Category: Food

Muffins!

Sadie1 Comment

These Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are a very distinct food memory for me.  I rowed crew in high school which is kind of a niche sport, especially when you’re in high school.  It’s a little bit of a hassle because you have to have a body of water, a boathouse, and of course boats.  Not the most popular high school sport.  Our regatta’s would typically be at the Schuykill or Cooper Rivers (Philly or Camden).  They would typically be weekend-long affairs.  While some of the weekend was spent actually on the water either warming up for a race or racing, there was always a significant amount of downtime that consisted of watching the other races and basically tailgating along the side of the river.

All of the parents of the kids on the team would pitch in to provide the snacks (lots, and lots of snacks).  And my mother would bring these muffins.  They always got raves from all of my teammates.  I love them too.  They seem like such a simple flavor combination: banana and chocolate chips, but some things never get old.Muffins!

I made them recently for some friends to munch on while we were volunteering for some local community service.  A perfect morning treat!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yields almost 24 regular size muffins (definitley 24 if you add walnuts)

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 2 eggs  (room temp)
  • 2 cups mashed banana (ripe!)
  • 2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 2T hot water
  • 3 cups flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt), and set aside.
  3. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, and add vanilla extract to butter and sugar mixture.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet in a batches.  Try not to over mix.  Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts (if you want).batter up
  5. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.  Fill them each about 2/3rds full.  Bake them for 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean and top is golden brown.

all done

Soup for the Soul

CarrieLeave a comment

Turkey Sausage, Kale, and Butternut Squash Soup

This weekend, I was feeling a little under the weather.  I caught a slight cold and have not been feeling myself.  I decided to make a healthful pot of soup.  I started the soup by sautéing italian turkey sausage with the casings removed.  Then after the sausage was browned, I added fennel, carrots, and onion, a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.  Once the vegetables were soft, I added a cup of champagne (it was already open in the fridge; you can also use white wine) and about two quarts of chicken broth.  Then I added a tablespoon of fresh grated nutmeg, a palmful of cumin, and an entire butternut squash that I peeled and diced.  I let this simmer for about 20 minutes or so until the squash was softened.  I added kale that I trimmed and cut into small pieces.  I let the soup simmer for another 20 minutes.  As the final step, I added a can of small white beans and warmed them through for another five minutes.  The final product was delicious and warmed my entire body through.  It is a great dish for a cold, snowy day.  Give it a go and you won’t be disappointed! Image

Easy Crispy Goat Cheese Salad

Sadie1 Comment

I often see posts on food blogs about recreating dishes from restaurants at home.  While I’m definitely jealous of this kind of ambition, I typically don’t try to duplicate restaurant dishes.  My philosophy is that the reason that I want to go to a restaurant is because I want something that I don’t want to make at home.

But as we know, there is an exception to every rule.  Every summer my family’s favorite vacation spot is Block Island, RI.  Most of the restaurants on this island are the typical burger places or seafood spots.  There is, however, one standout place that is a small hole in the wall on a side street.  The food is a step above everything else on the island, and you can usually tell by the hour long wait for a table any night of the week.

They have a great warm goat cheese salad.  It is an arugula salad with toasted sliced almonds, dried cranberries, sliced piquillo peppers, and warm crispy round of goat cheese on top.  I didn’t try to duplicate this salad exactly because I didn’t have all of the components on hand.  But I aimed to recreate the warm goat cheese and put together a good mix of textures and tastes to make a comprehensive side salad.  This is a great way to dress up your daily does of greens!

Crispy Goat Cheese Arugula Salad

Scale ingredients to number of servings required

Ingredients

  • Arugula
  • Traditional bread crumbs
  • Goat cheese (3 inch disc per serving, about 1/2 inch thick)
  • Dried cranberries
  • Spiced pecans
  • Olive oil (for goat cheese and dressing)
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Spread about a half cup of bread crumbs on a baking sheet (1/2 cup is enough for about four servings). Drizzle a little olive oil on the breadcrumbs, and toast in oven for about 5 minutes until golden brown.
  3. Allow bread crumbs to cool.  Cut goat cheese into discs that are about 1/2 inch think.  Form patties that are about 3 inches in diameter.  Brush a little olive oil on the goat cheese.  Coat the goat cheese discs completely with the cooled breadcrumbs.crispy
  4. Assemble the salad by combining the arugula, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans.  Season with salt and pepper and dress with oil and vinegar.
  5. When the salad is almost ready to be served, warm the goat cheese up in the oven again for about 5 minutes until warmed through.
  6. Plate the salads, and place a crispy goat cheese disc on top of each salad (it’s easier to serve this plated in individual portions instead of in a big salad bowl).ready for the table