Cooking for you, for me.

Mini Soft Pretzels!

Yes, we all love them. We all crave them. And sadly enough, the only ones that satisfy my cravings for these delicious twists of salty goodness are those from the NYC pretzel carts. I live in Florida. That’s a problem. Well my friends, not anymore! Here is a really simple, really fun recipe that will hold any NYC pretzel lovin’ foodie over until their next visit!

Pour 2 c. of warm water (about 100 degrees F) and 1 tablespoon sugar into bowl of electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (or you can do this by hand) and mix on low. Sprinkle with one packet of active dry yeast and let sit for 10 minutes. After ten minutes of sitting you will notice the yeast looks all foamy. Add 1 cup flour to yeast mixture, and mix on low until combined. Add 1 TBSP salt and 4 more c. flour, and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.

Beat on medium-low until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup flour, and knead on low 1 minute more. If dough is still wet and sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour (this will depend on weather conditions), if it is super dry and the flour is still not incorporated add a tiny splash of warm water.

Transfer to a lightly floured board, and knead about ten times, or until smooth.

Pour 2 TSP of canola or vegetable oil into a large bowl; swirl to coat sides. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to completely cover all sides with a little bit of the oil from the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough to remove bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead once or twice, divide into 32 equal pieces, then wrap them in plastic wrap to keep them contained, or space them out on a board where they are not touching eachother. Take one piece at a time and roll it out into a long strip (rolling out is easier when surface is not floured). Twist the long piece into a pretzel shape and set aside on parchment paper. Continue until all dough is twisted into pretzel shape. Let pretzels rest for a total of 15 minutes to allow for them to rise again, the first few pretzels you twisted should be ready by the time you finish all 32 (unless you are a pro pretzel twister…)

In a large pot, fill with two inches of water and bring to a boil. Add 1/4 c. baking soda (and quickly step back- it foams up really fast) and 2 TBSP sugar. Reduce to a simmer. Drop three-four pretzels in the pot at a time and poach, one minute per side. Then take out and repeat until all are done. (You can also freeze the excess pretzels, but you have to do this BEFORE you poach them- just let them rise, then space them out in a zip lock bag separating them with parchment paper).

Preheat oven to 450 degree F. Beat one egg with 1 TBSP water, brush the poached pretzels with the glaze- this will give them that nice golden color! Sprinkle with coarse salt (or desired topping- I also used sesame seeds upon request. If you want to do cinnamon sugar, wait until they are out of the oven). Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Pretzels are best when eaten warm! But they can stay good for a few days.

If you want to do the cinnamon sugar topping, now is the time to do it. Melt a few TBSP of unsalted butter, brush the warm pretzels with the butter on both sides and then dip in a bowl with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Don’t forget if you made the salted pretzels, serve with some yummy mustard on the side!

This is a great recipe to do with kids, they’ll love twisting their own pretzels! To be honest, my mom was very skeptical over my plans to make these soft pretzels, but once she saw me twisting them she jumped right in!

*Recipe came from the fabulous Smitten Kitchen

Delicious Honey Thyme Salted Flat Breads!

These are super easy to make, take almost no time at all, and are perfect for every occasion. Great to take to someones house for an appetizer, even better to enjoy for a mid-day bite with a glass of wine accompanied with a book. Yes, I have convinced myself that a beautiful day and a book should always be celebrated with a delicious bite and a glass of wine, and you should too!

Preheat oven to 450 F degrees, take two cookie sheets and place in oven, letting the sheets heat up along with the oven.

Take 1 and 3/4 c. of all-purpose flour, 1 TSP baking powder and 3/4 TSP salt- mix well in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 c. water, 1/3 c. olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough ball.

Divide the dough into four pieces. Take parchment paper and lay it on the counter, kneading each dough ball four or five time, then roll them using a rolling pin until super thin. Once all four are rolled thin, place them (along with the parchment paper they were rolled on to) on the warm cookie sheets in the oven, two per sheet. Leave in oven for five minutes.

Grate one cup of great quality Parmesan Romano (or your favorite hard cheese), set aside. Once the five minute are up, sprinkle the grated cheese genereously over the flatbreads- leaving about two TBSPs of the cheese behind. Place back in the oven and bake for another four minutes- until the edges get golden brown. Take out of oven and generously drizzle with honey, about 3 TBSP per flatbread, sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves, a pinch of sea salt, and the rest of the cheese. Cut into pieces, serve warm.

Your guests will rave over this! I halved this recipe, but next time I will make the whole thing since they disappeared in two seconds flat. This recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen, I have yet to find anything but phenomenal recipes from her site.

**Can be made Vegan by replacing the honey with Agave Nectar! :).

Get Vegucated! On Guava (Guayaba)… except Guava is a fruit, not vegetable. But get Fruiticated doesn’t quite have the same ring, now does it?

Guava is native to: Mexico, Central and South America, and is now cultivated in many tropics and subtropics, including Florida! (along with a ton of other places). They are pretty small, varying from 4-13 cm longs. The skin, pulp and seeds are edible, and the pulp ranges in an off-white color, normally being a sourer fruit, or a deep red color, which tends to be sweeter, depending on the species of guava.

Guava is one of my favorite flavors and fruits. I love guayaba pasteles, guava ice cream, basically anything guava. Surprisingly I’ve never actually had a guava though, until yesterday that is. On Saturday I went to the farmers market, this is something I do every weekend, to buy local, support organic farming practices, and purchase produce for the rest of the week. And while I was looking around I stumbled upon….yes, you guessed it, guava! So I bought four. And they are delicious. Not as sweet as I thought, but I’m pretty positive that’s because it was a yellow guava, which almost mimics the way a granadilla  (passion fruit) tastes. Get your adventure taste buds excited and find some guava!

Sponge Cake

A few weeks ago I was asked if I could post a sponge cake recipe, so here it is! This recipe has been something my grandma makes at almost every occasion. She uses this as a base for many cakes, but most importantly for the Buche de Noel, a traditional french Christmas cake. This sponge cake is light, delicious, and almost every household has the ingredients to make it at this very moment. My favorite way to eat it (besides from the Buche de Noel obviously) is with homemade whipped cream and fruit, preferably pineapple. I normally make this in two round pans and add whipped cream and pineapple slices to the middle before stacking, and then cover the rest with the homemade whipped cream, and some pineapple on top. But I didn’t have two round pans when I made this, I only had a cookie sheet- so I improvised. I made it on a cookie sheet, cut the cake into four pieces, and stacked them. Improvisation at it’s finest. Since I only had berries on hand, I used them, hence the tinted whipped cream- those berries really do stain.

This recipe is coming from memory, so bare with me here.

In bowl #1: Sift 1 c. all purpose flour, 1 TSP baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

In bowl #2: Beat 6 egg yolks and 1 c. sugar using a handheld beater, or one of those stand ones. Once it starts to ‘ribbon’ add 1 TSP vanilla extract and 1 TSP fresh squeezed lemon juice. Mix in on low: 1/2 of the flour mixture from bowl #1.

In bowl #3: Beat 6 egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Once stiff peaks form, fold in the second 1/2 of the flour mixture from bowl #1, make sure to re-sift it over the egg whites before you fold it in.

Add 1/3 of the mixture from bowl #3 into bowl #2, folding it in very carefully- it’s okay if it is not completely incorporated! If you over mix your batter your cake will not come out. This is the most important step. Once it is mostly folded in, add another 1/3 of the whites mixture to the yolks mixture. Repeat using the last 1/3. Once again, do not over mix. Just until barely incorporated is perfect!

Now this is when things get complicated. Chose your pan.

If you use a cookie sheet: spray sheet with non stick spray, making sure to spray the side edges, line it with wax paper, and pour your batter into the pan, making sure it is evenly distributed. Cook in 325 oven for 12- 15 minutes or until golden brown

If you are using two round pans: Make sure you butter the pans very well, and then dust them with flour so nothing sticks. Pour batter, cook in 325 over for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

While cake(s) are in the oven: make a small amount of simple syrup on the stove using 2 parts sugar 1 part water.

Once out of the oven let cool completely. If you used a cookie sheet- take a cutting board, or something roughly the same size as the cookie sheet, place it on top and then flip over to invert cake. Carefully peel off wax paper. If you used the pans, invert them carefully using a plate or something similar. Drizzle a little bit of simple syrup over the cake(s), along with a drizzle of cognac, rum or grand marnier, whichever you prefer.

For the whipped cream: use 1 quart of heavy whipping cream with 1/2-2/3 c. of powdered sugar. Start with 1/2 cup and add more to your liking. Also add 1 1/2 TSP vanilla extract. Whip until thick.

If you have the cake on a cookie sheet, cut into four even pieces, otherwise just layer your two cakes with whipped cream and desired fruit. Then cover outside and edges with whipped cream/fruit! Enjoy.

*Remember not to open the oven while cooking!

*This recipe is from my grandma, which came from a french magazine clipping that is at least 25+ years old.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

I was asked to make these pancakes because there was a plethora of buttermilk in the fridge with an expiration date on the horizon. We also had some local organic blueberries from our weekly food co-op sitting in the fridge. Anyone who knows me knows I truly truly dislike pancakes. I’m a crepe person, probably because my grandma turned me into one since the day I could eat solids, and now I just laugh at the idea of a pancake. Regardless, I was asked, and therefore here it is. This one is for you mom. (Note: these pancakes are not very sweet, so if you are into those super sweet pancakes, add a dollop of homemade whipped cream, or just double the sugar).

In a bowl combine: 2 c. all purpose flour, 2 TSP baking powder, 1 TSP baking soda, 1/2 TSP salt, 3 TBSP sugar. Mix well. Add two lightly beaten eggs, 3 cups buttermilk, 4 TBSP unsalted butter melted and cooled. (I added a TSP of grated lemon zest as well).

Heat skillet or pan to medium heat, add some cooking spray/butter, and drop 1/4 c. worth of batter per pancake. Once you put the batter on the pan, add multiple blueberries on top. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and maybe some whipped cream if you are into that.

*Recipe from Martha Stuart

And yes, that is a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice compliments of my dad. You can say this was a ‘pampering mom’ kind of morning.

Vegetarian Pho

So easy, so yummy, and great for both winter nights or when you feel a cold coming on! Enjoy!

Prepare a plate of: sliced limes, sliced fresh jalapeno, bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, mint. Some sriracha chili sauce and hoison sauce.

In a pot on medium heat add: 1 medium yellow onion quartered, 2 shallots halved, 8 garlic cloves halved, two-inches of ginger coarsely sliced or a TBSP amount of prepared ginger in the squeeze tube from the produce section. One cinnamon stick, 2 star anise pods, 4 cloves (or 1/2 TSP ground gloves). Stir occasionally until mixture starts to char- do not add oil or butter to the pot, let it dry-char. Once it does, add eight cups of clear vegetable stock to the pot, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes.

In the meantime take 1/2 a pack of rice noodles (I used rice ‘sticks’, it’s like rice noodles but they are supper thin) and place them in a bowl, cover with steaming water to cook, for 20 minutes. Then drain noodles and set aside.

In a pan saute one pack of oyster mushrooms and one pack of shiitake mushrooms. For 5-10 minutes until all the water evaporates.

Take broth and strain the liquid into another bowl, throwing away all vegetables and spices. Add mushrooms to strained broth along with 2 TBSP of soy sauce.

In a bowl add some noodles, the broth, and a handful of the prepared veggies and spices, a squirt of chili sauce and some hoison sauce to taste.

*Recipe by spatchcock

Homemade Kale Chips!

Kale is like the poor mans leafy green. It is so cheap, probably one of the cheapest veggies I’ve encountered, and they really don’t get enough credit. They are delicious in almost every mean- especially when it comes to snack time! Enjoy these super easy, healthy, crispy, baked kale chips!

Preheat oven to 275 F. Wash and de-rib (pull off from the center stem) the kale, then rip into 1 and a half inch pieces. Lay the kale on a clean towl to absorb all excess water, you want your kale dry before putting it in the oven! Lay it on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non stick spray.

You can shake some garlic powder, salt, etc on the kale to have a ‘flavored’ chip. If salting, make sure you use VERY little, once all the water is dehydrated and the kale shrinks up, you chip will be way too salty if you salt it according to it’s pre-baked size. I like the chips without seasoning, because I love the taste of kale. You can also toss with 1 TSP of vinegar if you want them to resemble a ‘salt and vinegar’ chip. Anyway you like em, you can make em!

Pop in the oven for 20 minutes, after 15 minutes if you notice the chips aren’t getting crispy you can increase the heat to 300 and monitor chips for the last five minutes or more if needed.

And lastly, don’t throw away those kale ribs! You can use them in a stir fry or green smoothie :). Enjoy!

Broccoli Two Ways!

Who doesn’t love Broccoli? Lucky for me I found a ton of the yummy super food in my share of fruits and veggies that came in on Tuesday (I’m part of a local organic food buying club aka food co-op). Yes, I admit, I am one of those people that uses broccoli in everything- green smoothies, quiche, side dishes, main dishes- you name it. So broccoli lovers unite! Here are two super easy, very different, and undeniably delish recipes:

Amazing Broccoli Slaw:

Combine in a bowl: Roughly two heads of broccoli chopped, including some stalk!, 1/2 cup toasted almond slivers, 1/3 cup dried cherries (you can use cranberries too! the cherries really complimented the slaw though), 1 shallot sliced super thinly.

In a separate bowl combine: 1/2 c. buttermilk, 1/3 c. mayo, 2 tbsp cider vinegar (if you don’t have cider on hand, replace with red wine or white vinegar…or any light vinegar that you enjoy really), 1 TBSP sugar. Stir really well, then pour mixture over broc mixture and stir well. Serve immediately, or place in fridge for later!

You won’t regret this slaw! The ingredients are so simple, but something about it is amazing. I know this because my dad kept saying ‘Omg, unbelievable’ ‘Excellent’ ‘Wow, this is really great, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my daughter’ and lastly, ‘Did you really make this?’. I’m not sure if he was so enthused because A) He was really hungry, B) Broccoli slaw is all the sudden his favorite food, of C) Because I am THAT good of a chef. Yes, I’m going to go with C. hahah.

*Recipe from Elizabeth Passarella, I think.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

This dish is so easy, it’s more of a family dish because it is full of flavor, but not necessary all that beautiful to look at. You can really change around this recipe to fit your tastes, this recipe is forgiving and always delish.

First: Take 3 TBSP of Panko bread crumbs and toast in oven until lightly golden, about two minutes.

In a bowl combine: A head of broccoli (or whatever you have on hand) chopped, 3 pieces of garlic chopped, 2 TBSP of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, a few grinds of pepper, and the toasted Panko. Also add in 2 TBSP of shredded parm cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer or have on hand).

Once well tossed, pour mixture onto a baking dish and bake in oven on 350 for 15ish minutes, until broccoli is browned and cheese has melted into a nice crisp! Enjoy.