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one ingredient ice cream and cuisinart giveaway
Thank you to everyone for your huge response! The comments are
now closed. I will announce the winner in my next post.
Alright. This is amazing. Have you all been seeing the one ingredient ice cream recipe out there? I first saw it on The Kitchn. It’s vegan. It’s healthy, and a dieter’s dream.
A little later, I saw that Jen Yu from userealbutter made it. Her photos were so gorgeous, and the ice cream looked so creamy, that I had to try it for myself.
All you do is take ripe bananas, cut them up, freeze them, and then mix them up in the food processor. It’s unbelievably simple.
But only if you have a food processor.
If you have one, then go out and buy some bananas and get started.
If you don’t have one, then you might be in luck.
Whenever I write a recipe that uses a food processor, I always feel a little bad. I didn’t get mine until a few years ago, so I know what it’s like to pass over a recipe that needs one, or attempt a recipe in a blender and have it make a huge mess.
To remedy that, I will be giving away one Cuisinart 11-Cup Food Processor
steamed artichokes with chia seed aioli
I did two things while staying up all night for William and Kate’s wedding: I juiced what looked like a harmless pile of key limes—and managed to cut my finger in the process—and I made these steamed artichokes. I don’t know what it is about steamed artichokes, but to me, they are the epitome of party food. I love to take a plump leaf from the thistly globe and scrape my teeth across it to extract the flesh. Paired with the right flavors, it is complete heaven to me.
Oddly enough, I had only eaten artichokes like this once before the other night. My friend had made them for a Christmas party, and ever since I had wanted to try making them myself, but was always too intimidated. After juicing my thirtieth key lime, and while I was listening to about the fifty second interview of spectators standing outside in London, I decided it was time to get over it. What funny things we do when we get the idea that staying up all night is perfectly reasonable. Turns out, they weren’t so hard to make after all.
how to steam artichokes
I tried making roasted artichokes in the past. That was a pain in the you-know-what. It’s like battling a rose bush. Even though I remember loving steamed artichokes when I was a kid, my first experience cooking them turned me off to a second attempt for years.
Then I went to Costco. That place can convince you that you need just about anything. New windshield wipers. A bullet blender. Six pounds of granola.
Well, a few weeks ago, four spiny orbs smiled up at me and begged me to buy them. Since they were in the refrigerator room, I had to decide fast. That’s on purpose, you know. Not many stores put a whole section of products in a room that registers below 40 degrees. You go in thinking, Okay, I will only buy a flat of strawberries. And if blueberries are a good price, I’ll buy them, too. Oh good there they are. Wait, quick, I better get some snap peas while I’m here. I’m freezing. Oh, and I wanted to buy some mini cucumbers! Only five dollars!
By the time you exit, you have rounded up twenty-five dollars in impulse buys in less than forty seven seconds. Forget buyer’s remorse—you’re mostly just happy to be warm again. Buyer’s remorse would mean going back in there.
Then your three-year-old tells you she has to go to the bathroom. The one strategically placed on the exact opposite end of the store. Once you’ve woven through the families waiting in line to get the dinosaur chicken samples (hasn’t everyone already tasted them? I mean, come on, people!) with a cart that has the maneuverability of a dumpster, you’ve walked practically a quarter of a mile to that potty. By then there’s no chance in _____ you’re going to put that produce back.
Pure marketing genius.
perfectly easy french fries
A while back, I was on StumbleUpon (I think), when I saw my friend Julie’s recipe for easier french fries, which she learned from America’s Test kitchen. Basically, you place the sliced potatoes in a pot, cover them with oil, and bring them to a boil in the oil. Apparently, they’re supposed to absorb less fat. Whether they do or not—which certainly would be a nice bonus—they’re impossibly easy to make.
Actually, I had never even planned on making them anytime soon—it isn’t like I need french fries—but then, when I was heating up the oil for my fried goat cheese, I was thinking how much I hate waiting for oil to heat up. Then I remembered the fries that Julie talked about, so I chopped a potato up and tossed in the oil.
Within a few minutes, I had hot oil ready for making my fried goat cheese, and a whole serving of perfectly cooked, perfectly tasty french fries.
heart beets salad with fried goat cheese
I had a few minutes before the end of the night to add in one last Valentine’s post.
This is what I had for lunch. I roasted the beets a couple of days ago, actually, and was going to put this up on Friday for a “power food friday” post. But, you know me. I got busy. I wasn’t kidding when I said my kitchen was a mess.
Anyway, these cute little beet hearts have been waiting ever so patiently in my fridge, and I wanted to add something special to them. I remembered how well goat cheese goes with beets, so I thought I’d try a little idea I saw on the Food Network, which was goat cheese balls, coated in panko, and fried.
It was a great combination. The beets were sweet and earthy, and the goat cheese was warm and tangy. Perfect.
slow cooker black bean dip
The big game. I am writing this post specifically for Weight Watchers, so I don’t know all the laws about saying words like super and bowl in the same sentence. But you know what I mean.
My mother-in-law always made a big slow cooker full of this fantastic bean dip. I thought there would be no better thing to make with Weight Watchers Natural Four Cheese Mexican blend, especially for the big game. As healthy as the beans are, the recipe’s major downfall is the large amount of cheese you are supposed to add. So I have lightened it up, and used the Weight Watcher’s cheese for the perfect compromise.
hasselback potatoes
Hasseback potatoes are all over the internet, and really, why shouldn’t they be? They’re made out of something almost everyone has in the cupboard, and then made absolutely gorgeous using a tool everyone owns.
When Weight Watcher’s sent me a sample of their Four Cheese Mexican Blend shredded cheese and asked me to make up some recipes, I thought about all the ways someone might want to eat cheese. Last week I posted a recipe for whole-grain macaroni and cheese, which was great, but then I wondered how I could use the cheese in a recipe for someone who doesn’t want a ton of cheese—just a little for flavor, and then I remembered how much I love Hasselback potatoes.
For the last few minutes of baking, I sprinkled them with some of the Weight Watchers’ 4 Cheese Mexican Blend. When they were ready to serve, I topped them with sour cream, but you can add anything you’d like.
cranberry avocado salsa
While I watched my friend’s kids the other day, I found in her fridge the most interesting salsa. It was made with cranberries and avocados, a combination I never would have come up with on my own. Since I knew she wouldn’t be home for another day, I figured I could try some. The flavors went together perfectly, and I was amazed at how good something could taste. It was the best salsa I had ever eaten.
I googled “cranberry avocado” and it immediately suggested the word “salsa”—apparently, it’s quite popular. The recipe on MarthaStewart.com came up first. As soon as I could, I tried out the recipe for myself.
Unfortunately, I found, as is often the case, that what I made was not as good as what I had tasted at my friend’s house. After some tweaking, though, I believe I found the right balance of flavors.
If you are looking for some more sweet things, be sure to see FamilyFreshCooking’s Christmas Sweet Treats Round-Up.
pear pizza with caramelized onion and bleu cheese
I was in New York last weekend. That doesn’t have anything to do with this pizza, though. I just thought you might want to know. While I was there, we (we, meaning me and the gals who blog for the Family Kitchen on Babble) went out to dinner in SoHo, where I was introduced to my new favorite cheese. Apparently I have spent thirty four years in absolute darknss, not knowing the glory that is burrata mozzarella. Everyone, please start asking your stores to carry it. Let’s change the world.
The next day, Brooke from Cheeky Kitchen, Shaina from Food for My Family, and I kicked it around Manhattan. We saw Central Park and the Upper West Side, got cookies at Levain Bakery, hot dogs from Gray’s Papaya (didn’t go to Zabar’s though), and afterward saw West Side Story on Broadway. We wished we had gone to see the Adam’s Family instead, though.
We had a blast, and I left thinking how at home I had felt there.
Anyway, after all that great food, I came home wanting something really good. Something not boring, something seasonal and fresh. This pizza is what I came up with.
mushroom bruschetta
The other night, as my kids and I were driving home, we saw a huge golden moon peaking out between two mountains just north of where we live. It was a hint of the promise of fall.
I love when the weather finally lets go of the shackling heat and and lets in wind and rain and changing leaves. I made this savory bruschetta as a little celebration of my favorite season.
Oh, and just a quick announcement, random.org chose one of my favorite people from high school to win the food mill and baby cookbook. So a toast to Molly, too, and to her two little boys! (Did you see that? I used to, two, and too, all in the same sentence! My second grader would be impressed.)
