Rotinrice for my new award.

To recieve an award from such a lovely and talented blogger as Biren is such an honor. If you have not visited her incredible blog...please click on the link above and check it out!

Second: One of my favorite bloggers (I think he is one of EVERYONE'S favorite bloggers), Chef Dennis from More than a Mount Full tagged me a couple of weeks ago in the most recent round. I'm sorry I haven't had the time to get to the answers before now. But I suppose better late than never right?

Ok...Jeez, is this like truth or dare for bloggers?

Here are the questions posed by Chef Dennis (and approved by Mrs. Chef Dennis)

1. If you could eat anything without any health repercussions or guilt, what would your meal be?

I would eat mountains of rich, dark decadant chocolate...the darker the better. I would dip everything I could find in luscious melted chocolate...I'd fill my bathtub with melted chocolate and take a chocolate BATH...I'd...ok, the rest of this is probably TMI!!

2. If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be and why?

This one requires two answers: the dead one would be Salvadore Dali...call me weird,morbid or insane but the guy was SO strange (and talented) that I would just HAVE to meet him!

The live one would be Nigella Lawson...I love her! There is something remotely (or not so remotely) "witchy" about her. ;)

3. Why did you start blogging and what did you expect when you started?

Hmm...I started blogging with a different blog altogether because I just wanted a place to rant and say EXACTLY what I think about EVERYTHING with no repercussions. My thought was...if you like it fine...stay and read it. If you don't...don't let the door smack you in the virtual butt on the way out! However, I may have written 2 or 3 posts before I discovered that I was just bitching in the wind. I switched over to writing a blog about what I love the most...COOKING and FOOD. I don't really know that I expected get anything out of it other than an outlet for creativity. I am continually and pleasantly surprised by the warm, inspiring, supportive friends I have made in the blogging community.

4. What is the one book you could read over and over again.

Could and HAVE read Wuthering Heights dozens of times.

5. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?

I have the most overwhelming desire to stand on the White Cliffs of Dover and be transported back to the roots of my family. When I look at pictures...that land calls to me like I have stood there on the precipice in a hundred other lifetimes and gazed across the white capped waves. This image is my haven when I meditate...it is where I go. I stand ( as I have stood in my mind/in another life) there and for some reason, I am either wearing a suit of armour of a filmy white cotton gown covered by a long green velvet cape, billowing in the wind. My long red hair blows out three feet behind me...and I am always standing with my face to the wind...my eyes cast to the sea. I could go on...I have written many, many journal entries from this place. Though I've never physically been, I have always been there. Someday I will stand there ...in my armour or my nightdress...it matters not.

6. If you could have a TV show on the Food Network what would it be?

I don't know what I would title it but I know it would showcase vegan and vegetarian dishes. People have such a misconception about us wearing Jesus sandals, clothing that we dug out of a dumpster, unshaven legs and armpits...eating hemp brownies and living at Spawn Ranch, sitting around listening to "Charlie" sing Beach Boy songs. Most of us are not handing out flowers at the airport and trying to save the world one dehydrated kale leaf at a time...we are just eating the way we want to eat. Believe it or not...

7. What was the best meal you ever had?

Are you kidding me? I don't even know if I can attempt to answer this one without having my brain melt and run out my ears! Wow...uhm, I guess it would have to be something my grandfather made...anything he made (except glazed ham....long, funny store there) was incredible and made even more memorable because he cooked it. The man was a self taught culinary genius.

8. Who had the greatest influence on your love for food and learning to cook?

Definately have to say it was not a person but a show. Years ago, (in my early 20's) when I was a young mother and wife (barely more than a kid), I found a show on PBS...Great Chefs of America and I fell in love with cooking. OMG...I couldn't even leave my house if that show was on..LOL They had different series...GC of San Francisco, GC of New Orleans, GC of the Pacfic North West, GC of the South, GC of Americas Country Inns etc. I remember thinking how worldly and wise I was at 21 years old because I knew what a bouquet garni was...a bechamel sauce...gastrique....genoise....croque em bouche. My oldest daughter was just a baby and when she napped, I took the notes that I had scribbled so furiously during the show and spent the afternoon in my kitchen trying to replicate the dishes I saw on the show. I will NEVER forget the rush I got the first time I made the croque em bouche with it's golden spun sugar "crust" for a Christmas party when I was 22 years old. I felt like the most accomplished cook in the world because everyone was so impressed!

My questions for the next group of ~~victims~~ tags are as follows:

1- What is your "cringe" food and why?

2-You are on an episode of "Chopped" and your mystery basket includes a durian fruit, langoustine, panetone and a bottle of Jagermeister. Since drinking the jager and passing out is not one of your options...what would you make?

3- If you had to compare your life experiences to an episode of Doctor Phil or Jerry Springer...which would it be and why?

4- What is your most embaressing food-related moment?

5- If you were placing an ad on a singles web site what would you say about yourself?

6- Complete the following sentence with one word (the first one that comes to your mind):
The most important thing in life is.............

7. The sorting hat would probably send you to which "house".....Slitherin, Griffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff?

8. In your own opinion, what is your most admirable trait?

The following people are "IT"

Rick at Bittersweet
Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
The Mom Chef
Stella at the Witchy Kitchen
Victoria at Mission: Food
Nancy at Spicie Foodie
Alisha at The Ardent Epicure

Now for the third item: I'd like the thank the kind people at POM Wonderful for choosing my menu as one of the entries in the POM dinner party contest. I'm excited. I have a fabulous menu planned for six. The appetizer and cocktail course will be served on the lanai at dusk. I have marvelous della robia style centerpieces planned for both the tables. Dinner will be served in the dining room at 7:30 and we'll return to the lanai for a sumptuous candle lit dessert and after dinner drink. I can't wait! The party will be the second week of November! Look for the pictures and recipes.

Fourth: If you live in the Fort Myers, Cape Coral area...please come out to show your support for the Harry Chapin Food Bank and participate in our Halloween Party at Around the Clock Fitness. Yours truely will be decked out in her best witchy costume serving up goodies to the kiddies!

October 30th from 5:00-9:00 PM

All we ask is that you bring canned goods for the Harry Chapin Food Bank canned food drive!

Last but not least: Thank you to my girls at Profiles Nail Salon on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral! Client appreciation night and breast cancer awareness party was a lot of fun to put together. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this worthwhile event. Oh...we had our DIVA on that night.......yes we did!

PINK POWER!

Fight Like a girl!!

The Last Bite...Food Porn Inspired by Gaga

2010-10-10T09:59:00.003-04:00

Each soft, luscious mouthful of the silken Vanilla Lemon Flan played across the tongue; it's appeal only made stronger by the intoxicating scent of the lilac honey that dripped lanquidly over it's soft sides.

Alejandro's lips quivered expectantly as the spoon drew nearer, all the senses heightened in anticipation of the next sweetly sinful bite. He must wait; savor the tantilizing aromas of the sensual vanilla, the light playfulness of the lemon zest and the exotic, delicate nuance of the lilac honey.

She knows...senses his anticipation and lightly brushes the spoon across his slightly parted lips then draws it away with a sweep of her slender wrist. "I know that we are young....and I know that you may love me. But I just can't be with you like this anymore...Alejandro."

She laid down the spoon and put both her hands in her pockets. She won't look at him...can't look at him. She hides true love, en su bolsillo. She's got a dollop of custard on her finger around him. Slowly and deliberately she licks the sweet confection, a golden drop of honey left on the tip of her tongue...Alejandro wasnts to share it.

"You know that I love you boy...hot like Mexico, rejoice. But at this point I have to choose...got nothing to lose." And with that she picked up the spoon and slid the last velvety bite slowly into her mouth...letting it melt a bit before swirling her tongue around to embrace it's sweetness.

He opens his mouth and speaks her name in a tortured, longing moan... "babe" he breaths...

"Please...don't call my name, don't call my name Alejandro. I'm not your
babe, not your babe. Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch."

She pulls the cigarette from a sterling silver case and lights it with a soft flick of her monogramed lighter. "Here," she sighs, "just smoke this cigarette and hush but don't call my name...don't call my name. I cannot share with you Alejandro."

"Oh Alejandro...Alejandro. Ale Ale jandro...."

She leaves him standing there, alone and half naked with the stub of a cigarette in his mouth. One last drag and as he reaches for the ashtray to extinguish it, he notices the traces of her lipstick left behind on the filter...taunting him.

He turns his gaze to the empty dessert plate; sticky with the residue of lilac honey. He trails his finger through a small puddle and licks it ...just as she walks out the door.

"She's not broken," he thinks. "She's just a baby. But her boyfriends are like a dad...just like a dad. All those flames that came before me, gotta do some firefighting...cool the bad..."

One tiny fleck of the custard remains on the spoon. He cannot resist. The taste is exquisite. The cell phone in his pocket feels warm. He must call...try to bring her back. Try to convince her to make another custard. It rings...

When she answers he holds his breath, every nerve ending in his sleek muscular body tensed. "You know that I love you boy, hot like Mexico. But at this point I had to chose...the flan or you...and you lose."

"Please, don't call my name, don't call my name Alejandro. I'm not your babe, not your babe or your pastry chef Alejandro! I don't want to cook, don't want to touch...just smoke a cigarette and hush. Don't bother me Alejandro...

Fernando...Roberto or whatever the hell your name is.....just let me go."

All he has left is the memory of the Vanilla Lemon flan's delicate taste, the empty custard cup in his sink and one precious drop of lilac honey on his bare chest. He shivers...remembering...

Alejandro's dark eyes fill with tears. It cannot end this way, he thinks. His fingers ache to punch her number one more time but he knows there is no use...she is gone. He begins to despair, thinking he will never know that feeling upon his lips again. He will hunger...he will wither away from unrequieted desire...

Then he sees it; just the tip of a small green card sticking out of a partially open kitchen drawer. Curiosity and a glimmer of hope quicken him. With an unsteady hand he reaches out and glides the pad of his thumb over the drawer pull. Can it be, he wonders? Could she have left behind........

the recipe?

Alejandro's breath catches in his throat as he reads. The swirls and loops of her distinctive, seductive handwriting are unmistakable...they curve to form each letter, each word...enveloping you, mesmerizing you, leaving your body aching for... STOP IT STOP IT his brain cries! He must think only of the custard...

He must preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Then he must set out 4 individual custard ramekins, dip a pastry brush in warm, soft butter and brush it in each mold. As he spreads the warm butter over the insides of the ramekins, a memory overtakes him. It is a scarf draped over the night stand lamp, silk cords on the bed posts, rubber sheets, the current of the ceiling fan raising goose bumps on his bare flesh and her...hands, body..covered in butter...undulating...STOP STOP STOP...he MUST cook!

In a medium bowl he must combine...

1 cup of organic non-fat dry milk powder

3 tablespoons of Xylitol natural sweetener

2 packets individual packets of Stevia natural sweetener (a heaping teaspoons if using loose powder)

1/4 cup organic liquid whole egg substitute

organic liquid egg whites (Nature Valley) equivalent to 3 large egg whites

1 2/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (may sub 1 teaspoon of extract)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure lemon extract

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel

Lilac or Heather Honey for the top

lemon wheels for garnish.

He must whisk all the ingredients together until the dry milk powder and the xylitol have dissolved. Then Alejandro divides the custard evenly between the four buttered ramekins.

He places them in a 9x13 baking pan and sets them on the center rack in his oven. Then he pours hot tap water around them until the water comes halfway up the sides, taking care not to pour any water into the ramekins.

He closes the oven door to wait; 55 minutes. It is torture. The water bath has set his mind adrift again. This time to a hot tub, her wearing a dress made out of bubble wrap, stiletto heels...her HUGE eyes with their unnaturally large pupils and two sets of false eyelashes...making her look like a cupie doll. The nurses come and force her to drink her own bath water...and he waits on a big white bed. He is pretty certain he died that night...he remembers her coming toward the bed wrapped in a huge polar bear throw. She drops it to reveal a bra that spits fire..and he awakens from a strange dream in which she is lying beside his charred remains smoking a cigarette from the sterling silver case...and laughing.

The timer on the oven brings him out of his reverie. His head still feels a little full of cobwebs so he must be extremely careful when he removes the pan full of hot water from the oven. He must exercise caution...don't want another third degree burn ( like the time she wanted to play with hot wax and bengay).

Alejandro lets the custards cool to room temperature and them puts them into the refrigerator to chill for several hours. When at last it is time...he takes them out and runs a little knife around the edges of each, dips them briefly in some warm tap water and inverts them onto dessert plates.

The exotic lilac honey waits...he warms it gently in the microwave and then ever so slowly, drizzles two teaspoons over the tops of the custards. It runs over the sides and pools on the plates. He garnishes each with a lemon wheel and then stands back to admire his work.

They are lovely to be sure but will they taste like hers? Will they taunt and tease his tastebuds? Will they beckon him from sleep in the middle of the night to come and rescue them from the cold, dark confines of the fridge? Will he stand there naked in his kitchen, honey running down his chin? Probably...

Will he miss her? Not anymore.....

WAITER...there is a fly in my soup!

2010-10-08T23:49:00.000-04:00

Oh, everyone I am so excited to introduce you to the newest member of the menagerie that is my household! First let me explain...

My mother and I LOVE to go "picking". We do funky little artsy type shops, estate sales, quirky antique galleries, consignment shops etc. The more unique (odd) and bohemian (mismatched) things I can find...the better! There is my huge Moroccan bird cage, the vintage alcohol posters, ink sketches of flappers (actually authentic from the 20's), angels, Indonesian Buddas, Shivas, batik scarves for table cloths and couch throws, beads, fringe, bangles, antique rosaries, 5 foot tall carved wooden animals...well, you get the idea.

So...this week, I got a butler! OMG I love him!! We found him in my absolute favorite quirky little upscale interiors consignment boutique. I plan to make him a little wooden name tag and glue it onto his vest when I get the opportunity. Please...meet my new butler....Henri (pronounced "ornery" in our house!)

He's just a bit over 4 feet tall

By the way, on his tray...a split of the champagne, the one we served at our wedding, the glass strawberry salt and pepper shakers on the silver "vine" holder belonged to my gread grandmother. The small crystal flutes came from a friend of the family who died from cancer a few years ago. The copper topped "for two" casserole dish is a vintage piece that I dug up from somewhere...I don't remember though.

He's standing next to my kitchen table in the breakfast nook. Don't you just love him? He's signed on the back btw. Always a plus.

Oh...and we are just a few weeks away from Halloween and ya'll KNOW I gotta have some wicked halloween nails! My costume is ready..puple silk witch hat with a black mesh veil, large dark purple silk flower on the brim. Very long purple false eye lashes (for top and bottom). Obsidian ring, a black heart. Fish nets to go with my witchy stilletos. Very cool black dress with a crepe ruffle kick out in the front. My gym is doing a haunted maze and I'm doing a "healthy halloween" snack table for the kids. I have my cauldron ready...

There will be pictures but first...you MUST see the nails!

Pointer finger...dipped in "blood" and ring finger has a 3d spider with yellow stone eyes! The other fingers...are called Halloween Chaos.

Are these totally outrageous or what?

I grabbed the fringed edge of the black beaded scarf that hangs over the back of my living room sofa. It looked really cool woven around my fingers. I did have to have her cut my nails down though...they were twice this long...LOL

Vegan Pina Colada French Toast

2010-10-08T22:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been a terrible blogger for the last two weeks! Do you ever just need a break? That's my only excuse really. I just needed a break! Have no fear however, we certainly have not stopped eating just because I stopped posting about it!

Truthfully, I spent 9 days out of town with my husband's step-mother who has two types of cancer; Papillary Cirus Endometrial and Lung Cancer. It really wasn't the time or place to mess around in the kitchen whipping up something to photograph.

However, since I got home, I have been back in the kitchen...just not back at the computer! I spent most of the time that I was gone working on new menu plans for the next month. By the way, in case I have not mentioned this before; I am a total control freak plan-a-haulic. I don't recall whether or not this is a subject I've ever brought up in the blog but I'm quite good at that sort of thing. Much of my personal chef work has consisted of preparing menu plans for my clients based upon the dietary needs and or restrictions that they provide for me.

It is quite labor intensive to prepare a weeks worth of meals with their nutritional content AND provide a variety of good tasting dishes that meet a client's dietary needs. In any event, I've done it for myself for so many years that it was a natural extention to do it for others.

To begin with, I've really fallen off the wagon a bit over the last few months when it comes to certain ingredients! As a rule, I usually strive to make foods as healthy yet tasty as possible. Too much sugar and white flour have been finding their way into my recipes lately and I really felt that a exorcism was in order! The following are some of our "cleaned up" recipes from the last couple of weeks.

First up is a fantastic breakfast offering...Vegan Pina Colada French Toast.

Before I go into the particulars let me just say a word about the photos first. I am aware that there is a shadow; I'm not a professional photographer and my camera is a point and click. I have decided to stop worrying about whether or not my photos will garner praise or "clicks" because they won't...and that is okay. The recipes are the point. Clearly, readers can see that this is a lovely dish...crappy photo notwithstanding.

Secondly, I write like I speak. I'm frank, funny and literate. I may misspell a word here and there but that's more likely because of my fingernails than my education. My blog reads like a conversation around my dinner table and that is the way I like it. Thanks Lazaro for reminding me that ultimately this is MY blog, my ideas and my passion.

Whew...that felt good! Now to the recipe. My constant readers know that I am horribly allergic to eggs. I've actually ended up in the ER on more than one occasion thanks to those little devils. Consequently, many of the classic breakfast foods are out of the question for me. I may make them for the hubs and my mother but you won't find a bite of frittata crossing these lips!

I was messing around in the kitchen Sunday morning making my husband some French toast and it looked so delicious. I decided to take a stab at making a vegan French toast and to my great surprise...it actually worked and it was delicious. The bread I have used here is Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread which is a flourless bread. I really love it. This is a bread made from seven different sprouted grains. It is vegan but even though it is flourless it is NOT gluten free. Check out the website at the link above if you are not familiar with Ezekiel bread.

The recipe is really simple:

1 heaping tablespoon tapioca starch or Ener-G egg replacer
1 cup unsweetened organic almond, oat, hazelnut, soy or hemp milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*for this version I also added 1 teaspoon coconut extract but that may be omitted if you are not making the pina colada sauce

Put the starch or egg replacer in a shallow wide bowl and add the milk. Whisk to dissolve the starch. Stir in the extract/extracts. Melt some coconut oil in a skillet or griddle. Dip the slices of bread in starch/milk mixture and place them in the heated, oiled skillet. Cook over medium low heat until toast is browned; flip and brown on second side.

I also prepared a pineapple sauce to pour over top the French toast.

1/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 teaspoon tapioca or non gmo corn starch
2 tablespoons Xylitol natural sweetener
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

In a small saucepan, whisk starch with xylitol until mixed. Whisk in pineapple juice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1-2 minutes or until mixture is loses it's milk appearance. Remove from heat and stir in coconut extract.

When I plated this, I sliced the French toast in half diagonally and topped it with shredded unsweetened organic coconut and some fresh bananas and raspberries then drizzled it with this delicious pineapple sauce. I must say, it was wonderful!!

For lunch we've got a velvety smooth soup made with three types of roasted winter squash, coconut milk and vegetable broth and millet. This soup is so simple and yet so very delicious.

Three Squash and Millet Soup is comfort food to the max. The roasted squash is pureed to a smooth, velvet texture. The millet provides a healthy boost of fiber and protein.

6 cups of mixed peeled, cubed hard squash * I've used butternut, turban and kombucha

2 tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil

1 teaspoon sweet yellow curry powder

8-10 scrapes fresh nutmeg

6 cups organic reduced sodium vegetable broth

1/2 cup dry organic millet

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 cup organic full fat coconut milk plus more to drizzle on top

salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss peeled cubed squash with melted coconut oil, curry powder and nutmeg. Cover with foil and roast until squash is fork tender.

Working in two or three batches, place roasted squash in blender or food processer with 2 cups of vegetable broth. Pulse and until completely smooth. Pour into a 3 quart kettle with lid. Repeat with remaining squash and vegetable broth. Add the millet and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer very slowly until millet is tender; about 45 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and stir in coconut milk. Heat through but do not boi. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sever with a drizzle of coconut milk on top.

Not a very good picture...even by my standards but this soup is fantastic!

There will be more recipes forthcoming. My slump is officially over! By the way, thank you so much to my new youtube subscribers! I've got new videos ready to post that I HOPE we will get to this week AND...just wait till you see the next one! Its going to be a healthy pizza dip with baked pita chips!

To all my foodbuzz friends...please don't be offened if I don't comment on any of your posts from the last two weeks. I cannot believe how many posts I had sent to me while I was on hiatus...THOUSANDS! There is no way I can possibly go through all those. I'm just going to delete them and start fresh with your new posts. I'm sorry because I really do like to check out what all my friends are cooking but this is overwhelming!

You know you wanna.....

2010-09-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

VOTE...that is! Here is the link to my official contestant profile. You will need a foodbuzz account to vote but it takes 30 seconds to maqke one. You just need a user name and password...it's free too!

WHEW! Now I've got the public service announcement out of the way. I feel a little bit like one of those PBS hosts asking for donations. A 30 minute show gets stretched to three. You get 5 minutes of programming stuffed in between 20 minutes of asking for pledges.

Even worse...I've become one of those QVC gemstone hawkers.

Or (gulp)...heaven forbid; Vince, the "slap chop" pitch man!

"You know you wanna vote folks. If you "call" in the next 2 1/2 hours (cause you know we can't do this all day), we'll send you The Homegrown Gourmet for the next Food Buzz Blog Star. Oh and by the way...you'll get a leopard print Shamwow as a bonus."

Maybe you have figured it out by now but in case you haven't...I'm a little left of center!

Well, I have to tell you all about my very first time ever eating tempeh tonight. Yes, I was a strict vegan for 3 years and yes, I am primarily a vegan now (my constant readers know what my cheats are) but I have to admit, I was a tempeh virgin! Dang...there is a screenplay in that somewhere.

I am convinced that the main reason I never tried it was because I was given a samle of barbequed seitan in Whole Foods one day and as a result, developed a pathological fear of fake meat products. For all my seitan-lovin vegan friends...God bless you. I just have to say that was about the nastiest tasting thing I have ever had the misfortune to shove in my face! Imagine this....

+ MOLD

= fear and loathing of strangely textured fake meat products

I was too traumatized to try tempeh after that. The guy handing out the samples asked me if I wanted to also taste the teriaki tempeh and I about ran from the store in tears. Maybe that was just my eyes still watering from trying to swallow the bbq seitan! But, I digress.

I'm trying to broaden my horizons though (instead of my behind) so I bucked up and bought a package of coconut curry marinated tempeh a few days ago. It's been sitting in the fridge giving me the evil eye since Sunday. I took it out tuesday afternoon and turned the package over in my hand a few times before chucking it back in the crisper drawer behind a bundle of broccoli ...so the blasted thing couldn't stare at me anymore!

Tonight, I decided it was now or never. I was going to attempt to eat the tempeh and hope I would not need my stomach pumped afterwards! There was a recipe on the box for a stir fry with coconut milk and a bunch of veggies. I didn't follow it exactly. I haven't followed a recipe exactly since i was eight. Anyway, it was close enough for government work as they say.

I fully expected someone to have to call 911 after that first tenuous nibble. It wasn't nearly as horrible as I had expected. A little larger bite this time...just the tempeh ( no veggies on the fork with it). Okay...so far so good. The texture is a little off putting at first but I'm obviously still breathing normally and have not gone into tachycardia. One more large, well browned slice...by itself...Syrup of Ipacac and Alka Seltzer cocktail sitting within easy reach; barf bag ready. Nothing happened. I chewed, gingerly at first and then with a bit more gusto.

The outcome...I lived. I even remotely LIKED it after I got used to the texture. It tasted nothing like moldy Sponge Bob with bbq sauce. Did I absolutley love it...no. I think I may need to do a bit more experimentation and also use the plain (not pre-marinated). However, it is high in protein, low in fat and calories. The one I bought was also moderate with sodium and organic. I'd say if you are curious as I was, give it a try...you know you wanna!

Sorry, I have no pictures of the dish. I am in Ocala at my in-laws house all this week helping out while my father-in-law is out of town so I don't have all my junk with me. A colorful description will have to suffice.

Vote Today!

2010-09-20T08:47:00.001-04:00

Just a quick reminder to all my friends....VOTING BEGINS TODAY for the next food blog star! You must register at http://www.foodbuzz.com/ to be eligible to vote.

Just log on, sign in anf go to the Project Food Blog tab at the top of the home page. Look me up as The Homegrown Gourmet. I would REALLY like to win $10,000 dollars AND the bragging rights!!!

Click here to be taken to my contestant profile. Once you are there, you'll see a little yellow VOTE tab under challenge number one...JUST CLICK IT!! Tell our friends to go click it! You can also click the Project Food Blog widget in the side bar (it's the one with my picture in it).

PFB #1 A gypsy's tale

2010-09-16T12:54:00.003-04:00

View my official contestant profile here!

Here we are, on the first leg of the Project Food Buzz marathon. I've got my running shoes on and I'm ready to go! Competitions of any sort are like a red flag in front of a bull to me. As a Sagittarius, and the stereotypical overachieving perfectionist, if something isn’t challenging, it soon falls off my radar! As a die-hard foodie, I want the recipes to stand upon their own merit.

Maybe I should explain the gypsy thing. I'm not a nomad who roams all over in a wagon with my goats, chickens and belongings in tow, although I may LOOK like a gypsy!

Which do you prefer? The scarf-clad deer in the headlights or...

The silver bracelts caught in the wild red hair? This is who makes all the normal looking food you see on here. Please don't stop reading my blog now!

The gypsy thing started with my Serbian ex (late) father-in-law. He said I looked like the gypsies he remembered from his childhood in Yugoslavia. Even though I am a Tennessee girl, by way of Chicago, Kentucky and now Florida, my recipes may be from anywhere in the world. I guess that DOES make me a gypsy!

Were you to stand face to face and ask me, " who is The Homegrown Gourmet,” the answer might not be what you expect. I can tell you it has nothing to do with gardening, which many seemed to think initially. Do these look like nails that dig in the dirt? They are not fake...nothing about me is fake! Flamboyant definately but this is who I am.

The Homegrown Gourmet came about as a name for my catering business. I was also serving as Executive Chef for the Orlando based food cooperative, Get Green Organics. The emphasis of my catering was fresh, organic, healthy foods but it became apparent to everyone that I’d set out to prove you didn’t have to eat tree bark and live in a commune to enjoy real food.

I was asked to teach healthy cooking classes for a variety of venues; even being a featured speaker for Central Florida Veg Fest and Earth Day. Someone suggested that I start blogging to share my creative cooking ideas with others. It took six months for me to figure out what a blog was! I’m not the dimmest bulb, but I’m not the brightest one either.

menu from the Get Green Organics booth at Earth Day, 2009

The gardening question kept coming up so I finally wrote an article explaining that “homegrown” alludes to the fact that I am self-taught. It's also a nod to my grandparents; all of whom were amazing cooks. I am convinced that I inherited a cooking gene. I carry with me the memories of all the cooking entailed: heirloom recipes penned by a hand that was gone before I was born, the practical kitchen wisdom of generations, the funny stories of recipes gone awry, holiday tables ladened with the signature dishes of great- aunts. It is part and parcel of who I am and the family that made me.

The “gourmet” part might be delusions of grandeur. I think I’m a gourmet but whether anyone else shares that opinion is purely subjective. However, you find no cocktail wieners in a crock-pot concoction of grape jelly and ketchup on my blog! You will find a lifetime of dedication to learning who I am as a cook and what I deem worthy of the people who take time out of their day to read my posts.

bento without a box

vegan chicken-less chicken salad in whole grain pita

citrus rosemary chicken with herb garlic roasted potatoes

mango swirl yogurt cheesecake

The Homegrown Gourmet Blog is an outlet for the creative cacophony in my head. It may be a play on words that brings a phrase and a recipe full circle. It may be the strangest marriage of ingredients, cultures and anecdotes you’ve ever read. It is the musings of a middle-aged gypsy surrounded by her bohemian treasures and a well-stocked pantry.

Sometimes it is the salve for my emotional wounds which I share in hopes of soothing someone else’s. It has been both diary and a window into my life to the friends I’ve made in the blogging community. Most of all it has become the instrument enabling me to share 25 years worth of original recipes.

"skinny" yogurt panna cotta with triple berry compote

triple chocolate fleur de sel caramel brownies

last year's gingerbread mansion

If it seems a little quirky at times that’s okay because I’m quirky. If you find yourself laughing hysterically, shaking your head thinking, “that girl is nuts”, that’s even better. If you become inspired to get into your kitchen and cook, that is best of all! If you need of an invitation to dinner, give me a call when you are down this way.

Sunday dinner, rosemary and salt crusted, garlic-studded leg of lamb.

Let me gather my wits about me to convince the judges and readers that I am the logical choice for the next Food Buzz Blog Star. “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m the next FB Blog star and you know it too.” It’s catchy but not exactly compelling.

“Little Jillyan, when she wanted to bake,
went to her kitchen and whipped up a cake.

This cake was so lip-smacking good
she won the contest, like she knew she would.

The judges asked for a beautiful picture as well.
She forgot the flash…do you think they could tell?

She’s got mad skills when it comes to cooking;
doesn’t dip her fingers in the bowl when no one is looking!

(but she can't vouch for other people's fingers!)

What kind of food do you want today?
Shall it be from home or far away?

individual chicken pot pies

thai spring rolls with coconut lime dipping sauce

Shall it be something fancy with a snooty French name,
or snacks to nosh watching the football game?

Tarte aux tomates séchées polenta au fromage de chèvre et deux courges

guacamole and mango black bean salsa with organic blue corn chips

There is nothing too farfetched for her to try.
She’s an adventurous gypsy with spatula held high.

avocado fudge brownie with feta cheesecake swirl

individual walnut crusted sweet feta cheesecakes with gingered agave syrup

When end of day comes and the cooking is done,
she turns to her blog and shares what she’s done.

Food Buzz/Electrolux banana split challenge - all vegan coconut chocolate chip ice cream in pineapple boats

If it’s humor, great food and a slice of reality on the side,
The Homegrown Gourmet blog has got it and that cannot be denied!

NOTHING could be more humorous than this! I was obviously out on a day pass that day.

grilled eggplant with gremolata and fresh grape tomatoes is just good food!

and why settle for a slice when you can have the whole thing?

Serbian Rice Cake

2010-09-15T21:52:00.001-04:00

I wanted to get a rice dish posted for the Festive Rice Event on one of the newer blogs that I follow called Torview. For anyone else who is interested please drop by and check out the details.

http://torviewtoronto.blogspot.com/2010/09/festive-rice-event.html

The recipe that I am contributing is one taught to me by my late ex mother-in-law, Katarina Zahn-Djordjevic. This is a very simple recipe that she always just referred to as a Serbian Rice Cake. Calling it a cake might be a bit of a stretch since it's just rice cooked in milk that is combined with sugar, beaten eggs and vanilla. However, you do spread it in a pan and bake it like a cake and the resulting dish is cut like a cake.

It is only mildly sweet and the only reason I ever heard for this was, "Serbs don't like it too sweet." Maybe other families made theirs differently, I don't know. Often Katarina would make this cake in the summer when it could be served with fresh mascerated strawberries. She baked at night in the basement kitchen so the heat of the stove would not compete with the air conditioning in the upstairs kitchen. By morning, the rice cake would be cold and was just perfect for a hot Chicago summer morning! It was always one of my favorite breakfasts. Of course, you can eat it anytime of the day that you like!

There is no flour in this cake and so it is gluten-free. It has been years since I've made one and even more years since I've eaten any. Some years ago I developed a severe allergy to eggs. It was pure torture to smell that thing baking knowing that I couldn't eat any!

Serbian Rice Cake

2 1/2 cups organic 1% milk
1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed
pinch of kosher salt
6 tablespoons unbleached granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 whole extra large cage free eggs, separated

Place the rice, milk and kosher salt in a 1 quart saucepan with lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender and all milk has been absorbed. Turn rice out into a large bowl, fluff with a fork and allow to cool completely.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a quarter sheet cake pan (approximately 9 x 13 x 2) and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Beat in sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture is about double in bulk and pale yellow. Beat in vanilla extract. With a spoon or spatula, stir this mixture into the cooled rice until well blended and no clumps remain in the rice.

3. In a clean bowl with clean beaters; beat egg whites until triple in volume and stiff peaks have formed. Fold one third of the egg whites into the rice and egg yolk mixture to lighten it. Quickly and carefully fold in the remaining egg white until no white streaks remain. Take care not to stir all the air out of your whites!

4. Turn mixture out into prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula until even. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can serve this warm but it is really best at room temperature or cold. I like to top mine with mascerated strawberries but peaches are great too. It's soooo easy...but so good!

Look at the beautiful, airy texture of this cake.

I have to comment on the figurine in the background. This is a WWll era Hummel called "Barnyard Friends"...released in 1943 when Hummel and Goebbel figurines were still made at the same facility in Austria.

It bears the trademark seal of this period and Goebbel's signature "bird in flight" mark. It is a first edition firing...number 195. It was given to me by my late ex-mother-in-law. There is an amazing story behind how he came to survive moving, bombing raids and eventually more than 40 years in an old steamer trunk...without so much as a scratch! He belonged to Katarina's sister Raizee who never immigrated to America. When she passed away, two steamer trunks were delivered to my mother-in-law in Chicago...left to her by her late sister. He was in there...wrapped in layers of brittle paper and yellowed hand-made lace. There were the crocheted collars and cuffs from her sister's "wedding costume" as they called it. Other little trinkets and baubles were in there as well...but this guy...he was the coup de grace!

Look at the amazing details on his little face! Most of the year he stays securely behind glass in one of my china cabinets but I always take him out where he can be seen better during the fall. I guess it's just the colors on his clothing. Don't worry...there are no children around my house! He would be under lock and key if there were!

It is pretty incredible to hold something like this in your hand and know that it was in Berlin when Germany surrendered to the allies and the war was officially ended. It's amazing to think he endured blackouts and shelling and somehow, he survives...over 60 years later. His cheeks are still rosy and he hasn't a care in the world. My mother in law always said he reminded her of the childhood they should have had. When I hold this little guy in my hand, I imagine (or maybe it isn't my imagination) an odd energy that comes from him...through him. He speaks of the past, of war, of deprivation, of 40 years when he never saw the light of day, of his trip across the ocean in the cargo hold of a ship. I know he's old and valuable and I SHOULD probably have him put away...but somehow I just don't have the heart.

Sticks and Leaves

2010-09-12T23:08:00.000-04:00

At this time of year, I always miss the mountains of East Tennessee where I grew up. There is simply nothing like the crisp fall air, the perfect blue canvas of sky dotted with puffs of cotton-ball clouds, the scent and site of magestic trees cloaked in all their autumnal glory. Okay, maybe I'm rushing things a bit...but not much. By October the Smokies are coming into their full glory!

Don't get me wrong, I adore Florida and at my advanced age and state of deterioration...I'd probably have to LIVE wrapped up in a Leopard Print Snuggy with some of those thermal socks that you heat in the microwave were I to move any further north than Savannah Georgia. However, I have fond memories of raking the leaves in my grandmother's yard into an enourmous mound and then diving into them over and over.

I was the only granddaughter in a family full of stinky old boys and I lived in a fantasy world where I was the princess with fall leaves stuck in her flyaway hair and the aroma of burning leaves clinging to her clothes as she comes in for a slice of apple pie or a couple of granny's oatmeal cookies.
There is a song by Nora Jones that always makes me think of myself as a little girl. "Spinning, laughing, dancing to her favorite song, a little girl with nothing wrong is all alone. Eyes wide open, always hoping for the sun and she'll sing her song to anyone who comes along. Fragile as a leaf in autumn just falling to the ground, without a sound. Crooked little smile on her face tells a tale of grace thats all her own. Fragile as a leaf in autumn just falling to the ground without a sound. Spinning, laughing, dancing to her favorite song, she's a little girl with nothing wrong and she's all alone."

The first time I ever heard that song, I could see myself doing a clumsy piroutte on my grandmother's front walk beneath the the huge oak with it's burnished golden leaves and in my mind...I was Dancerina Ballerina...my favorite doll come to life. My grandmother was taking my picture with one of those old box cameras. Her pictures were always headless!

So the other day, I had this brilliant idea to make my own fall tree! I dragged out the smallest of my four Christmas trees and put it up in the front hallway. My mother and I covered it with orange pumpkin string lights, silk fall leaf garlands, asters, sunflowers, chrysanthamums, fall fruit and vegetable picks and mini scarecrows. It's adorable! I set my scarecrow beaneath the tree and then put a lighted pumpkin beside him. Now...it may be 98 degrees in the shade outside...but inside my house, it's autumn! I changed all my candles to spiced pumpkin, caramel apple and vanilla too.

Of course, you know I love to bake. I try very hard to make my baked goods as healthy as possible. Anytime the word "bran" gets bantered around though...I am accused of trying to feed my dear husband "sticks and leaves." He really is ridiculous since I happen to KNOW he's going to eat ANYTHING that doesn't eat him first (except broccoli rabe or brussel sprouts). Oddly enough, hes not the only bran-a-phobe out there though. There are still quite a few people who think bran is the sustenance of the over 80 set and Yule Gibbons. I'm here to tell you it isn't!

Necessity can be the mother of invention or the mother of all messes...so when you start making a recipe, its usually advisable to make sure you have all the ingredients. I didn't...of course! Basically, I had a box of Fiber One Bran Cereal...you know the one I mean...it looks like twigs and tastes pretty much like it looks. Don't get me wrong...I'm not knocking Fiber One...I love it, just NOT this particular cereal. But I'd already spent the money and there was a recipe on the back of the box for some breakfast cookies so I figured hey..it's not a total loss!

I asked my mother to look over the recipe and she says, "oh yeah, we have everything we need to make these." Great...let's just whip up a batch. By the time I actually take a gander at the box myself, I've already got a whole food processer full of ground up fiber twigs and that's about all. I guess mom wasn't wearing her reading glasses??

I ended up making Spiced Orange Cranberry Breakfast Branola Cookies and they came out wonderful. Pretty good stuff with a cup of my favorite Earl Grey....

2 cups Fiber One Bran Cereal

3 cups organic bran flakes

2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup Xylitol natural sweetener

1/2 cup organic brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick unsalted organic butter, melted

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3 whole organic cage free eggs plus two egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of one large navel orange

2 cups dried cranberries

Place the cereal in a zipper bag and crush with the bottom of a skillet. You can do this in the food processor but they tend to whirl around and not really get crushed evenly because they are so light weight. Pour the cereal crumbs into a bowl and add bran flakes, wheat flour, xylitol, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.

2. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs and egg whites slightly and combine with melted butter. Stir in pumpkin puree, vanilla extract and orange zest. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until no dry spots remain. Dough will be very thick. If it seems too dry, you may another egg or more pumpkin puree. Lastly, stir in cranberries.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. I used a 1 ounce scoop to make balls and then flattened with wet fingers. Sprinkle tops with sugar before baking. These cookies don't spread so they may be placed close together on the cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Careful not to overbake or they will get too hard.

This recipe makes about 65 one ounce cookies.

Note: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container with a couple slices of bread. Bran is DRY and it will suck the moisture out of just about anything it comes in contact with. The bread will keep your cookies moist. This works with any type of cookies by the way. Got some chocolate chip cookies that are too crisp? Store with a slice of bread and they will soften up.

Awards and Thanks!

2010-09-07T22:29:00.000-04:00

With all this crazy traveling, I've fallen behind of updating a few things. I feel like my blog (and my head) are full of cobwebs. Now that I'm sorta kinda halfway caught up... I want to take a moment to thank my friends Nancy aka Spicie Foodie for passing along her awards to me and Shirley from Shirley's Luxury Haven for the Versatile Blogger award.

Both of these ladies are talented cooks, writers and have amazing blogs themselves. I feel very honored to be included in your list of favorite bloggers.

I've already listed 7 things about myself from a previous award but I'll follow the rules anyway...so here it goes.

1. I never met a piece of chocolate that I didn't like.
2. I have over 5000 original recipes in my computer and an entire shelf of binders full of original recipes on my book shelf which I hope to get organized and typed up some day.
3. I have a short fuse when it comes to incompetence...which is why I stay out of Walmart!
4. My philosophy on name brand items...you don't skimp on food or bed linens.
5. My policy regarding my dog...I love her to pieces but she who licks her own butt...does NOT lick my face!
6. When I want something done...I want it done YESTERDAY!
7. I thank God for my wonderful, beautiful, accomplished daughters and I am extremely proud of them.

Here are my awards...thank you again ladies!

My picks for sharing:

1. Annie at Anniebakes ...One of my favorite baking sites. Lovely recipes and photos.

2.Lisa at http://authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com/ Her recipes are inspired and she's a wonderful writer. Beautiful photos as well.

3. Sarah at http://bakingserendipity.blogspot.com/ ...another talented baker and always so upbeat and enjoyable posts.

4. Amy at http://fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.com/ another talented baker.

5. Mo at http://recipesbymo.blogspot.com/ ..so young and so talented...both as a cook and a writer. Thanks to Lazaro for guiding me to her blog!

6. The Mom Chef....I will look up the URL...for some reason I thought I had her on my "follow" list but am not finding it. I will have to rectify this right away!

I have a couple more to add later but right now...I'm beat! So it's off to la la land. Thanks to all my foodie friends for reading, following and or putting up with my blog!

Labor Day, Gators and Dessert Crostini

2010-09-06T16:48:00.000-04:00

Here I am again...hung over from a car trip! This was just an overnighter up to my in-laws' house in Fort McCoy (near Ocala). We hadn't been up there all summer so we just went up for the night. They live right on the perimeter of the Ocala National Forest. It's beautiful up that way; doesn't really look like the part of Florida I'm accumstomed to. It's very "woodsy".

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm not really a rustic kind of gal. My idea of roughing it is sitting out in the hot tub on the deck with a glass of wine and staring at the woods in the distance. If I see one tree frog or googly-eyed freaky looking thing with a bunch of legs...I'm off like a prom dress! This is one chubby chick that can haul some butt when it comes to getting away from a critter. Remind me to tell you my story about swimming into a school of stingrays out on Sanibel Island sometime!

Anywho...my in-law's place is 15 acres in the middle of the boonies. Its beautiful out there but a little scary at times. I know you thought I was going to talk about football when I mentioned Gators in the title of the post. You were WRONG!

There is a lovely pond at the entrance to their property that my FIL has cleaned out, installed a pump with a fountain and stocked with fish. About a hundred and fifty feet from the right side of the house is a decorative stone wall that kind of seperates the yard from the more "wild" area. The grade is about 5 feet lower than the yard. Well, another 50 or so feet past the wall is a creek that is mostly just a trickle. That is until it rains for a day or two. Some larger body of water (of which there are so many in Florida) feeds that creek so when it fill up...up and up and up the creek comes. It overflows it's banks and up near the front of the property, the creek pretty much merges with the pond. The house sits far enough back and higher, beyond the rock wall. Everytime the creek rises to meet the pond, they get a gator in the pond.

The last gator was pretty substantial, around 5 feet long. Theres a guy up in Deland thats like some wild eyed swamp person that will come out and bait traps with raw chicken and then wait for the gator to swallow the hook. They get one of those hoop things on a pole around it's snout then straddle it's back and very deftly and quickly wrap duct tape around it's maw. A gator can still hurt you bad with his tail...even if you have disabled the chain-saw in his mouth. Dangerous and dubious work if you ask me. Takes a strange man to want to do this for a living.

Ok, well all that was important so you could get this mental picture. My husband...carpenter shorts, muddy gym shoes, GLEN BECK T-shirt, baseball cap...standing on the bank of the pond trying to see the size of this new squatter. It's sprinkling just hard enough to make the sloped edge of the pond muddy and slick.

From our vantage point in the lawn chairs on the front porch, my mother-in-law and I are sitting there reading his mind...what little there is of it! I could tell by the 10-year old stance that he was contemplating how he might catch this thing. After about 10 minutes, he comes sauntering up the driveway and announces, "I'mma catch me a gator."

We both start protesting simultaneously. "You don't have a hook...you don't have any raw chicken...are you out of your mind...you are going to get killed..." etc. His reply was simply, "I'll think of something..." I must tell you, those are about the scariest words a man can utter when it relates to fire, electricity, heights, wild animals and cooking. All I could think of was if our insurance covered accidents related to stupidity.

He disappeared into the garage and came out with a huge roll of heavy duty nylon rope, layed it on the driveway, removed his muddy shoes and went in the house. A couple of minutes later, he retured with a can of SPAM. One more trip to the garage yields a pitch fork and a bucket of rusty fishing hooks.

My first instinct was just to go inside and pretend that he was sane but morbid curiosity got the better of me and so...I walked a little way down the driveway until I could get a clear view of the pond. Sure enough...the dintinct profile of a gator was gliding ominously through the mukey water. There on the bank was the great white hunter...a block of spam studded with rusty fishing hooks dangling from a length of rope strung over a tree branch, dangling a few feet above the water. He had used the rest of the rope to make a lasso which he was whirling over his head and repeatedly flinging out into the pond. The pitchfork waited nearby...it's tines buried in the mud.

I watched incredulously for about 10 minutes. I just couldn't get my head around the concept that this man actually thought he was going to lasso an aligator. What REALLY scared me is what he thought he was going to do if he actually caught it? RIDE HIM..brandishing a pitchfork...until he was either thrown and eaten or until he "broke" the gator. Oh my God...I was too horrified to remember that my new droid has a built in camcorder. I could be RICH right now. That video would have probably had more youtube hits than Lady Gaga!

Fortunately, I never had to find out since he didn't manage to "rope him". I will say that crazy song kept running through my head though..."head um up move um out...head um in...rawhide......yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaawwww." Indeed!!

We are back home now and yes, my husband has all his limbs. It's Labor Day and I have done as little labor as possible. I had picked up some beautiful fresh Turkish figs a couple of days ago at the market and was thinking about what to do with them. I started to make a fig crustada but honestly...it's old news. I just wanted something a little different.

In the end, I decided on a chocolate semolina biscotti, topped with orange scented yogurt cheese and fresh figs in caramel. It worked beautifully. The biscotti is not too sweet, the yogurt cheese is quite tart and the soft sweet figs and rich buttery caramel are a perfect flavor and texture combination. I hope you enjoy the pictures and recipe.

Fortunately, I will NOT be serving Gator tail!!

Chocolate Semolina Biscotti with Orange Yogurt Cheese and Caramel Figs

To make the yogurt cheese: 24 hours ahead of time, place 1 quart of plain organic yogurt in a cheesecloth (or unbleached coffee filter) lined colander and balance on the lip of a bowl. Make sure the bottom of the colander is a few inches above the bottom of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. The water or whey will drip out and you'll be left with thick yogurt cheese. I added the zest of one orange, a few drops of orange water, 1/4 cup of castor sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to mine. Mix and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the Chocolate Semolina Biscotti:

2 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla baking powder (can sub plain)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cage free organic eggs, large
1 cup organic palm sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, semolina, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Use a whisk to mix thoroughly.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar and cooled melted butter until well combined. Beat in the extracts. Add the flour mixture one third at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the slivered almonds.

Shape the dough into two 12 x 3 x 1 1/2" logs on an ungreased cookies sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove logs from sheet and cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Transfer to hard surface and slice crosswise into 1/2" thick slices. Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and return to oven for 12-15 minutes. Turn cookies over and bake an additional 5 minutes until dry and crisp. Cool on wire rack.

Prepare the Caramel Figs:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup organic brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons organic half and half
5 ripe figs, sliced

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Stir in brown sugar and honey; bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in half and half. Return mixture to medium heat; lay the fig slices in the caramel. Cook over medium heat one minute; turn fig slices carefully. Remove from heat. Cool caramel figs if desired but they may also be assembled while warm.

Assemble: Spread a thick layer of orange yogurt cheese on the each biscotti. Arrange on serving plate. Top each with two slices of caramel figs and drizzle with extra caramel. Garnish with orange zest.

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

The Way Things Stack Up...

2010-09-01T19:52:00.000-04:00

Hi...remember me?? I'm the disappearing blogger. Seriously, I absolutely cannot travel anymore for at least 3 or 4 months! I require too much paraphenalia ( and not THAT kind of paraphenalia) to live out of a suitcase. By the time I pack my 80 lbs of silver jewlery, 25 pair of false eyelashes with emergency stash of glue, 26 bottles of various vitamins and supplements, vitamix, electric skillet, cooler with all the foods I'm NOT allergic to, dog and dog supplies, 16 pairs of gladiator sandals (a girl never knows when she's going to have to fight some lions or be in a fashion show), 3 months worth of cooking magazines (for entertainment) and assorted cosmetics, perfumes, hand sanitzers and spf lip balm.....WHEW...there's hardly any room for my aroma therapy candles and conair sound machine! No...I'm definately ready to stay at home for a while!

I could regale you all with tales of my travels but suffice it to say every waiter, restaraunt manager and or grocery store clerk from here to East Jesus Indiana hates my guts and there are probably post-office type WANTED posters hanging in every Cracker Barrell, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays and I can barely even type this one without refluxing...Waffle House (don't ask...I was traveling with my mother) in the entire country warning them to be on the look out for the biggest PIA customer that ever picked up a poorly washed, slightly bent restaraunt fork or inquired after the "organic section" in a grocery store with 4 aisles. Cretans...one and all. Culinary barbarians. Poster children for the gastronimically challenged! Blechhhhhhhh....

I suppose those places are okay for some people but if you have food allergies or special dietary needs they look at you like you have 3 heads, flounce off to the kitchen to grudgingly read the micro print on a salad dressing jug...IF they bother at all. Or (if you find youself in the twilight zone between food and engineered sustenence), turn their heads and bellow at the fry cook..."Leroy, you ain't got nuthin that ain't got no eggs in it do ya? Nope. How 'bout that grease? It ain't olive oil is it? Naw. Well then, you can't make nuthin with no vegetable in it can you? Nevermind. Nah...we ain't got none'a that stuff here lady. Where you think you are...Applebees?" I don't know where Guy Fieri finds all those amazing diners that serve duck confit tacos and pheasant breast sandwiches because they never end up on my route! I always manage to take the fork in the road that leads to food bourne illness and frequent restroom stops.

Needless to say, by the time I got home, I was literally DYING to cook something. Cleaning out and packing up my mother's house was kind of a trip down memory lane. She is like a clearing house for all the family heirlooms that nobody else would bother to save. The little scraps of paper where some old aunt scribbled down a recipe for potato candy, a napkin that has someone's "famous" jello mould recipe scrawled on it...you know, all the minutia that goes largely unnoticed in families.

There among the heaps of photo albums, tiny shoes and locks of baby hair, lay some real treasures where recipes are concerned. As a child, I remember being fascinated by my grandmother's Apple Stack Cake. It was one of those weird things like fruitcake; the older it gets, the better it tastes. I haven't seen an honest to goodness old fashioned stack cake since I was 8 or 9 years old. Of course you know, I had to make it as soon as I got home!

Now my grandmother's recipe is delicious just the way it is but I did put my own little spin on it. Sorry for the booze granny but I didn't drink any...just cooked with it!

This cake is easy but it does take a little time to make and really must be wrapped and chilled for 24 hours for best results. The cake layers are thin and somewhat crisp. It is the juice from the cooked dried apples (and a little sprinkle of Apple Jack) that moistens them up. The cake needs some time to soak up all that love before you dig into it.

Here it...my grandmother's old fashioned Apple Stack Cake (with a little extra sump'n sump'n from me).

Old Fashioned Apple Stack Cake

You'll want to begin by making the apple filling with:

5 cups organic dried apples
1 cup unbleached cane sugar
1 quart apple cider
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place the apples and sugar in a large sauce pan. Cover with apple cider and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add spices and simmer until apples are tender. Optional: add 1/2 cup Apple Jack, Apple Brandy or Spiced Rum. Continue cooking until apples are completely soft and can easily be mashed with a fork. If more liquid is necessary, add more cider or water. Your apples should be thick and not watery. Cool and use to fill stack cake.

To make the cake:

3/4 cup organic palm shortening

3/4 cup unbleached cane sugar

2/3 cup unsulphered molasses

1 whole organic egg and 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (may sub vanilla extract)

3/4 cup buttermilk

4 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 Tablespoon aluminum free baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need to grease and flour your 9" round baking pans. This recipe makes 5 layers so unless you have 5 pans, you'll have to do them a couple at a time.
In a large bowl, beat palm shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sugar about 2 Tablespoons at a time. This process should take nothing less than 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mixture should be very light and fluffy. Slowly drizzle the molasses into the mixture while beating. Add the egg and egg yolk, vanilla paste or extract and buttermilk. Always beat the buttermilk in gradually so as not to "break" the mixture.
In a large bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat into the shortening mixture in 3 or 4 additions. You may need to finish mixing by hand. The dough will be thick, like cookie dough.
Divide dough into 5 equal portions; this can be done with a 1 cup measure. Pack the dough into the cup and mound slightly. Press each portion of dough out into prepared baking pan and bake on center rack in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Cool in pans for 5 minutes and then invert onto cooling rack to remove cake layer. Repeat until all are baked.
Optional: Pour some apple brandy or rum into a cup and use a pastry brush to brush onto cake layers. Alternately, you can use more of the apple cider for brushing the cakes. Place first layer on platter and spread with cooled, cooked apple mixture. Top with next layer and repeat. Continue until all layers and apple filling are used. I also cover the sides and top lightly but you do not have to. Wrap the cake well and refrigerate for 24 hours before cutting.

Serve with a dollop of sweetened, cinnamon spiked sour cream...yum!

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

A New Award

2010-08-27T22:24:00.000-04:00

I am finally home from the moving fiasco with a slam-packed U-haul truck sitting in my driveway. I broke not one but TWO nails...so I've already declared that I will do NO MORE MAN WORK! My husband and his other woman (his friend and partner in crime Ron who sees my husband more than I do) are going to get off their butts and put this junk in the storage unit tomorrow morning and I'm not lifting a finger!!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank Shirley from Shirley's Luxury Haven for the Versitile Blogger Award. It's always a lovely thing to log on and find that you've been given an award. I really appreciate it Shirley. You have nominated some wonderful bloggers so I am in esteemed company. I will write more later after I've gathered my wits about me from this trip.

Rainy Road Trip

2010-08-23T08:01:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone. I just wanted to drop a couple of lines to say I'll be out of town for the rest of the week. Yes..I know, I said I was done traveling but my mother's house in Jacksonville sold quite quickly and unexpectedly. Now we must got pack it up and bring her things to Cape Coral. You certainly can't look a gift horse in the mouth. For anything to sell in this economy...especially for someone to call you out of the blue and offer to buy it for cash is nothing short of a miracle. We all figured she was going to be sitting on it for quite a while.

Its raining of course! Have you ever moved when it wasn't raining? This is six hours away from Jacksonville so maybe it isn't up there; one can hope. At any rate, guess who gets to drive some bouncy uhaul back down here on Thursday or Friday? You got that right...it sure isn't Mama! How do I ge myself into these things in the first place?

It's a good thing I'm married and not forced to take a personals ad on one of these dating sites. It would read something like this...

I dislike drunks, don't understand how people can eat cheese that smells like feet, and I HATE moving...even if it isn't my junk. I'm short and plump with a sassy mouth and take no crap attitude and did I mention I hate moving? I look like Carol Channing on a three day crack binge until I've had my morning coffee. My hobbies include blogging, cooking, writing and obsessive compulsive cleaning...but most certainly do NOT include moving! Turn ons: a well executed souffle, Johnny Depp, anything with chocolate in it or on it, Johnny Depp and getting on someone's last good nerve. Turn offs: Moving, the smell of a cat in the house, moving, people who whine, moving, children putting their dirty little paws in my hair, moving, Wheel of Fortune and moving. For the addendum of turn offs: see the attatched pages. For a good time; call somebody else. For the honest to goodness truth about why you are not married yet...call me.

Trio of Vegan Crostini

2010-08-21T22:23:00.000-04:00

Even though it's been a couple of days since my last post, I'm rarely ever not cooking! As some of you may know, I am working on testing recipes for a new cook book and that requires a lot of fiddling around in the kitchen. Obviously, thats the reason for all the appetizer/starter recipes lately. I'm working on beverages as well so you'll be seeing a few of those also.

My biggest issue with most appetizers is the heavy reliance on dairy products...mostly cheese. If you have read this blog for any length of time you are well aware that I attend Feta-haulics anonymous (Chef Dennis is right down the hall in the Squash Blossom Addiction Recovery Meeting) pretty much to no avail. I really TRY to be a good vegan but for that evil feta...okay maybe I'm not so stalwart where Greek Yogurt is concerned either but we won't talk about that.

What I like most about crostini as a starter course is that you can put anything you want on the top and call it party time without having to rely on cheesy, high calorie, high fat spreads. I usually buy whole grain baguettes, slice and toast them myself to save on the fat and improve on the nutrition. Ready made (in most bakery departments) are usually from white bread and coated quite heavily with suspicious oil. Basically, IMHO...if it isn't olive, coconut or grapeseed oil...it's probably suspicious but thats another article.

Today I have a trio of vegan crostini for your viewing and reading pleasure. They are simple, pretty, delicious, inexpensive (except maybe for the mushroom medley) and very easy to make. Included here is another one of my lovely "mocktails". Now I know you're probably saying to yourself..."Gee, that would be awesome with some booze in it" and you'd probably be right. Unfortunately, I bust out in hives within minutes of taking one sip of alcohol so mocktails it is. Ever the party animal huh? I'm practically certifiable when sober...'nuff said!

Lets begin with our first crostini which is the most basic of all...bruschetta.

Simple Bruchetta Crostini

The key to really great bruchetta lies in the quality of the ingredients. I've used vine-ripened local tomatoes, fresh garlic, top shelf cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and young tender basil from my patio garden. Take note of the bread. It is whole grain baguette with flax seed which I've sliced, toasted and then rubbed with cut garlic while it is still hot. The bruschetta is made simply by starting some sliced garlic out in cold oil and warming slowly till the garlic is browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow oil to cool before stirring in diced tomatoes and fresh basil. I taste, add salt as needed and chill. What could be easier?

Next up is Cannellini and Sun-Dried Tomato Crostini

Again, it can hardly be any easier and quicker than this. Rinse and drain a can of organic cannellini beans and toss into the food processor. Add 1/4 cup of oil packed sun-dried tomatoes (with their oil), a couple of pieces roasted red bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste and pulse away. Drizzle in more olive oil as needed. Spread on crostini, top with slivers of more sun-dried tomato, toasted pignoli, a drizzle of the tomato olive oil and fresh herb of choice. You can whip up a platter of these in mere moments to enjoy with friends.

These delicious appetizers are full of fiber, antioxidents, healthy fats and bursting with flavor.

Lastly, I have a little different crostini for you. This one is made of polenta which is cooked in vegetable broth with some garlic, salt and pepper. Spread into a greased mould of choice and chill. I actually used the lid to a butter dish to make a small rectangle that sliced up into lovely bite sized pieces.

Polenta Crostini with Wild Mushroom Medley

Prepare the polenta according the ratio on the package substituting low sodium organic vegetable broth for the water and a pat of Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread for butter. Add kosher salt and some fresh grated or pasted garlic. When cooked, spread into mould and chill. Slice polenta and lay on a greased baking sheet. Brush tops with olive oil, bake util slightly crisped on the outside. The polenta will still be soft in the center. You may broil the tops if you like.

The mushroom medley is just a BIG heap of whatever wild or cultivated mushrooms you can get sauteed in olive oil with chopped scallions. Add salt and pepper, a little dried thyme and finish off with a pat of Earth Balance. Use to top toasted polenta crostini.

As promised, I'm throwing in a cocktail and it's a good one! I call it a
Lime Coco-jito

You'll need to prepare some lime simple syrup which I do by adding the peel of one whole organic lime to 1 cup organic cane sugar and 1 cup water. Heat until sugar melts and let it cool with the lime peel in it. Discard the peel and use the syrup for drinks.

Add desired amount of syrup to the bottom of a tall cocktail glass. Squeeze half a lime into the glass and add several pieces of mint. You may muddle the mint a bit if you choose. I usually drop the squeezed lime half into the bottom as well. Fill the glass halfway with sparkling mineral water and then add ice. Top off with a splash of organic unsweetend coconut milk and swirl with a coctail stir. Deeee-licious!

It was about to storm like the end of the world so these came out a little dark...sorry! Next time I make them, I'll take new pictures.

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

Guest Post

2010-08-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I just wanted to do a quick post to add the link for my guest post. A couple of months ago I won the "Quickies Challenge" hosted by Denise at http://quickiesonthedinnertable.yolasite.com/ and Lazaro at Lazaro Cooks for my Avocado Fudge Brownies with Feta Cheesecake Swirl.

The prizes were a copy of Denise's beautiful cookbook; Quickies Morning Noon and Night and a guest post on Lazaro's blog. If you don't follow Lazaro's blog already, please check it out. He is a prolific writer, fabulous and creative cook and he features amazing guest blogs each week. While you are there, go ahead and check out my guest post and recipe for Vegan Goetta and Scrambled Tofu.

Check it out if you have a moment!

Savory Red Lentil Cakes with Coconut Curry Vegetables

2010-08-18T17:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I DID promise to post the unusual (perfectly normal IMHO...unusual in theirs) dinner that I prevailed upon my mother and husband to consume Sunday night. Yes, it was vegan and YES, they are both still alive and kicking despite their assurances that both would suffer food bourne illness and expire prematurely. People are so afraid of fermented foods for some reason.

So this dish, which I adapted from a recipe I saw in Vegetarian Times over a year ago, is actually pretty simple but it just requires a little bit of prep time. There is 24 hours of soaking and then 12 hours of fermenting.

The originial recipe was a little heavy on the dairy for my taste what with all that ghee and yogurt going on. Also, their ratio was more rice than lentils in the batter and mine is the opposite. That was done to increase the protein and fiber. It doesn't really cut back on the carbs much since lentils are not exactly low carb but oh well...it is still healthy and delicious.

Mine is a vegan version, made with homemade coconut yogurt in the lentil batter but you may purchase coconut milk yogurt or use dairy yogurt if you prefer. Either way, they are extremely tasty!

Savory Red Lentil Cakes with Coconut Curry Vegetables

1 1/2 cups organic dried red lentils
1/2 cup organic long grain brown rice ( I used basmati)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup plain unsweetened coconut milk yogurt
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
coconut oil for pan frying

Combine the lentils and rice in a large glass bowl. Add water to cover by about 3 inches and soak overnight. In the morning, rinse and drain mixture. Transfer half the mixture to the blender; add 1 cup of fresh water and the salt. Blend until smooth and thick. Add the remaining soaked lentils and rice a little at a time and continue blending until completely pureed. The mixture will be thick.
Pour the lentil puree back into the glass bowl, cover and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours or until the batter has begun to form small bubbles on the surface. *Note: this isn't the best smelling stuff in the world at this point but it WILL end up tasting wonderful!
When finished with fermentation, stir in yogurt, minced shallot and baking soda. The batter will be very airy and light despite the heaviness of the lentil puree.
Heat coconut oil in a large skillet until hot. Using a soup ladle, add batter to hot skillet. Do not try to spread the batter; it will make you cakes too thin. It will spread enough on its own. Sprinkle the tops of each cake with some of the peas. Fry until golden brown on the bottom and beginning to dry a bit on the top. Flip and fry on the second side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with Coconut Curry Vegetables and a dollop of coconut milk yogurt.

Coconut Curry Vegetables

1 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 cup young (thai) coconut meat
1/2 cup light coconut milk
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 serrano or habanero (if you dare) chili, seeded
1 tablespoon ground corriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup of peeled carrot chunks, about 1" thick
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups mixed cauliflower and brocolli florets
1/4 pound fresh young green beand (haricots verts left from the previous nights dinner shown here)
1 cup frozen green peas

Puree the cilantro leaves, coconut meat, coconut milk, garlic, chili and spices in the blender. Use a little extra coconut milk to facilitate blending if mixture is too thick. Blend to a smooth paste.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and pre cook carrots and sweet potatoes for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and broccoli and cook 1-2 minutes more. Drain well. Pour vegetables into a 3 quart baking dish; add green beans and peas. Pour the coconut mixture over the vegetables and toss gently until well coates. Transfer to the oven and bake at 350 degrees until vegetables are all tender. This should only take about 14 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve with Savory Red Lentil Pancakes.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

2010-08-15T20:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday just flew by for some reason. It got off to an early start with some prep work for the lentil and brown rice pancakes I'll be making for tonight's dinner along with some roasted Veggies. You know, rinsing lentils can be risky business at 7:30 am since one is not often conscious enought to realize that said lentils are small enough to pass through the holes in some colanders. The relative inexpensiveness of lentils influenced my decision to just run some water and let them go down the drain as opposed to spending an hour and half picking them out of the sink one by one!

My mother and I made an emergency run to Bath and Body Works to take advantage of the bag sale. Our favorite farm stand is on that side of town as well so we stopped off there for some fresh, locally made goat cheese (I probably petted the very goat the milk came from) and some local produce. From there it was off to BJ's wholesale club to restock some of the essentials.

It probably wouldn't have been such an ordeal if it had not been 115 degree freaking heat index. Heat like that sucks the life right out of you. We came home literally THREW ourselves in the pool for a couple of hour. I always have a pitcher of fruit water in the fridge so I filled some glasses with ice and we drank them out by the pool...super refreshing. There's no big secret to the fruit water...fresh cut fruit, sweetener or not (stevia in this case) depending on your taste, fresh mint and mineral water...sparkling or plain. Just let the cut fruit and mint leaves sit in the water in your fridge for a couple of hours. Waa laa...fruit water, natural and healthy (unlike some of those nasty artifically flavored fruit waters you see in the store). If I'm going to use sparkling water, I just fill the glass about 1/3 of the way with the prepared fruit water and then top off with sparkling water so as not to water it down.

Zero calories...plenty of satisfying flavor! Plus, you get to eat the lovely chilled fruit when the glass is empty.

I seriously had no desire for cooking last night after all that so I didn't really plan on having anything to post. However, I underestimated the beauty of the fresh produce. This was about as simple a meal as you could prepare; pan cooked chicken breasts in a thick balsamic glaze with a side of haricots verts, slivered almonds and fresh peaches.

Just cook the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in some olive oil until they are mostly done. Add 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar to the skillet and bring to a boil. I also added a couple of tablespoons of honey but you don't have to. Turn the chicken a few times as the vinegar reduces so that it becomes coated in the glaze. It ends up being the most beautiful mahagony color and tastes sweet and tangy at the same time.

The beans didn't even require pre-cooking because they were so tiny. I just sauteed them in olive oil with a little sea salt. When they are crisp tender, add the slivered almonds and one large peach, sliced. Toss gently until the peach slices are warmed. When you plate everything, drizzle the chicken and beans with some of the balsamic glaze and enjoy!

BTW...We uploaded a brand spanking new video to our youtube channel today.

I apologize that it has taken me so long to start the next series of videos. I haven't made any new ones in about three months. My life SHOULD be settled back to my version of normal now so hopefully we can go back to adding a new one each week.

I'll be adding a new page to the blog which will correspond with the weekly youtube video. The recipes will be dated for the week that they post and then hopefully archived (once I figure out how) for future reference. Just a note...even though I feature all kinds of foods on the blog, the recipes for my youtube channel are all vegan and vegetarian. I strive to demo as many vegan recipes as possible because those are the ones viewers seem to want the most. As you all know, my husband and mother are NOT vegans so I do cook meat (obviously) and those will continue to show up on the blog's main page. I am working on them though. Look for tomorrow's post about the incredible vegan dinner they are having!

Patio Tapas Party

2010-08-12T12:13:00.000-04:00

Here in South Florida, some days are just too hot and sticky to cook let alone eat large heavy meals. It is days like this (when the humidity makes the air quality feel like you're trying to breathe pea soup) when I rely on either raw or nearly raw ingredients or super easy, quick cooking techniques.

Today's offering is rather like a tapas spread; a series of dishes meant to be shared. I can fill the patio table with simple, delicious platters of finger foods and we can sit back under the monitone hum of the ceiling fans and languidly take a two hour repast with friends and family. When the platters are empty and the dishes have been cleared away we usually end up engaging in a cut-throat game of Texas hold-um. Sometimes I feel a bit guilty about taking everyones' money...but not usually!

Roasted Asparagus Antipasto Platter

Use whatever veggies you like or have on hand to make an attractive antipasto platter. I begin mine by coating tender young asparagus in olive oil and sprinkling with sea salt. Then roasting in a 500 degree oven for 3-5 minutes; turning once.

While the asparagus is warm, I toss it in a simple Dijon vinaigrette made with white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon Mustard, garlic, a spoon full of sugar, salt, pepper and some fresh minced tarragon.

The other veggies pictured here are roasted red pepper strips (organic...water packed jars), baby artichoke hearts, sliced tomatoes, Greek Olives and sweet rings of fresh onion. Arrange on platter and drizzle with more vinaigrette. I just place a few coctail forks around and let people take what they want.

Next up is a series of dips; each of which can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve. Everyone and their brother and the horse he rode in on has a recipe for Hummus so I won't bore you with mine. Suffice it to say that it is the usual list of suspects: chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I may differ somewhat with mine because I use roasted garlic instead of raw. What you add to your basic hummus after that is up to you. Pictured here is my Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Mixed Olive Hummus (which has a little bit of kick too it from red pepper flakes)

I prefer to make my pita crisps by using purchased organic whole grain pita breads brushed lightly with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. They take about 10 minutes to bake and you should turn once so they brown evenly on both sides.

Mixed Olive Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Creamy Baba Ganoush is made from grilled slices of eggplant that I first seasoned with salt and allowed to "weep" between layers of paper towels. Then douse with olive oil and grill until soft. The eggplant goes into the food processor with more roasted garlic, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice. I add a touch of coriander to mine along with the salt and pepper. I've made a simple gremolata for the top by browning homemade seasoned whole grain bread crumbs in olive oil and adding minced parsley, sesame seeds and a bit of fresh garlic. Serve with more of the bake pita crisps.

Marinated Mixed Olives

There is always a jar of these waiting in my fridge. I buy bulk olives from a local Italian Market and place them in a clean glass jar. Slice 6 or 7 cloves of garlic and add to 1 1/2 cups olive oil (for a 1 quart jar of olive) to a saucepan. Add the garlic to the cold oil; turn on the heat to medium and heat the oil and garlic simultaneously. Allow to cook until garlic is golden brown. Don't burn it...burnt garlic is some seriously bad juju! When the oil is infused, remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and either discard or save for another use. While the oil cools, toss your olives with some slices of fresh garlic, herbs of choice, lemon zest and whatever else you like. Place this mixture in the clean jar and fill with the cooled garlic oil. That's it. I usually add the brine that the olives came in as well because I like it! These will keep for months in the fridge. Instant party food...

Quinoa Stuffed Swiss Chard Rolls

Another make ahead that is so simple. These are very similar to the Greek Dolmas only instead of grape leaves, I've used blanched red chard. Remove the thick vein from the center of the chard leaves and dip them into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain on paper towels while you prepare the filling. I start by heating olive oil in a lidded saucepan and sauteeing minced shallot, garlic and the reserved stems of the chard (minced as well). Add the quinoa and vegetable broth according to the amount of quinoa used. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Use this mixture to fill the chard leaves. Prepare a large, shallow skillet with lid for steaming the chard rolls by laying down a layer of sliced lemons across the entire surface of the pan. Rest the chard rolls on the lemon slices. Drizzle with olive oil and add about 1/2 cup vegetable broth to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and steam 5 minutes. Pan juices can spooned over prepared rolls. These are actually BETTER after they have sat in the fridge for about 24 hours. I just pack the cooled rolls into containers and pour the pan juices over them, cover and chill.

*Rolls are pictured here with crumbles of Feta cheese but you may forego this if you're Vegan.

Don't let the heat get to you! With a little bit of preparation and minimum of heat, you can have a little tapas buffet on the table in no time!

Serve with this amazing Virgin Sangria...made from Natural Peach Nectar, Mango Puree, White Grape Juice and Sparkling Mineral water. It is garnished with frozen grapes, slices of orange and white nectarine.

Go ahead, you know you want to take a big sip.....

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

Sweet Pototo Adventures and A Luscious Vegan Cake

2010-08-10T21:53:00.001-04:00

Do you ever have one of those days when you open the fridge and there is just a scrap of this, a bit of that and big leftover baked sweet potato that you have no idea how you are going to use? That happened to me tonight.

I had a different menu planned for dinner tonight but alas...I was out voted by my husband and my mother. They were in cahoots...as usual. How sad is it when your own mother sides with her son in law to keep from having to eat a completely delicious vegan meal??

I suppose I should cut them a break since they've been fed vegan dinners three times and vegan lunches 4 or 5 times already since my last trip to the grocery. Frankly, I don't see either one of them wasting away and if memory serves me, they have BOTH been back for seconds on more than one occasion.

Anyway, I caved. The scrumptious veggie curry with coconut kefir that I had planned for tonight will have to wait. However, I did prepare an amazing Bing Cherry and Pineapple Upside Down Cake and it is 100% vegan...so take that you dirty co-conspiritorial carnivourous rats!

I had 3 very fresh, lovely organic zucchini that were just screaming to be stuffed. I found a package of ground chicken breast in the freezer and a container of chopped red and green bell pepper that I froze awhile back. Half a baseball sized vidalia onion was in the onion keeper and I found one large leftover baked sweet potato from two nights ago.

Yes, it has occured to me that this is a strange list of ingredients but oh well! In fact, there were actually no plans to post this recipe until after dinner when both husband and ~~traitor~~ mother declared it fantastic. So, for better or worse...here it is!

Ground Chicken and Sweet Potato Zucchini Boats

3 large (8-10 inch) organic zucchini, halved and hollowed out into boats
1 lb organic ground chicken breast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced organic mixed color bell pepper
1/2 cup vidalia onion, diced
1 cup frozen white corn kernels
1 large baked and cooled sweet potato, peeled
1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded reduced fat colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make zucchini boats by removing pulp from halved zucchini. Cut each boat in half horizontally if desired. Arrange zucchini boats in a 3 quart oiled casserole dish, set aside.
Heat olive oil in in a large skillet. Cook ground chicken in oil until no pink remains. Make sure to break chicken up well. Stir in chopped peppers, onion and corn. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked, peeled sweet potato and break up with wooden spoon. The potato will blend and just become part of the filling as it cooks. Add the water or vegetable broth and season to taste. Stir until thickened and creamy.
Spoon mixture into zucchini boats. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle shredded cheese over boats. Return to the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.

*Note: Since there is no sauce on these, it is important to bake covered. The steam will cook your raw zucchini boats. If you prefer a tender crisp boat, you may reduce bake time. There are no worries about the filling since it is already cooked.

Now on to my cake! The inspiration was simple...some cut, fresh pineapple in the fridge that needed a home and a bag of frozen bing cherries that I bought for no reason in particular.

Everyone knows the look right? Sticky pineapple rings with a cherry in the center plastered to the bottom/top of a cake with a glue of brown sugar and butter. Ok, so my vegan version isn't wildly different except for ingredients and the ratio of cherries to pineapple. In my cake, the cherries are the star of the show. The pineapple is the supporting actress.

My cake is made with raw coconut sugar but if you can't get it, feel free to use succanat or organic brown sugar. I prefer to use the raw coconut sugar because it is not a processed sugar and has a significantly lower glycemic index. Unlike sugar, raw coconut sugar also has nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes.

Vegan Bing Cherry & Pineapple Upside Down Cake

6 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan buttery spread, stick style
3/4 cup raw coconut sugar or organic brown sugar, divided
1/4 cup organic raw blue agave nectar
1 bag Cascadian Farm Organic Bing Cherries, thawed and drained
1/2 cup organic fresh pineapple thinly sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rum extract
1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour (may use unbleached all purpose too)
2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease a 9" round cake pan and set aside. In a large stainless steel skillet, melt TWO tablespoons of the earth balance and add 1/4 cup of the coconut sugar or brown sugar and 1/4 cup agave nectar. Bring mixture to a boil reduce heat and boil gently until thickened and reduced by about half. Stir in the drained cherries and pineapple pieces. Cook 5 minutes or until pineapple begins to get tender. Spoon fruit and syrupy liquid into the bottom of prepared cake pan; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the remaining 4 tablespoons of earth balance with the remaining 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar) until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and rum extract; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda. In another small bowl or measuring cup combine almond milk and vinegar. Allow the almond milk mixture to stand 5 minutes. It will look curdled.
Beat flour mixture and almond milk mixture into sugar and butter mixture in three installments each, beginning with flour. The batter will be thick. Spread batter over cherry and pineapple mixture in the pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until cake is risen and browned. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Make sure to loosen the edges of the cake from the pan before flipping onto serving platter. Serve warm or room temperature.

*Cake is pictured with scoops of coconut vanilla bean vegan ice cream

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding with Gingered Peach Compote

2010-08-08T23:51:00.000-04:00

With being away so much this summer, I feel as though my typing muscles have withered and died! My poor arthritic fingers...backspacing and correcting typos every other word. I actually made today's recipe before I left for Kentucky but did not have sufficient time to post it.

We love rice pudding in this house. While my husband would be more than happy to eat the dairy version...it is like kryptonite to my species. Despite all the non-vegan foods that I make and post, personally I eat as animal free as possible with two notable exceptions; feta cheese and greek yogurt!

The first time I ever prepared my vegan rice pudding for him, he made a face like he'd just drank curdled milk and declared that he would "pass" on the dessert. A few minutes later, I caught him skulking around the kitchen with a spoon and an ambivalent look on his face. That first bite was a true epiphany!

There's no big secret to making coconut milk rice pudding unless of course it's using the wrong kind of rice or overcooking it. The former will result in a loose watery bowl of sweet rice and the latter...a glop of sweet starchy mush.

I have tried to "healthify" rice pudding a bit further by using brown rice but it comes out more like a breakfast porridge than a dessert. It just isn't the same. However, if you prefer that to the creamier, more custard-like consistency of rice pudding; by all means, knock yourself out.

The ingredient list is short, the recipe simple and yet the end product is sinfully delicious. Add ins depend upon your likes but the basic recipe is as follows.

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding with Gingered Peach Compote

1 1/2 cups long grain organic jasmine rice
2 1/2 cups water
pinch of kosher salt
3 cups full fat organic coconut milk
1/2 cup raw Coconut Crystals*
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Coconut butter**
optional ground cinnamon for top of pudding
3 fresh organic peaches; peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 inch peeled fresh ginger, grated
3 tablespoons raw coconut syrup or raw blue agave*
1/2 cup water, divided
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot

Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil; add salt and jasmine rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until water is absorbed. The rice will still be a little undercooked due to the water/rice ratio.
To the rice; add coconut milk, coconut crystals and ground cardamom. Return to heat and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered until thick and creamy. You will need to stir often. Most of the coconut milk will get absorbed.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and coconut butter. Stir to combine. Turn pudding out into a 2 quart glass dish. Immediately cover the entire top of the pudding with ground cinnamon if using. This makes a "crust" that prevents pudding from forming a skin and it tastes great too! Pudding may be served warm or cold.

To prepare the Gingered Peach Compote:

Place prepared peaches, raw coconut syrup or agave and grated ginger and 1/4 cup of the water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cook until peaches are tender.
In a cup, combine remaining 1/4 cup of water with arrowroot to make a slurry. Stir this mixture into the peaches and cook 2-3 minutes until thickened and sauce has lost its cloudy appearance. Serve warm of cold over top Coconut Rice Pudding.

*For those not familiar with raw coconut crystals, they are sold under the brand name "Coconut Secret" (there may be others but this is the only brand I've been able to get). Raw coconut crystals are 100% pure dehydrated coconut tree sap. They are gluten-free, unbleached, unrefined, non-gmo and vegan.

Coconut trees are tapped for their nutrient-rich sap which comes from the blossoms. It is a low glycemic index sweetener coming in at 30 calories, 7 carbohydrates and 7 sugars per tablespoon. With a GI of 35, it is a more diabetic-friendly sweetener than sugar.

Since the product is raw (evaporated at a low temperature for only 90 minutes) the abundant minerals and enzymes have been retained. Coconut crystals contain 17 amino acids, vitamin C, broad-spectrum B vitamins and a nearly neutral ph. The evaporation process preserves the live enzymes as it's drying temperature is consistent with the average temperature in the tropics. By way of contrast; brown sugar is boiled at 220 degrees with an end product containing 93% sucrose. Coconut Sap Crystals contain 16% sucrose.

The product is also available in a syrup form which I used as the primary sweetener for the peach compote. If you cannot obtain raw coconut crystals or syrup you may sub succanat in the pudding and raw agave in the compote.

Nutritional information for Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Crystals comes from the label of the canister and is provided by the producers of the product. I have not been contacted or compensated in any way by Coconut Secret. I'm simply sharing what I feel is an extremely wonderful product.

** Coconut Butter or Concentrated Coconut Cream can be found in some health food stores or you can order it online from http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/

If you don't have any coconut butter, you may substitute coconut oil or even some Earth Balance vegan margarine.

Home at last.....

2010-08-07T00:45:00.000-04:00

Well, there will be no more traveling for me this summer. I have had it! While I did enjoy visiting my daughters and my little brother and his family and my dearest friend in the entire world...I am pooped!!!!

I spent two weeks in Kentucky helping my best friend with her son's wedding and then went on to Columbus, Ohio for a few days to visit my oldest daughter (http://www.willblankforshoes.blogspot.com/ ). We didn't take care of the reception as the brides family handled that but we had one heck of a party for the reshearsal dinner the night before the wedding! We ended up feeding about 50 people and had a lovely backyard party.

I made a simplified version of Chicken Cordon Blue by wrapping boneless, skinless chicken breasts in strips of bacon (hello...this is Kentucky...of course there was pork fat!). I scattered mushrooms over the top and baked them off then topped with slices of Swiss Cheese. Once they were lidded up the cheese melts from the heat. By not returning them to the oven at this point, it insures they'll remain moist and not over cook in the chaffing dishes.

The other protein choice was Seasoned Pulled Pork (Kentucky...Pork!!!!). It was seasoned with a nice spice blend and braised with sliced onions. When done (falling apart of its own volition), shred with two forks and ladle pan juices over it before adding the lids and placing in the chaffin dishes. It was a monster hit!

Sides were out of control...buttered corn, broccoli, honey brown sugar baked beans with you guessed it...MORE PORK...slices of bacon on top. Herb roasted baby redskins, honey blistered carrots, stuffed mushrooms, herbed cheese balls with assorted crackers and of course...no Kentucky meal would be complete without Mac and Cheese!

Those of you who know my cooking style well are probably saying..."HUH??" Ok...so it's no secret that I DESPISE mac and cheese with a frentic passion, wouldn't eat a piece of bacon if you slapped me upside the head with it and in general stay as far away from Pork as is possible and still remain in the same hemisphere. However, when cooking for others...one must cook what THEY want!

I did fancy the mac and cheese up on them when they weren't looking though! It began with a simple bechamel sauce to which I added shredded sharp cheddar, creamy fontina, tangy goat cheese and just a bit of asiago. I might have snuck a little creme fresh into that bechamel but I can't remember for sure...

The dessert table was over the top with a four layer Strawberry Parfait Cake filled with clouds of strawberry mousse and frosted with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. White cake with mounds of fluffy butter cream and flaked coconut, Triple Chocolate layer cake, one bite frosted brownies with 5 different fillings, lemon cream triangles filled with luscious lemon curd and frosted with rich lemon mascarpone buttercream, cheesecake topped with fresh cream and strawberries. It was a sugar orgy!

I also made a lovely fruited ice ring for the punch bowl in one of those rose shaped silicone moulds. It turned out perfectly. The punch was rather simple; frozen pineapple juice concentrate, peach nectar and Sprite. While all the children hovered around the punch bowl, the adults were lined up at the back door waiting for more grown up libations. I made so many pina coladas that I nearly burned the blender up!

A good time was had by all and in the end that is all that matters. I've known the groom since he was about 5 or 6 years old. His mother has been my dearest friend for about 25 years and it was such a pleasure to go up there and help with the party.

I took about 150 photos in all and it is obviously not feasible to post them all but here are a few.

Beginning to set up...sorry the foods are covered but we were outside and the sternos were lit so everything would get hot before the crowd arrived.

Excuse the chaos..

2010-07-21T10:19:00.000-04:00

I am in the process of changing the graphics on my blog because cbotb decided for some reason that the currents backgrounds would disappear on Friday. It also said you could go "click here" to get a new code but..when I do the page won't load.

I REALLY, REALLY hate this crap......

Also, for some reason...the new design does not seem to be overriding the cbotb code so hense the new graphic at the top...and the old at the bottom. Have I mentioned that I despise the piddly business of trying to insert codes and all that @^$&!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me just stick to cooking, writing, photographing and posting without the pain in the behind of redesigning ...because I do not have a clue!!!

Vegan Coconut Milk Yogurt

2010-07-20T17:53:00.001-04:00

This is actually something I make all the time and initially thought too ordinary for posting. However, I've begun to realize that I'm not the only erstwhile Vegan who prefers to omit soy from their diet.

Now of course I realize there are now commercially available soy-free vegan yogurts but first, they are difficult to find and second; they are pricey. Also, in my humble opinion, overly sweet but I generally prefer unsweetened yogurt so who am I to ask?

First, I'm sure you are saying...well ok, so you make the yogurt with coconut milk but uhm, isn't the yogurt starter dairy based? The answer is...yes, MOST are but you have a couple of options. One is to buy a carton of So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt (plain) and use it as the starter. I have found it at a few Publix supermarkets, most Whole Foods, some Fresh Markets and about 50% of small health food stores.

The second option is a product called Culturaid by Klaire Labs. This product is dairy, soy, gluten, yeast, soy and corn free. It's basically a vegan probiotic that can be used as a yogurt starter.

Call me lazy but, I just bought a carton of the So Delicous cultured coconut yogurt (also, the store I went to didn't have Culturaid) and used that. Yogurt making is NOT exactly difficult but it is testy. Too much heat and your little friendly bacteria are floating belly-up in a curdled soup of sour smelling coconut milk. Not enough heat and it just won't activate the culture...in which case you still end up with soured coconut milk but its just not curdled. There's a lovely image to contemplate eh?

There are a couple of schools of thought on which coconut milk to use as well. The same company, So Delicious (for whom I would embed a link but their website says under construction) makes 1/2 gallon cartons of homogenized coconut milk and I have used it with good results. However, my favorite brand is and probably will remain Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk

I have tried making my coconut yogurt with the lite version and find it makes a more watery yogurt. Of course the full fat version has twice the fat but... heart healthy medium chain fatty acids concern me far less than commercial yogurt that is full of high fructose corn syrup, artifical colorings and flavorings and vile RBST-laden dairy milk!

A mixture of half lite and half full fat will produce a nice yogurt; a bit on the thinner side but definately workable. In fact, it is nearly identical to the texture of the So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt.

I need to drop a note in here about cheap, off brand and some imported coconut milks. Read the labels. Polysorbate-80 or 60 are commonly seen on the label of these inferior products. These chemicals are by products of petroleum that are used as emulsifiers. If you want to be even MORE grossed out...Polysorbate 60 is a major ingredient in many sexual lubricants. Lets serve THAT up to our kids in artificially flavored/colored snacks like those God-awful kiddie yogurt concotions. Bottom line...the group of DRUGS/CHEMICALS knowns as the polysorbates are literally as abundant as AIR. READ READ READ your labels!

I often recommend a little book that I found entitled Food Additives: A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's Not by Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C. Its just a pocket sized booklet with 8 or 9 hundred of the most common food additives and what is right or wrong with them. I believe it is revised every couple of years to include all the new mutations of this garbage that comes out. *I am not being paid, compensated or otherwise recognized by the author or KISS for Health Publishing. I recommend this book because I believe in knowing what you are eating!

Sorry for the detour onto my soapbox! I believe we were chatting about Vegan Yogurt. So, half full fat and half lite for a thinner yogurt. All full fat for a thicker, richer yogurt. A hint: I make a very large batch so that I can actually strain it through a lined colander AFTER it has cultured. This gives it the texture of store bought Greek Yogurt.

You don't really need a bunch of ingredients. My basic list is 3 cans of Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut milk to every 1 carton of organic cultured coconut yogurt starter. That yields about 6 eight ounce portions of finished yogurt. Feel free to double or triple the recipe though.

Do you NEED a yogurt maker to make yogurt? No...but, you DO need a way to monitor and control temperature. I actually saw an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown did this with a heating pad! I don't suggest doing that unless you have one that has an actual thermostat on it so you can set it for a particular temperature and it will hold steady at that. Frankly though, if your going to spring for a thermostatically cotrolled heating pad...buy a darned yogurt maker!

If you have a gas oven, the heat of the pilot light is generally pretty good for making yogurt. In Florida, most of us aren't that lucky. I've made it in my electric range by warming my oven on the lowest setting then turning it off, turning on the oven light and placing one oven rack on the highest rung (closest to the light). I also cover my yogurt containers with a couple of layers of kitchen towels to help them retain heat. It will actually work if you have a decent range that has good insulation and maintains heat well.

Another kooky method that actually works is placing a baking rack in an electric skillet (they are thermostatically controlled heat) and putting a small amount of water in the bottom. Set to the lowest setting, which is "warm" and then place the yogurt containers on the rack an cover lightly with a kitchen towel. Two issues with this method: unless you want to be up all night checking to make sure the skillet isn't dry and taking the temperature of your yogurt you have to start it at the crack of dawn and incubate it all day. Number two is that you have to take the temperature of your yogurt anyway. You need to maintain a temperature of 110F...much more and the bacteria are belly up and circling the drain! Below 100F and the yogurt won't culture...it will just sour. I have heard that you can also use a slow cooker but again...the temperature has to be checked.

Getting down to the nitty gritty of producing your yogurt begins with a double boiler set up. Now this can be an actual double boiler or a bowl set over a kettle of simmering water...doesn't matter as long as the bottom of the receptacle does not touch the water below. Then proceed as follows:

Pour three cans of coconut milk into the top of the double boiler. *You can make a richer, thicker yogurt by adding 1/2 cup organic rice milk powder. It will also increase the protein marginally. It must be pure rice milk powder though; not some kind of rice milk drink mix.
Heat the coconut milk until bubbles begin to form around the perimeter of the bowl and you start to see steam. You should stir with a sterilized metal spoon. Don't want to be introducing any bad ju ju into your good bacteria colony!
Take the temperature of the coconut milk. It should register at least 180F but not higher than 200F. It should NOT boil. Maintain the coconut milk at this temperature, stirring as needed for approximately 10 minutes. Careful not to let the bottom scorch.
You should have your carton of yogurt/starter at room temperature. I recommend using plain (not flavored) cultured coconut milk yogurt. Remove the sterilized coconut milk from the heat source and pour into a large bowl. The coconut milk MUST cool to between 110-120F before adding the starter, with 112F being the optimum temperature.
Temper the starter with about 1 cup of the warm coconut milk in a smaller bowl. Then add the this mixture to the rest of the coconut milk. This is your culture. You need to cover it immediately to prevent any contamination.
Have your containers washed and sterilized before you begin the culturing process. I recommend glass containers with lids (not metal lids however). Fill the containers with hot water and allow them to warm the containers before filling with your culture.
Empty the water from the jars one at a time and fill before you emty the next. Place the lids on filled jars immediately.
Use the incubation method of your choice. Some recipes say incubation is 8-10 hours but I find that it will vary widely. In my experience, the coconut milk yogurt takes longer to incubate than dairy yogurt. After 5-6 hours of carefully maintained temperature (110F), check the yogurt by inserting the end of a sterilized spoon. If the yogurt is firm you may stop incubation and refrigerate. If not, continue until desired texture is reached. Note: Generally speaking, the longer the incubation period, the more tangy the yogurt will be. Homemade yogurt should keep in the fridge for about 10 days.

As I mentioned, I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to yogurt. Fruity, icky sweetness is just not my cup of yogurt..so to speak. I add NOTHING to my yogurt until I'm ready to eat it. This way you have the option of using your homemade yogurts any way you like. If you stick a bunch of jam in the bottom or whatever...that lets out the possibility of a good tandoori marinade.

My favorite method of yogurt consumption...lightly sweetened with a bit of stevia and heavily laced with cinnamon and layered with chopped apples and chunks of homemade granola. Lacking the apples and granola, I generally scarf one down with a packet of stevia and a teaspoon of cinnamon mixed in.

The one I've made for you today is sweeter than I normally prefer but, I served this one as a dessert to a bunch of Vegan skeptics. Needless to say...they were skeptical no more!

To turn my perfectly creamy Vegan Coconut Yogurt into a dazzling dessert simply simmer julienned orange peel in Organic Blue Agave Nectar. Remove from heat and chill until ready to serve. Spoon over homemade Vegan Coconut Yogurt and enjoy!

Who are you calling a tart?

2010-07-19T09:34:00.000-04:00

Part two of childless Sunday ended up being a lovely goat cheese tart with a sundried tomato and garlic polenta crust topped with paper thin slices of yellow summer squash and zucchini.

It is a tremendously simple dish to make and serves well as a light meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) or you may make in a square pan, cut into bite sized pieces and serve it as cocktail nibble.

To accompany the tart, we had a spinach salad which I dressed with a Yellow Tomato Vinaigrette. Between the Herbs de Provence in the goat cheese and the dijon mustard in the dressing, the meal ended up having a decidedly French flair.

This is my lovely Tarte aux Fromage de Chevre et de deux Cougres Polenta or Goat Cheese and Polenta Tart with Two Squashes. The salad is dressed with Jaune Tomate Vinaigrette Dijon or Yellow Tomato Dijon Vinaigrette. I just SOUNDS so much fancier when you say it in French oui?

I also decided to set the small table by the kitchen window pour deux and have a leisurely dinner WITHOUT the television! Now how to wrest the remote from Roger's clutches? Someday he will be buried with that thing because it is unlikely that the mortician will be able to pry it from his cold dead fingers!

So here is our lovely intimate dinner for two...

Preparation of the tart begins simply with the making of the polenta crust.

You will need:

2 cups boiling water or low sodium vegetable broth
1 cup yellow corn polenta (buy organic if possible)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cloves finely minced or pasted garlic
1/2 cup oil packed sundried tomatoes, minced (do not drain)

Bring the water or broth to a boil over medium high heat; add the salt, garlic and minced sundried tomatoes with whatever oil is on them. Gradually whisk in the polenta. You must stir constantly and exercise caution for two reasons...lumps and splattering! Hot polenta bubbles fiercely and can cause quite a serious burn if you are not careful.

Once the polenta has thickened, remove from heat. Lightly grease a removable bottom tart pan with room temperature butter. Using a spatula, scrape polenta out into tart pan. Grease the back of a spoon or your hands (if you have asbestos fingers like me) and press the polenta up the sides and evenly into the bottom of the pan creating a crust. Set the crust aside to prepare the goat cheese filling.

3 ounces soft, creamy style goat cheese at room temperature
3 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese or cream cheese at room temperature
2 ounces crumbled goat milk feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (or to taste) Herbs de Provence

Using a spatula, mash the cheeses and herbs together thoroughly in a small bowl until you have a creamy homogenous mixture. Spread the cheese evenly into the bottom of the prepared polenta crust.

Next you will prepare the two squashes.

1 large (about 7 inches long) zucchini squash
1 large or two small yellow crookneck summer squash
1 clove grated garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil

Using a mandolin slicer works best for getting the squash slices precisely thin but it you don't have one, simply slice them as thinly as you can. Beginning at the outter edge, alternate slices of zucchini and yellow squash until a complete circuit of the tart is made. Repeat in concentric circles to the center. It usually takes 4 or 5 slices to finish the center of the tart. Add the grated garlic to the olive oil and brush the whole surface of the tart liberally.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the tart on the center rack in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes. If the squash are not as nicely browned as you would like, switch the oven to broil and broil to desired browness. I do not brown mine excessively...merely till the squash begins to curl at the edges.

The tart must rest for 10 minutes before attempting to remove the outer ring else you risk breaking the fragile polenta crust. As it cools, the crust becomes more stable and the cheese filling more set. This tart is actually best served at room temperature.

The Yellow Tomato Dijon Vinaigrette comes together in a flash with the blender

2 medium yellow tomatoes, cored and cut into 8ths
2 cloves pressed garlic
2-3 tablespoons dijon mustard (to taste)
1-2 tablespoons honey (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more if you don't mind the fat)

Plop tomatoes, garlic, mustard, honey, salt, pepper and vinegar into the blender. Pulse until completely pureed. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. With blender running, drizzle olive oil through top opening until all is combined. The mixture may break and curdle if all the olive oil is added at once. Store any unused portion in a lidded container (not metal) in the fridge for up to a week.

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

Sunday and Childless...

2010-07-18T14:13:00.000-04:00

It has been a few months since we have had no one in the house but Roger and I on a Sunday morning. The last 3 weeks have been a flurry of chaos with the younger step sons visiting. Prior to that, my mother moved here (with us) in May.

The children have all gone home and my mother has been on an extended vacation to my younger brother's house in Indiana. I have figured out that I love children but have an almost pathological aversion to the particulars of coexisting with them at my age! Remember the raging wild-eyed germ-a-phobe clean freak thing?? LOL...kids are a walking germ factory and a mess waiting to happen! I cleaned, washed, aired out and returned everything to it's rightful place and then had to sit and WOO-SAAAA for about an hour! But it's all good.

Since Roger and I married 5 1/2 years ago, Sundays (when he isn't working) have always been our decompression days. In a house with two Sagittarians, constant communication and togetherness is not really necessary or even appreciated. It is a don't try to fix what is not broken kind of thing. That one lazy day every few weeks seems to give us the recharge we need.

A typical Sunday morning lazy day breakfast doesn't happen till nearly noon but when it does, it is usually a production! My husband is a total carbahaulic and asking what he wants for breakfast is about as redundant and unecessary as asking a child if he likes candy. He loves crepes, pancakes, waffles and anything else that he can douse with syrup.

Lying in bed last night just befor dozing off, I had already decided that waffles would fit the bill today. Not just any waffles though. Something unique and totally indulgent. The inspiration began with a marbled pound cake and ended up being a Chocolate Marbled Vegan Waffle with Strawberries, Whipped Coconut Cream and Dark Chocolate Chips...all drizzled with raw blue agave syrup. It is served up with some strawberry jam glazed veggie sausage links. I know; completely over the top right? I should be ashamed of myself...

This is a very simple batter that is made in one bowl and then divided, with rich dark organic cocoa powder and a bit of extra sweetener being added to one portion. One tip that I have recently discovered about making vegan waffles is adding rice flour to the batter helps to create a nice crispy waffle.

The batter:

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unbleached pure cane sugar
1 teaspoon butter flavored extract
2 1/2- 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (more for brushing waffle iron)
1/3 cup organic dark cocoa powder
3-4 tablespoons raw blue organic agave (and extra for drizzling)

This simple batter is started by combining all three flours, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl and whisking to combine. Pour 2 1/2 cups of almond milk, melted coconut oil and the butter extract into the dry ingredients; whisk vigorously. Add additonal almond milk as needed until batter is consistent with regular waffle batter (about the thickness of cold heavy cream). Amount of milk will vary according to humidity.

Once batter is mixed, transfer half the mixture to another bowl and whisk in 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 2-3 tablespoons agave nectar. Cocoa powder has natural fiber and will cause the chocolate batter to be thicker than the white batter. Adding the agave serves two purposes; to thin the chocolate batter and sweeten it. If the batter is sweetened to your liking but still to thick; thin with almond milk until it is about the same consistency as the white batter.

Heat waffle iron and brush with some melted coconut oil. I put my two batters into squeeze type bottles and fill the wells simultaneously with both batters. However, you can do them one at a time and just fill in the gaps with the second batter. Close the waffle iron and allow waffles to bake at least 5-6 minutes. Test by attempting to open the lid. If you are met with resistence, they are not ready. When done, the lid will lift easily. They need a little longer cooking time than a plain waffle because the chocolate batter is denser.

To serve; I layer them onto a plate, top with slice strawberries, big dollops of whipped coconut cream, drizzle the whole with warmed agave and sprinkle with dark tropical source vegan chocolate chips.

For the Strawberry Jam Glazed Veggie Sausages: Cook veggie sausages in a large non-stick pan until browned. Add 2-3 tablespoons all fruit strawberry jam to the skillet (I used Crofters organic Strawberry Jam). Toss over medium heat until the jam melts and coats all the sausages. Serve with Chocolate Marbled Waffles.

(c)copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

More Excitement.....

2010-07-17T13:42:00.000-04:00

Well, a few weeks ago I was honored to win the Quickies avocado and feta challenge and sponsored by Lazaro at http://lazarocooks.blogspot.com/ and Denise at Quickes on the Dinner Table.

This week, I am so excited to win not one but TWO contests! Thanks to everyone who voted for my Matcha Meringue Sandwiches with Dark Chocolate Mint Ganache in the tea week contest sponsored by Mission: Food

Thank you Victoria and thanks to your sponsor, Upton Teas for the lovely prize!

I'd also like to thank Chef Chuck Kerber of http://www.pittsburghhotplate.com/ for selecting my recipe for Mango Swirl Yogurt Cheesecake to win the original recipe contest that was held to celebrate the new website.

All this and getting an award too!!! It's been an awesome week!

Thank you to all my blogger friends.......

Here are the pictures of the three winning recipes...

Avocado Fudge Brownies with Feta Cheesecake Swirl for the Quickies Challenge

Matcha Meringue Sandwiches with Dark Chocolate Mint Ganache for the Mission:Food tea contest

Mango Swirl Yogurt Cheesecake with Apricot Date Shortbread Crust (gluten-free) for the Pittsburgh Hot Plate Recipe Contest

Slice of Mango Swirl Yogurt Cheesecake

My first award (blushing)

2010-07-16T17:54:00.000-04:00

How very exciting to check your comments and find that someone has given you an award! I am always scooting around checking out all the beautifully crafted blogs, the amazing photos and recipes of other bloggers and I feel woefully inadequate in the IT department...LOL

Fortunately for me, technical expertise is not a prerequisite for people to enjoy my blog. If it was...I'd be in deep water.

Let me just say, to win an award from such a gorgeous site as The Ardent Epicure is high praise indeed. I was not aware that several on my list of favorite bloggers are all contributors (and related) to the site. So, I thank you most humbly and kindly for the recognition.

The rules state that I must reveal seven things about myself...what a double-edged sword that could be eh??

1. I am a complete techno-phobe (big surprise there huh) and have been known to throw abberant electronic devices across the room, in the pool, or just sweep them off my desk into the floor. I once thought about shooting my computer tower with a 9mm handgun.

2. My 27 year old daughter had to teach me what a blog was and why one would want to have one.

3. I have asked Santa Clause to put Johnny Depp in my Christmas stocking for over 10 years now and it has never happened.

4. I can resist any evil temptation save good dark chocolate.

5. I am a raging, wild-eyed germ-a-phobe and clean freak.

6. I have no formal culinary training, though I have devoured every book, magazine or article I can find on cooking. My favorite show was a PBS series called "Great Chefs of America" over 25 years ago...and I watched it religiously. As a child, I stood on a kitchen chair and made biscuits, pies and other goodies with my grandmother.

7. I won the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association Beef Cook-off in 1996 and competed at the University of Kentucky at Bollingreen's culinary school for a chance to win the National Title. There were 50 competitors...one from every state. I took second place in the Nationals.

The next requirement for accepting this award is to pass it on to 15 other bloggers. That will be a hard choice because there truely are SO many wonderfully talented foodies here. However, I will do my best..

1. Stella at http://thewitchykitchen.blogspot.com/ who was one of the first people to find and begin following my blog. Her site is lovely and her recipes are always bewitching!

2. Rick at http://bittersweetsugarandsarcasm.blogspot.com/ who is just a hoot! He was also one of the first to find and follow my blog. His posts are so adorable and creative...I still get a kick out of the Nyquil thing...

3. Drick at http://dricksramblingcafe.blogspot.com/ whose garden fresh creations remind me of my childhood.

4. Kristin at http://wiseanticsoflife.blogspot.com/ (Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker) for her make-it yourself attitude and because I understand what its like to be the chauffer, laundress, cook, maid, teacher, bookkeeper etc etc etc.......

5. Chef Dennis at http://morethanamountfull.blogspot.com/ whose recipes are inspired, photos amazing and his obvious commitment to the girls who have been placed in his capable charge.

6. Claudia at http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/ whose every recipe comes with a family story. It is a lovely and tasty legacy!

7. Biren at http://rotinrice.blogspot.com/ because I am so envious of her photography skills and...her creative and beautiful recipes.

8. Jacob at Jacob's Kitchen ...Im sorry, I can't find the url for his site. I know you can find it on facebook but I don't know the blog server. All I can say is...WOW..that man can bake! I don't know if I ever seen such mouthwatering baked goods.

9. Chef Ryan (Cajun Chef Ryan)...again, I don't have the url but you can catch his posts on foodbuzz.com I love his simple approach...great ingredients, homemade...and always fresh.

10. Lazaro at http://lazarocooks.blogspot.com/ I am endlessly amazed at his creativity and presentation. If he's a practicing home cook...I'm in big trouble!

11. Roxan at http://kitchenmeditation.blogspot.com/ for her creative use of healthy ingredients and wonderful writing.

12. Kristin at http://motherrimmy.com/wordpress/ who is a prolific poster of delicious and healthful recipes.

13. http://sophisticatedpeasant.blogspot.com/ I'm sorry I don't know her name but this blogger is a wealth of information on healing foods.

14. Vegan Aide...no url on this one either but find on foodbuzz. An amazingly talented vegan cook.

15. Healthy Exposures...that girl makes oatmeal look like a 5 star meal. I'm truely impressed with her very healthy eating habits.

That about raps it up...thanks again to The Ardent Epicure (and all it's contributors) for the award!

Look at these photos I took at the Edison Ford Winter Estates (in Fort Myers) a few weeks ago. Why can't my food photos come out like this?

"Seminole Lodge" Part of the Thomas Edison Winter Estate in Fort Myers

Wisteria covered trellis that conects Edison's private home to his guest house, The Seminole Lodge.