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And this, friends, would be an example of an AHubb meal. Or, an AHubb meal following a couple of weeks of BHubb meals, multiple food-centered editorial assignments, and a day-long photoshoot involving roughly 800oz of potato chips. Which, yes, we kept and distributed [mostly] to friends and family. With the fast approach of the holiday season and even heavier meals for impending Winter days, I've decided to challenge myself to create an interesting salad each week. To keep me on track, grounded, and hopefully in my current jeans. Not that I'll share each of them here. I know...you all really enjoy recipes more closely aligned with orecchiette carbonara and peach cakes. Who doesn't? But I thought, maybe, some of you might appreciate a few healthier options sprinkled here and there.
We all have those days when our jeans fit just a little tighter than the last, when we are craving something complex and hearty and cheesy for lunch but know we should choose the green salad instead. This recipe is my compromise. With a healthy dose of greens and apples, and a modest sprinkling of blue cheese and candied walnuts, it satisfies without the guilt. Make it lighter by omitting the candied walnuts and just sprinkling them on raw...but gosh, they sure are tasty.
Never fear...I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe for apple torte. :)
The combination of apples, blue cheese, and candied walnuts is well-loved and known for salads. Sometimes you just need a little reminder about an old favorite.
Autumn Salad with Apples, Blue Cheese, + Candied Walnuts
serves 4
Salad Ingredients
4 cups fresh spinach
2 cups fresh arugula
1 tart apple, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
Candied Walnut Ingredients
1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
large pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups halved walnuts
Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette Ingredients
2 tbsp grain mustard
4 tbsp golden balsamic vinegar (or champagne vinegar if you can't find golden balsamic)
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
First, candy the walnuts. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a heavy skillet. Bring to a boil, whisking, and allow to boil for 1 minute. Add the walnuts and stir to coat. Continue tossing until the syrup forms a glaze on the nuts, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to sheet of foil and quickly separate them with forks.
Second, make the vinaigrette. Combine the mustard, vinegar, and honey in the small bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. With the processor running, slowly add the olive oil to emulsify, processing for about 1 minute.
Toss together the spinach and arugula. Place in a shallow serving dish. Add the apples and walnuts evenly across the top of the greens, then the crumbled blue cheese. Dress the salad on individual plates.
Last week, while sharing lunch with a friend, standing in line at the post office, answering phones at work, passing a stranger on the sidewalk, Charlottesville folks were discussing snow. Big snow...at least for our little city. The forecasters were predicting another huge storm, rumored to rival the December 19th event that pushed its way into the #4 slot on Charlottesville’s list of historic snowfall totals. It was all very exciting, and a tad bit scary. We were warned of the heaviness of this snow, expected to be so much wetter than the last accumulation. We were told to prepare for power outages and potential roof collapse, to be ready to spend days in our homes and to have the supplies required to get us through that time.
The city was a flurry of activity (ahem...pun intended) as residents scrambled to buy stores out of their supply of milk, eggs, and toilet paper. Snow shovels were a hot commodity, with those shops that managed to receive shipments putting a one-shovel-per-customer limit on purchases. We bought ice melt and candles, bread and cans of tuna, charcoal for our grill and meat and potatoes to place over the flame should we lose power and the use of our oven. We settled in, prepared for the worst, ready to weather the storm.
In the end we wound up with nearly 15 inches of snow, 10 inches less than predicted after sleet clinked against our windows and prevented substantial accumulation for most of Friday night. We were lucky enough to lose power only once, and then for only an hour. Although the city did a fine job of clearing primary roads during and after the storm, we still chose to remain at home, warm and cozy, for the entire weekend.
Brian and I have become quite adept at preparing for long periods of isolation in our house. We stock up on the necessities already mentioned, along with certain items that help to keep us entertained and pass the time - wine, multiple disks of Entourage, magazines and books, baking supplies. The last is the most important for me, as I take comfort in the fact that even if the sky were to dump 48 inches of snow across our lawn and we were to lose power for 7 full days, I could still make bread and cookies in our Big Green Egg. Also, I really like to bake, and the thought of three, uninterrupted days to do so makes me very, very happy.
And so, along with the necessary non-perishables and paper goods, my grocery bags contained milk and eggs, flour and yeast as I left the market Thursday afternoon. I browsed through my cookbooks that evening, imagining each one of my mixing bowls tucked into various corners of the kitchen, plastic wrap stretched tight across their tops, plump balls of dough slowly rising within. Brian requested something sweet, a dessert-ish bread to smear soft butter across as an after-dinner snack. Not one to ever pass on the suggestion of something sweet, I dove right into thoughts of a bread swirled with cinnamon and sugar, laced with figs and walnuts, the crumb sweetened by a touch of honey.
The loaf I was hoping for emerged from the oven just as the snow started to lighten Saturday evening. The intoxicating mélange of fresh-baked bread, sultry cinnamon, earthy walnuts and syrupy figs will forever bring to mind the vision of a silver-cloaked sun setting behind frosty trees, their limbs glimmering with a mask of tiny diamonds. A lovely ending, indeed.
1/2 cup buttermilk (or whole milk), at room temperature
2 tbsp honey
3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, plus extra
1-1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast
1-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable shortening, at room temperature
3/4 cup water, at room temperature
1 cup dried figs, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (for cinnamon sugar swirl)
2 tbsp ground cinnamon (for cinnamon sugar swirl)
2 tbsp butter, melted
Method
Dissolve the honey in the buttermilk by heating both over low heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Sift together the flour, salt, yeast and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, shortening, buttermilk mixture and water. Stir together with a large spoon (or mix on low speed in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust with flour and water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff.
Sprinkle flour on a counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Add flour as you knead (or mix), if necessary to achieve this texture. Knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes (or by machine for 6 to 8 minutes). Sprinkle in the figs and walnuts during the final 2 minutes of kneading (or mixing) to distribute them evenly. If you are kneading with a mixer, you'll want to finish kneading by hand to avoid crushing the figs and walnuts, and to be sure to distribute them evenly.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
Mix together the 1/2 cup turbinado sugar and 2 tbsp ground cinnamon. Set aside.
Butter two 4x8 loaf pans.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece into a 5x8 rectangle. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge of the dough.
Starting at the short end, carefully roll the dough into a tight log*, sealing the seam as best you can. Tuck the ends up towards the seam, sealing as best you can. Place the log in a buttered loaf pan, seam-side down. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Spray the tops of the loaves with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free location to proof for 60 to 90 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350* with the rack in the middle of the oven. Uncover the loaves and brush the tops with melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf pans 180 degrees and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the loaves are golden brown on top and lightly golden on the sides and bottom. They should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
Immediately remove the loaves from their pans and cool on a rack for at least an hour before slicing and serving.
*I'm guessing that my loaf pulled apart along the swirl because it wasn't rolled tightly enough. It is still perfectly textured and delicious, the slices just don't hold together well as you bite into them.
The landscape during and after a winter storm is an amazing sight, always changing, different from one minute to the next. Every few hours I piled on layers of warmth, tucked my jeans into my boots, forced a hat over unruly hair, and trudged outside in the swirling snow to capture some of the magic.
I’ve been holding out on you. Not because I’ve wanted to, in fact I knew as soon as I made this salad that I would be sharing it with you as soon as possible. I was just hoping to get some additional photographs for the presentation because it is such a beautiful salad and so absolutely delicious. Even though it is incredibly simple (or maybe because it is incredibly simple?) it deserves fanfare. And a lot of photos. The task shouldn’t have been so difficult - I make this dish all the time. But each time since the first I’ve either been in a rush, or made it at a friend’s house without my camera present (gasp!) or its been too late and too dark to shoot anything decent. So, I’ve caved and am giving it to you now, just a few photos short.One of my favorite restaurants in Charlottesville is Bizou. The atmosphere is dark and quirky - perfectly cozy on a blustery winter day or a welcome retreat from the blinding summer sun. They have a great daily menu and a variety of specials that never disappoint, along with a nice selection of wine. Every single dish I’ve tried has been very good, but I am always disappointed if I don’t get my tried and true favorite - Golden Beet Salad. So simple, such a perfect combination of flavors, so so so delicious.A couple of months ago I was at the grocery store and noticed that they had golden beets. I rarely see them so jumped at the opportunity to replicate my favorite salad. And I’ve jumped each time I’ve seen the sunny globes in the produce department since, because you just don’t know when they’ll be present again.
My salad isn’t exactly like Bizou’s, but its close. I haven't given quantities of anything because its not necessary to be that precise. Just keep tossing ingredients together until you've got a good variety of textures and colors in your bowl. The picture above is missing walnuts, a key ingredient and one not to leave out. I did on this one occasion because we were sharing it with a friend who is allergic, but it is definitely best with them. The honey mustard dressing is an Alton Brown recipe that is delicious as it is and I’ve never taken the time to play with it. However, Bizou’s dressing had mustard seeds and I love the crunch they provide - its worth experimenting with. Also, buy good quality chevre to crumble on top. You won’t be sorry.
Golden Beet Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Salad:
golden beets, peeled, chopped and roasted with 1 tbsp olive oil for 25 minutes at 425*.
grape tomatoes, halved
cucumber, sliced thinly
red cabbage, sliced thinly
spinach or a mesclun mix
chevre, crumbled
walnuts, chopped and toasted at 425* until fragrant, 8-10 minutes
Dressing:
5 tbsp honey
3 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Method:
Roast beets. Toast walnuts
Toss spinach, tomatoes, cucumber and cabbage together.
Sprinkle chevre and toasted walnuts on top.
Whisk dressing ingredients together and drizzle over salad.
There have been a few small changes in the garden since my first bella terra post. The thyme, sage and oregano are starting to show some green. The blackberry and raspberry vines have tiny bits of new growth. And the weeds are popping up with a vengeance. Brian (my hubb) and I have big plans for the weekend. Some fence repair, re-mulching the paths, weeding and seeding. In just a handful of days (7-10 to be exact) we should have broccoli, peas, beets, lettuce, kale and spinach poking out of the rich compost. I can't wait. :)
Here, the blackberry vine...The very first signs of life I see in the garden each year are chives. Beautiful green shoots that peek from beneath the blanket formed by last year’s growth, the late-fall crop that laid down their lives with the first hard frost to protect the next generation. They were already popping up two weeks ago when I ventured into the garden for the first time since fall. The new chives are thankfully resistant with help from the old - they managed to survive the late snow we had just last week. When I visited the garden after work one evening to check their progress I was pleased to find that they were ready for me to cut.here, on march 7th...see how they've grown?
Chives are one of my favorite herbs to use in the kitchen because they are so versatile. Toss them with fingerling potatoes to roast, sprinkle them raw over top of an omelet, fold them into batter to be baked in cheddar biscuits...their mild, onion-like flavor allows for endless possibilities. I’d bookmarked thisNY Times recipe for an herb frittata earlier this month and knew as soon as I spotted those lovely bits of green from over the fence that the time had come to try it.
I'd never made a frittata before. It seemed to me that it would be a difficult task and, having never read a frittata recipe before, I assumed that it would contain whole milk and cheese (similar to a quiche) and not be terribly productive to my weight-loss efforts. Boy was I wrong, on ALL assumptions. For one, the process was really easy. As long as you have a decent non-stick skillet and some patience, this dish really couldn't be easier. And I used just two dishes to make it...two! I really like a quick and simple recipe, but add "very little clean-up" to its list of attributes and I am in love.
Second, the frittata is much healthier than any quiche recipe I've made. The main contributor to its healthfulness? A lack of crust. That's right...no crust. And...no cheese. The greek yogurt makes the consistency so creamy that you'll never miss it. Plus, this particular recipe is loaded with spinach and herbs, not to mention heart-healthy walnuts and yummy mushrooms.
I was so impressed with my first frittata experience that I've already been dreaming up new combos of flavors. I can't wait until that pile of herbs and spinach pictured above is all home-grown from my garden, maybe with some bell peppers and tomatoes mixed in. Oh, what a glorious summer it will be...
Spinach, Herb and Mushroom Frittata258 cal, 19g fat, 6g carbs, 1g sugar, 2g fiber, 11g protein [nutritional info from thedailyplate.com]
recipe adapted from the NY Times
Ingredients:
12oz baby spinach
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped chives
8 fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
8 large eggs
1/2 cup thick Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher salt (more to taste)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), green stems removed, finely minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (2 tablespoons if you don’t have a nonstick pan)
Method:
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Add the spinach to the boiling water and blanch for 10 to 20 seconds. Transfer to the ice water to cool for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop finely.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the yogurt, walnuts, salt and pepper. Add the spinach, herbs and garlic, and mix together well. Adjust salt and pepper. Let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms.
Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Drop a bit of egg into the pan, and if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture, scraping every bit out of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Roll the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with the spatula in your other hand, in order to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking. Turn the heat down to low, and cover the pan. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan every once in a while, until the frittata is just about set. Meanwhile, light the broiler.
If the frittata is not quite set on the top, place under the broiler, about three inches from the heat, for one to two minutes, watching closely, until just beginning to color on the top. Do not allow the eggs to brown too much or they’ll taste bitter. (I wound up leaving it under the broiler for about 4 minutes total, until just starting to brown).
Remove from the heat, allow to sit in the pan for five minutes or longer, then carefully slide out onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
In the Blog World...
Tina at Carrots 'N' Cake has released a call for guest bloggers...how fun! If you haven't checked out Tina's blog yet you really should. She's got great daily tips for creating a healthy lifestyle through good eats and exercise. Guest blogging is a great way to spread your blog words to further reaches, so consider sending her an email with some ideas!
Two Spoons made a savory version of my scones! Yum...the possibilities are endless. :)
Ryan at Chasing Daylightmade bella eats enchi-ritos! So glad you enjoyed them, Ryan!
Jennifer and Jessica of Keep It Simple Foods have been enjoying my dark chocolate PB and strawberry breakfast combo...glad you're liking it ladies! Mmmm...a little french inspiration in the morning is a great start to any day! :)
If you've tried a recipe you've found on bella eats, let me know! I'd love to read your thoughts on it and send others your way. :)
Who else is THRILLED that tomorrow is Friday?!?!?!? :)
Last week, the lovely Whitney of Whitney in Chicago made granola. I commented on her blog that it looked delicious, to which she responded "let me send you some!". Yes please! It arrived at the end of last week and was enjoyed as cereal with soy milk, on top of greek yogurt and, most commonly, by the handful while staring into my pantry trying to decide what to make for dinner. That was my favorite way to consume it. It is chock-full of pistachios and cranberries, along with almonds and coconut flakes. Delicious. Thank you Whitney!
Granola is one of those grocery store items that I hate to buy. It is somewhat expensive and every time I pick up a box or scoop some into a bulk bag I think to myself "I should just make my own!" My good friend Beth sent Brian (my hubb) and I a batch for Christmas which was consumed quickly and similarly to Whitney's. Since then I've had granola on my to-make list, and the arrival of Whitney's package secured its spot at the very top of that list.
As I've written before, its spring cleaning time. I've been working through the containers of dried fruits and nuts in my pantry, cleaning out items that have been stored for far too many months to make room for new purchases. Granola seemed like the perfect way to use up the small quantities of miscellaneous dried goods that I had left. I dug around and found currants, cranberries, apples and pineapple along with walnuts, pumpkin seeds and a small amount of finely shredded unsweetened coconut.
As I gathered my ingredients I eagerly pulled up Whitney's recipe to make sure I had what I needed for the granola base. One item on the list stirred a recent memory of a white, flour-like substance that I had been storing in a small gladware container. It had been in the pantry for months and I had been trying to remember what it was. I knew that I had opened a box of something, used a good portion of it and stored the remainder in this container for future use. The only problem? I hadn't labeled the container, and I had no idea what the substance was. Just last week, during my initial cleaning out of the pantry I had stumbled upon it and, exasperated that I coudn't remember what it was, I threw it out. Now I remembered. Powdered milk. And, of course, Whitney's recipe called for it. And I, the non-labeler, had none.
I quickly decided that powdered milk must not be an absolutely necessary ingredient in granola. My reasoning? Everybody loves granola, including Vegans. And a granola that contained powdered milk would not be vegan so powdered milk must not be necessary. This means that honey must not be absolutely necessary either but I chose to keep it in, because I do love honey.
For my kitchen sink granola (or should I say pantry shelf granola?) I decided to hop over to The Kitchen Sink, remembering that I had seen Kristin feature granola a few times on her blog. And her recipe didn't require powdered milk. Ding ding! I modified the mix to include the items I had on hand, but the base recipe is the same. And it is delicious. Store-bought granola? A distant memory.
2 cups mixed dried fruit (I used cranberries, currants, apples and pineapple)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375*. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the dried fruit. Stir well to incorporate.
Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on how golden you like it (I baked mine for 20 minutes). Stir every 10 minutes.
Remove the granola from the oven and cool completely, in its pan on a wire rack. Once the granola is cool mix in the dried fruit.
In the Blog World:
Wiggs of The Beholder is hosting a fabulously fun contest! Please check it out, and hang out for awhile to read her blog. She is hilarious, and is going to give me swimmer abs by summertime. I shall be forever grateful. :)
Jenn of Eating Benderjust had her 1 year Blogiversary, and to celebrate is hosting a fun giveaway! Congratulations Jenn!
HangryPants is giving away a Lexan Healthy Juicer! Fun!!!
Have you been reading Kath's posts about her trip to Africa? Amazing!
Good Sunday evening, all! Thank you for all the sweet comments about my BSI submission...you make me blush! :) I have so much fun coming up with new recipes, and especially photographing them. My hubb was so sweet to have yellow tulips waiting for me when I got home last night from my trip, and I just couldn't resist getting them in the photos. Especially since blondies are brown, my table is brown...the flowers helped add a little pop to the photos. I'm glad you liked them!
My day was busy, but a good busy filled with baking, exercise with my pup, dinner cooking with my hubb, netflix during and after dinner...I can't complain! We finally had a chance to make a pizza I've been dying to try, out of one of my favorite books, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. This book is fabulous, and even though we sometimes void the vegetarian aspect of the recipes (like tonight) we've enjoyed everything we've made from it. Tonight was no exception.
Dinner: Carmelized Onion, Blue Cheese, Walnut and Bacon Pizza, a side of Golden Brussels Sprouts (a la 101 cookbooks) and a glass of cabernet
[650-700 calories - YIKES!!!]
The above picture is of the onions within the first 5 minutes of caramelization. The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished onions. :( We used pre-made TJ's whole wheat pizza dough that I had frozen. I'm not crazy about the TJ's dough...I think I'll pass on buying it again.
The contraption my hubb is using to get the pizza in and out of the oven is called a Super Peel, and it is AWESOME. I can't wait to use it for some homemade breads...
This was my first time using the 101 Cookbooks method of cooking brussels sprouts and I am SO IMPRESSED. I don't think we'll be roasting them again for a long time...
I had a little less than 1/4 of the pizza on my plate, but only ate about 2/3's of that. It was SO RICH. I think next time I'll use less blue cheese...
This was a weird eating day for me. Breakfast was so late that I skipped lunch, but did have a peanut butter date blondie after they were photographed. Of course. Then I promptly packed them up to take with me to the office tomorrow. Definitely can't risk having those tasty little treats hanging out in my kitchen!
Snack: peanut butter date blondie
[250 calories]
Dessert: 1/2 cup of Ciao Bella blood orange sorbetto...so good.
[120 calories]
Exercise: I took my dog Lucy for a 3 mile walk/run around the neighborhood. We both needed the exercise, and I wanted to test out my foot. It did ok, but I'm still taking it easy. I think I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist to get it checked out... I walked/ran more for Lucy than for me...she's not used to running that far all at once. She had surgery last summer on both of her knees and didn't fully recover until December, so we're still working on getting her strength back. She did really well though, I'm a proud momma! :)
[-260 calories]
Daily Review:
calories consumed: about 1,600
calories expelled: about 260
net intake: about 1,340
Not too bad considering what I ate today. Skipping lunch helped, but that definitely isn't a habit I'll be getting into! I'm kinda glad tomorrow is Monday and I'll be getting back to my routine and my normal healthy eats... :)
G'night!
Good morning! Sorry I missed a post last night...I was wrapped up in BSI baking and then two movies on the couch with my hubby. :)
I'm very excited about this week's BSI ingredient chosen by Amy over at Coffee Talk...WALNUTS!!! As you've probably noticed, all of my BSI entries thus far have involved baking. I love to bake and realized that I wasn't doing enough of it so this has been a great way for me to get creative with making up my own recipes and experimenting in the kitchen. Walnuts were a tough one for me this week because I really don't cook much with nuts...my hubby HATES cooked nuts in baked goods. Something about the texture. So I never add walnuts to my banana bread or brownies because he won't eat them, which means I would be left with the whole batch to eat all by myself. A feat I am certainly capable of but which is not so helpful in my quest to eat healthier or lose weight.
So this recipe comes from two points of inspiration... 1. How do I incorporate walnuts into a baked good in a way in which Brian will eat the baked good? 2. How can I incorporate some of our leftover Thanksgiving ingredients so that they don't go to waste (buttermilk and fresh cranberries)?
The solution? Cranberry Walnut Sandies!!!
Whenever I have buttermilk in the fridge that is needing to be used I think of a wonderful scone recipe that a friend gave me a long time ago. Her scones are wonderfully fluffy, unlike most dry, hard scones you find in stores. I decided to start with her recipe, but to substitute the all-purpose flour for white whole wheat flour, and substitute some of the total amount of flour for some ground up walnuts. I was hoping that the ground walnuts would give the scones a wal-nutty taste without the big chunks of baked nuts that my husband despises so much. I added turbinado sugar in place of refined, and threw in the leftover fresh cranberries I had in the fridge.
I was surprised when I got everything all mixed together and the result resembled cookie dough rather than scone or bread dough like I thought it would. Because of this unexpected twist, the recipe quickly turned into a cookie recipe rather than a scone recipe. Warning: this is not one of my healthier recipes... :)
Cranberry Walnut Sandiesmakes 18 cookiescalories: 252 fat: 15.4g sat. fat: 5.8g carbs: 26g fiber: 3g sugar: 13.2g protein: 4.8gIngredients:
3/4 cup buttermillk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups walnut halves and pieces
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 cup whole fresh cranberries, chopped finely in processor
4 oz baking chocolate, broken into small pieces
Steps:
Preheat oven to 375*.
Spread walnut halves on ungreased baking sheet and place in oven to toast for about 10 minutes or until fragrant. Stir once at about 5 minutes.
Pull walnut halves from oven and grind to fine flour in food processor or blender.
Mix WWW flour with ground walnuts, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles course bread crumbs.
Add sugar, chopped cranberries and chocolate pieces.
In separate bowl, mix together buttermilk, egg and extract until smooth. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and fold together until well blended.
Place golf ball sized drops of dough on greased cookie sheet. Press each dough ball down to flatten slightly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
walnut flour chopped cranberries chocolate chunks pre-baking
I am so happy with the result, especially since I really wasn't sure what to expect. The cookies came out perfectly crunchy on the outside and wonderfully moist on the inside. The walnut flavor in the dough is fantastic...I was worried that it might be overpowering but it is not at all. Because the cranberries are chopped so finely they add more of a sweetness to the cookie than a tartness. And the ultimate test...Brian LOVED them!
I love the little red cranberry specs in them. I will definitely be making these again...probably as a holiday cookie this Christmas. I'd like to try them out as smaller, bite-size drop cookies to increase their crunch a bit.
A quick dinner recap for last night...
Dinner: Leftovers!!! (thankfully the last of them) along with a new batch of roasted veggies. We had none leftover after Thanksgiving!!! But luckily we hadn't roasted all the veggies we had in the fridge, so I was able to do another batch of them last night.
broccoli
brussels sprouts
parsnips
beats
tomatoes
garlic
mashed sweet potatoes
mashed russet potatoes and celery root
stuffing
cornbread pudding
veggies
And two glasses of wine, one while cooking/eating and one while movie watching.
And, 1/2 a cookie for dessert. Bri took the other 1/2...
Busy day ahead... Christmas decorating (didn't get to it last night what with all the movie watching...), yoga!!!, more baking, cooking a few things to get a head start on the week, maybe spin.... I'll report back later!
Enjoy your Sunday!
My salad isn’t exactly like Bizou’s, but its close. I haven't given quantities of anything because its not necessary to be that precise. Just keep tossing ingredients together until you've got a good variety of textures and colors in your bowl. The picture above is missing walnuts, a key ingredient and one not to leave out. I did on this one occasion because we were sharing it with a friend who is allergic, but it is definitely best with them. The honey mustard dressing is an Alton Brown recipe that is delicious as it is and I’ve never taken the time to play with it. However, Bizou’s dressing had mustard seeds and I love the crunch they provide - its worth experimenting with. Also, buy good quality chevre to crumble on top. You won’t be sorry.
Golden Beet Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Salad:
see how they've grown?
Chives are one of my favorite herbs to use in the kitchen because they are so versatile. Toss them with fingerling potatoes to roast, sprinkle them raw over top of an omelet, fold them into batter to be baked in cheddar biscuits...their mild, onion-like flavor allows for endless possibilities. I’d bookmarked 
I'd never made a frittata before. It seemed to me that it would be a difficult task and, having never read a frittata recipe before, I assumed that it would contain whole milk and cheese (similar to a quiche) and not be terribly productive to my weight-loss efforts. Boy was I wrong, on ALL assumptions. For one, the process was really easy. As long as you have a decent non-stick skillet and some patience, this dish really couldn't be easier. And I used just two dishes to make it...two! I really like a quick and simple recipe, but add "very little clean-up" to its list of attributes and I am in love.
Second, the frittata is much healthier than any quiche recipe I've made. The main contributor to its healthfulness? A lack of crust. That's right...no crust. And...no cheese. The greek yogurt makes the consistency so creamy that you'll never miss it. Plus, this particular recipe is loaded with spinach and herbs, not to mention heart-healthy walnuts and yummy mushrooms.
I was so impressed with my first frittata experience that I've already been dreaming up new combos of flavors. I can't wait until that pile of herbs and spinach pictured above is all home-grown from my garden, maybe with some bell peppers and tomatoes mixed in. Oh, what a glorious summer it will be...
Spinach, Herb and Mushroom Frittata
258 cal, 19g fat, 6g carbs, 1g sugar, 2g fiber, 11g protein [nutritional info from thedailyplate.com]
recipe adapted from 
In the Blog World...
Tina at 
Granola is one of those grocery store items that I hate to buy. It is somewhat expensive and every time I pick up a box or scoop some into a bulk bag I think to myself "I should just make my own!" My good friend Beth sent Brian (my hubb) and I a batch for Christmas which was consumed quickly and similarly to Whitney's. Since then I've had granola on my to-make list, and the arrival of Whitney's package secured its spot at the very top of that list.
As I've written before, its spring cleaning time. I've been working through the containers of dried fruits and nuts in my pantry, cleaning out items that have been stored for far too many months to make room for new purchases. Granola seemed like the perfect way to use up the small quantities of miscellaneous dried goods that I had left. I dug around and found currants, cranberries, apples and pineapple along with walnuts, pumpkin seeds and a small amount of finely shredded unsweetened coconut.
As I gathered my ingredients I eagerly pulled up 
I quickly decided that powdered milk must not be an absolutely necessary ingredient in granola. My reasoning? Everybody loves granola, including Vegans. And a granola that contained powdered milk would not be vegan so powdered milk must not be necessary. This means that honey must not be absolutely necessary either but I chose to keep it in, because I do love honey.
For my kitchen sink granola (or should I say pantry shelf granola?) I decided to hop over to 
The above picture is of the onions within the first 5 minutes of caramelization. The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I forgot to get a picture of the finished onions. :( We used pre-made TJ's whole wheat pizza dough that I had frozen. I'm not crazy about the TJ's dough...I think I'll pass on buying it again.
The contraption my hubb is using to get the pizza in and out of the oven is called a 
This was my first time using the 
I had a little less than 1/4 of the pizza on my plate, but only ate about 2/3's of that. It was SO RICH. I think next time I'll use less blue cheese...
This was a weird eating day for me. Breakfast was so late that I skipped lunch, but did have a peanut butter date blondie after they were photographed. Of course. Then I promptly packed them up to take with me to the office tomorrow. Definitely can't risk having those tasty little treats hanging out in my kitchen!
Snack: peanut butter date blondie
[250 calories]
Dessert: 1/2 cup of Ciao Bella blood orange sorbetto...so good.
[120 calories]
Exercise: I took my dog Lucy for a 3 mile walk/run around the neighborhood. We both needed the exercise, and I wanted to test out my foot. It did ok, but I'm still taking it easy. I think I'm going to make an appointment with a podiatrist to get it checked out... I walked/ran more for Lucy than for me...she's not used to running that far all at once. She had surgery last summer on both of her knees and didn't fully recover until December, so we're still working on getting her strength back. She did really well though, I'm a proud momma! :)
[-260 calories]
Daily Review:
