Raspberry Palmiers

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I have always loved Palmiers, they are not only adorable to look at but delicious to eat.  Seeing these made with a raspberry filing instantly caught my eye and I knew I needed to recreate them. The filling alone is delicious to top on your yogurt or ice cream.  I cut mine on the smaller end thinking I wouldn't eat as many....WRONG! I barely shared the first batch.

Ingredients:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
About 4oz Raspberries
Brown Sugar to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the filling first; puree raspberries in a blender and add sugar to taste.

Sprinkle your work area generously with sugar and flatten the puff pastry thin. Spread the filling over but not too much as the most of it will leak out. Roll it up, wrap in foil and put in a fridge for a half an hour. Then slice it up and put on a large oven pan lined with baking paper. Bake according to the instructions on the package of puff pastry. Check out this video to learn how to roll your pastry; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVNk2lnAsvc

There will be several of these so it may be tight space on the pan.  Natural leaking of filling is normal but, they will still turn out adorable and delicious.

Eat hot or cold if you can wait......

Lemon Olive Oil Cake

I have a very hard time not eating this entire cake after I bake it.  I love it so much that I find myself cutting a slice and trying to get it out of my house as fast as possible.  It is so delicious, moist and easy to make.  I recommend this cake to anyone. Be sure to not bake it for too long, you don't want it to be dry.  You can also substitute the orange for lemon and the vanilla for the almond.

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing the pan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons juice, 1 tablespoon zest)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a whisk until blended and light. Drizzle in the olive oil and almond and mix until light and smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl. Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to incorporate. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cake cool 15 minutes, dust with confectioners sugar and serve.

Enjoy!

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Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad

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A salad trend that continues to return every year is the combination of watermelon and feta cheese.  The sweet nature of watermelon paired with the creamy and tangy cheese makes for a complimentary union.  I added some fresh tomatoes, cured olives, red onion and basil to enhance all the delicious flavors.  I topped this salad with a simple drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze.  I love to make a large version of this salad to serve for parties and store the leftovers to pick on the next day.  

1/2 of a watermelon cubed into 1 inch pieces 

1 8oz block of feta cheese cubed into .5 inch pieces

2 large tomatoes cut into 1 inch pieces

3/4 cup of pitted whole olives

1/2 of a red onion sliced

Several Fresh Basil Leaves for garnish

Extra Virgin Olive Oil and balsamic glaze to drizzle 

Salt and pepper to taste

Platter all of the ingredients saving the basil to use as garnish onto a serving dish, drizzle with evoo, balsamic, salt and pepper.  

One Pot Puttanesca Pasta

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I have been asked by several people my opinion on one pot pasta dishes.  I had never tried the method myself so I felt like I was not the right person to "comment." While preparing for a last minute group of friends coming over this past weekend I was stumped on what I was going to throw together while tidying my apartment. etc.  I had all the makings in my pantry for a recipe I had come across on Pinterest and thought, why not?  I made this one pot puttanesca and was pleasantly surprised.  This dish required minimal preparation, the outcome was delicious and I felt no guilt not preparing the pasta in a traditional fashion.  If you have the time and can make everything from start to finish, I say do it.  I love the process of making a sauce, cooking pasta perfectly and creating a dish.  Time is not always on our side though and this offers a great solution for us in a pinch.  I recommend using whole wheat pasta because the starch release helps makes for a lovely texture to the sauce.  This dish is vegan but feel free to add cheese, it is the best! Another trick I did was used artichokes and olives that were already cured.  I felt like the amount of salt I used on the finished product was almost none because the ingredients naturally flavored the dish.  

Ingredients

12 oz whole wheat spaghetti 

4 oz cured olives, I used a Spanish blend with chilis

1 pt or 14oz can of artichoke hearts, if cured just add to the dish, if canned rinse and drain

2 tbsp capers

1/2 large white or yellow onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14-oz.) can diced tomatoes no salt added

1 tb. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper 

salt, to taste, consider the other cured elements in the dish if using

3 cups vegetable broth, low sodium or no salt added

Instructions

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Add the pasta to a large, deep skillet, breaking in half if needed (a saucepan may also work). Add the rest of the ingredients, minus the broth, to the pan on top of the pasta, don't feel obligated to recreate an artsy arrangement.  Pour the vegetable broth over everything. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a steady simmer (medium to medium-low heat) and, keeping covered & stirring occasionally, cook for 8-10 more minutes, or until pasta is done through.  I like to give it a big toss, let is sit uncovered for about 3 minutes and serve.  Garnish to your desire.

Music Playlists

Music is as much a part of my life as food.  I am always being asked by friends about the music I am listening to, can I make a playlist for a party, what is your current jam?  To be honest, I love all types of music and love sharing my finds with others.  I will be posting new playlists I have created and enlisting trusted friends to make some to share with you too.  The first playlist to be shared is created by a dear friend of mine who goes by the mixmaster name Crooklynzoo, I call him Irwin. He is an encouraging presence in my life and pushes me to keep reaching.  Music is always a topic of conversation on our agenda, making him a natural choice to ask for assistance with a list.  This playlist is called "Summer Nights Vibes" and should make you feel like you want to be on a roof with some good folk sipping on some drinks....I can't argue with that.  Enjoy these awesome tunes and check back for more updates on my playlists I will be creating.

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https://soundcloud.com/crooklynzoo/sets/summer-nights

Cherry Pie

With the arrival of July cherries are perfectly sweet while being tart.  I love a cherry pie in summer, in fact it may be my favorite summer fruit pie.  I followed this same recipe I always do for crust and fruit filling.  I made a lattice top to showcase the beautiful cherries, if you are interested in learning check this link out.  

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My quick tip for pitting cherries?  Take an empty glass bottle, place a cherry on the mouth then pierce through the top with a chopstick.  This instantly removes the pit, making for a quick and easy method.  

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