Move over tomatoes...

Two weeks ago, I had coffee with a friend and she kindly brought it to my attention that I haven't written anything since January.  JANUARY! oh my.  Obviously I knew it had been way too long, however, I didn't think that anyone would notice.  I guess I was wrong.

It's finally summertime- which means I am spending time at my favorite place, with my favorite people.  And my favorite dog, who sits on the rug in the kitchen when ever we bake.

I haven't posted since January, but I promise I have been doing other things.  Other important things!  I finished up my final semester of formal graduate school at the university, applied to countless jobs, accepted a job at a middle school and even managed to walk across the stage at graduation. Not to mention packing up my little apartment and saying goodbye to my favorite city that had become home after six years (more on this later).  After five months of craziness, I finally have some time to hang out in the kitchen and try new recipes.

Last evening, my mom pulled a bunch of rhubarb out of the fridge and said "we have got to do something with this!" My initial thought was that we should bake something (duh!), however, last week I made two batches of strawberry rhubarb crisp and I wanted to try something entirely different.  I visited one of my favorite food blogs..naturallyella.com, as I knew she would have seasonal recipes featuring rhubarb.  A recipe titled "rhubarb salsa" caught my attention and I knew that was what I wanted to make.  I absolutely love salsa with fruit, whether pineapple, cranberry or peach salsa, but hadn't ever made it myself.  In fact, I hadn't ever made salsa.  Rhubarb salsa may seem like an odd concept to you...it was even an odd idea to my mom, who is usually very open to trying new and unique recipes.  Despite her slight hesitation, we decided to try it.  Great discoveries are often preceded by hesitation, as was the case in this situation.  Let's just say that three days later, my mom wanted to try this recipe again and make a double batch.  This salsa may not have tomatoes in it, but I promise you won't miss them!

Chipotle Rhubarb Salsa (naturallyella.com)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 cups rhubarb, diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins (I used regular)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

Instructions
1. In a larger pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until the onions become translucent, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in rhubarb and continue to cook until rhubarb softens.

2. Add remaining ingredients.  Start with 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle and add more if desired.  Stir and bring salsa to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 15-20 minutes.

3. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired; adjust brown sugar if salsa is too tart.  Serve warm or store in refrigerator for up to one week.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Last Saturday, I went to cycling class with my father and then made a stop at the small natural food grocery store to grab something healthy to eat before going out for coffee because I forgot my post workout snack at home.  Sometimes, mistakes lead to good great discoveries, such as the sweet potato, raisin muffin I purchased that morning to split with my dad.  We've been through this whole "I am extremely choosy about the types of muffins I eat and never end up eating a muffin that isn't homemade because only about .8% of muffins in the world are truly muffins" thing a million times before.  To my surprise, the sweet potato muffin had grated potatoes in it rather than a potato puree and was packed full of organic raisins and spices.  Just the way I like it!  After eating this muffin, I did what I usually do after consuming a delicious baked good.  First, I told my mother about this muffin.  Then, I began searching for a recipe online.  After multiple searches, I found a recipe that was low on sugar, contained grated sweet potatoes, and had whole grains.  I really like this recipe, however, I did reduce the sugar slightly and add additional spices.

Sweet Potato Muffins (www.easypeasyorganic.com)
Ingredients
2 free-range eggs, preferably organic
1/2 c olive oil (light or extra virgin are fine)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c rapadura sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 TBSP honey)
3 c grated (raw) sweet potato
1 c ground cashews or almonds
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (I used 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp Penzey's Baking Spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c wholemeal (or wholewheat) flour (I used a combination of whole wheat, spelt and buckwheat flour)
Directions1. Preheat the oven to 320 degree and line muffin tins with papers 
2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse enough cashews to yield 1 cup of group cashews (1.5 cups of cashews whole cashews make approximately 1 cup of ground cashews)
3. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Then add the sugar and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the sweet potato and cashews and mix again.
4. Add the baking powder, cinnamon, salt and flour and mix to combine. 

5. Spoon the batter into the muffin papers - so that each is about 2/3 full. Put the muffin tins into the oven for about 25-30 min, or until the tops of the muffins are golden and ever-so-slightly crispy - and when a skewer inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Ground Cashews

T showing off his potato grating skills

These won't last long around here...

I am here.

Yikes. I haven't written for over three months.  I have been consumed by graduate school, studying for my licensing exam, working, more graduate school, off season workout sessions and dare I say, more graduate school?  Don't get me wrong, I love being a student and know that I am in the right place, however, school does not leave time for much else these days.  I finished up the fall semester and I am finally back in my favorite place on earth: home. Over the course of the last four month, I have pinned, book marked and emailed countless recipes to my mother that I have wanted to try but have not found the time to do so. My mom and I were home by ourselves for the weekend and on Saturday I finally had the chance to bake.  After spending too much time figuring out which of the millions of recipes I had saved, I decided to try a recipe for gluten free spiced chocolate chunk cookies.  These cookies required basic ingredients (you can substitute different gluten free flours, I used oat flour instead of quinoa flour) and came together in just a few minutes.  I was concerned that they did not have any form of leavening agents, however, the cookies are similar to a shortbread and were just fine without baking powder or soda!  After mixing the cookie dough, the dough must be chilled for one hour; I put them outside in the ten degree weather for about 40 minutes. The fresh orange zest and spices pair wonderfully with the chocolate chunks and create a flavorful dough.  I will summarize these cookies with the following: my mother, who I would consider a cookie connoisseur, gave these cookies a 9.5 out of 10. 

Gluten Free Orange Spiced Chocolate Chunk Cookies (www.mydarlinglemonthyme.com)

Wet Ingredients

115g soft butter

¾ cup (150g) muscovado or soft brown sugar

Pinch fine sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

The finely grated zest of 1 small orange

1 large free-range egg, lightly whisked

Dry Ingredients

¾ cup (90g) fine brown rice flour

½ cup (60g) quinoa flour (I used oat flour)

½ cup (55g) almond meal

¼ cup (25g) tapioca or cornflour (corn starch)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground cloves

Pinch ground nutmeg

125g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Place the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and orange zest in a medium bowl and beat with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg a little at a time, whisking well between additions. Add the almond meal, and then sift over the remaining flours and spices. Mix to form a soft dough before stirring through the chopped chocolate. Cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 baking trays or line with baking paper.

Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls, flatten slightly and place on trays. Dust your hands with extra rice flour if the dough is sticking. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Remove from oven, cool on trays briefly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.