good food with simple ingredients

VOTE For My Chocolate Hazelnut Raspberry Bars Please!!

Posted on May 17, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Hey everybody! Remember these that I just posted? Well, for those that follow my blog and are not a part of the contest, I'd love your support and vote please. It will take you less than 30 seconds!! Just click on the link, scroll down to the "desserts" tab and scroll down to my blog "The Healthy Flavor" and vote. That's it!

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

Posted on May 13, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

I made this ice cream to go with the chiffon cake and roasted strawberries and rhubarb. There is nothing like home made ice cream, I love making it and love eating it even more. I wanted to try using some of the rhubarb simple syrup in an ice cream base, I was a little afraid it might turn out icy but it didn’t this was so creamy and wonderful. I adapted David Lebovitz base recipe for vanilla ice cream making some additions and subtractions. His ice cream recipes are genius and I have not been disappointed with any that I have made. I also added some of the roasted strawberries and rhubarb after the ice cream finished churning. It went perfectly with the chiffon cake. I just have to say we had a fantastic Mothers Day lunch, my lovely daughter made all the food, I brought the dessert and we had a wonderful time. I plan on posting her recipe for fried chicken, it’s the best I have had.

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk or half and half
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup rhubarb syrup
1 cup roasted strawberry rhubarb drained and chopped into small pieces

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, gradually pour some of the hot milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

4.Whisk the hot custard into the cream cheese, continue whisking until there are no lumps. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

5. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning add the rhubarb syrup through the hole on top of the ice cream maker. Place ice cream in freezer container, fold in the strawberries and rhubarb and place in freezer until it’s scoopable.

My Mom

Posted on May 12, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

My Mom and Me

I love this photo of me and my Mom, I was about 15 months old. My Mother was wearing a bathrobe and high heels. You’ve got to love that, her hair neatly coiffed and this was first thing in the morning. She was only 20 years old in this photo. I just called her to wish her a Happy Mothers Day, I love hearing her voice and am so glad she is still here with us. You see, it’s a miracle she is still here and healthy. Almost 8 years ago she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer, stage 4, they thought she might live 6 months to a year, that was devastating news, I couldn’t imagine life without her. With quick medical intervention which included aggressive chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiation she is now cancer free and has been for all this time. She lives far away from me and I don’t get to see her very often, she doesn’t like to travel, but we talk all the time and see each other as often as possible. She was the rock in our family, the practical one, she got us through lean times so well, we were barely aware of it. She is an amazing cook, always putting a delicious homemade meal on the table and so often she did it on a shoe string budget.

Mom is French and Scots- Irish and my Dad was Italian, she was accepted into a very Italian family, first generation in the US. My Grandfather didn’t speak English or only a few words and she was taught to cook amazing Italian food from my Aunts.

Birthday Party for my cousin

Mom won’t see this because she doesn’t have a computer and only just recently got a cell phone. On Mothers Day I like to look back and think about all the wonderful things my Mother did, how hard she worked taking care of all of us and I really love and appreciate her and I wanted to share a little bit about her with you. Here are some photo’s of some of her recipes that I have shared on this site.

Meatballs

Pasta Fagioli

Homemade pasta

Italian Cheesecake

Happy Mothers Day, I hope all of you had a wonderful day!

Happy Mothers Day-Chiffon Cake With Roasted Strawberries And Rhubarb

Posted on May 11, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Chiffon Cake

I make this cake all the time, it’s light and has a velvety texture, it is similar to angel food cake, baked in an ungreased tube pan and laden with whipped egg whites, the difference here is that this cake contains oil (yes oil not butter) and egg yolks. Chiffon cake was big in the 1950′s and makes a very elegant dessert served with your choice of fruit or berries and some whipped cream it is absolutely delicious. The cake is lightly scented with lemon, rises high above the pan and is light as a feather. I have tried many recipes, but when I came upon this one from the great James McNair I found a keeper. It’s the only recipe I use and it turns out perfectly every time. Wrap what you don’t use well and keep in a cool dry place, the cake stays fresh for several days. You can also wrap well and freeze, it defrosts beautifully. Happy Mothers Day to all the Mom’s!!

Chiffon Cake

From James McNair’s Cakes

2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup egg yolks (from 6-7 large eggs) at room temperature and lightly beaten

3/4 cup water

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tbs pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup egg whites (from approximately 10 eggs) at room temperature

1 tsp cream of tartar

Make sure your rack is in the middle of oven and pre heat to 325 degrees. Have a 10 inch angel food cake pan with removable bottom ready. You do not need to grease or flour the pan.

Place the flour, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar, baking powder and salt in strainer or sifter and sift into a large metal bowl. Add the water, egg yolks, oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until very smooth approximately 1 minute. Set aside.

In the metal bowl of a stand mixer with a wire whip beat the egg whites on low speed until frothy, add the cream of tartar and increase speed to medium and beat until very soft billowy mounds form, with mixer running slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar a tbs at a time and beat until very stiff but not dry (about 6 minutes) It’s important that the egg whites be beaten until stiff.

Transfer about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter and stir gently to incorporate and lighten the batter. Add the remaining egg whites and using a large balloon whisk or rubber spatula gently fold into the batter until incorporated.

Gently scrape the batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched with your fingertip in the thickest part of the cake and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Baking time is about 1 hour. NOTE: You don’t want to open the oven door until the prescribed baking time is just about up, the cake could fall if you do this, so leave it for at least 55 minutes before you test the cake for doneness.

Remove pan from the oven and let it cool upside down you can use a bottle for this, the cake should be elevated. The cake rises quite high so it’s important not to let the upside down cake rest on the surface of the counter. Let cool completely at least 1 1/2 hours.

To remove cake from pan, place pan upright on work surface and using a thin blade knife carefully insert on the side of the pan careful not to cut the cake and holding the pan in place work your way around the cake, then do the same in the center around the tube. Carefully lift the bottom of the pan and with the cake sideways tap the bottom of the pan to loosen the cake, if necessary run the thin blade of the knife around the bottom to loosen. Invert onto cooling rack and transfer to serving plate.

Roasted Strawberries and Rhubarb

2 stalks rhubarb cleaned and chopped

2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and cut in half

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbs cointreau or your favorite fruity liquor

pinch of salt

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees, line sheet pan with parchment. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar,salt and cointreau to a bowl, toss to combine and turn out onto sheet pan.Lay berries and their juices in a single layer and bake until berries and rhubarb are soft about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Set aside

Serve cake with the strawberries and rhubarb and a generous dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Delicious!

Chiffon cake, strawberries and rhubarb

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Posted on May 7, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

This is almost too simple to post but I just had to, it’s so good. I know there are a million recipes out there for flavored syrups but I wanted to share this. I love making syrups, all different flavors I use them all summer for drinks, sorbet, ice creams and in desserts. Have I mentioned how much I love making syrups. I have the blood orange syrup, now rhubarb and I think I will make grapefruit. They are so simple to make, last forever refrigerated and have so many uses. The color is gorgeous too! How about a snow cone on a hot summers day, shaved ice and fruit syrup, Delicious!!! Note: For more intense rhubarb flavor increase rhubarb to 2 stalks, increase sugar to 1 1/2 cups and water to 1 1/2 cups.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Makes 12 oz

1 large stalks rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

juice of half a lemon (approximately 2 tbs)

Add everything to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat to med/high and cook at a low boil for 5-7 minutes or until rhubarb is very soft. Turn off heat and let sit in the pot for 10 minutes. Strain into sterilized jar pressing on the rhubarb to get every bit of juice. Cover and refrigerate.

I Am A Finalist In Whole Foods Contest!!!!!

Posted on May 2, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

I am so excited my recipe for Brown Rice Risotto is a finalist in the Whole Foods contest for whole grain breakfast. If you would not mind voting for my recipe it would be greatly appreciated, if you don’t want to vote thats ok too!! I am so thrilled that they chose my recipe. You can click here to vote if you don’t mind, and today is my birthday, what a great gift!!!

Brown Rice Risotto

Thank You Everyone For All The Awards!!

Posted on May 1, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Awards

I am writing a quick post because I have to acknowledge the wonderful, kind and sweet ladies that nominated me for a whole slew of bloggers awards. I will do a more formal post after this weekend but right now I am so so busy between work (it’s insane), getting ready for the bake sale this weekend and taking care of my ailing pugs I don’t even have a minute to breathe. Thank you so so much, it honestly means so much to me to be recognized by my piers. I mean that sincerely. So thank you to:

Carla @eatsweet by Carla Sue

Melissa @bklynlocavore

laura @laurasmess

We all know how much goes into keeping our blogs current, writing, cooking photographing etc… and when we are recognized by someone who works as hard as we do it’s validation and we feel loved (or liked) and appreciated. So thank you to everyone, once things calm down here I will do the proper post. Hope you all understand! Thank you so much!! Please visit the beautiful blogs just click on them. each one is beautifully done with fantastic recipes and great photography.

Sisterhood or brotherhood

No Kid Hungry Bake Sale And Divine Fair Trade Chocolate

Posted on April 29, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Divine Chocolate

Lets face it, as food bloggers a good part of our day is spent thinking about food, I constantly think about what new recipe can I conjure up with the beautiful and seemingly unlimited supply of food available to us. How is it then in this vast country with so much food, how is it that children can go to bed with an empty stomach? It’s a very sad thought and because of this I am participating with other food bloggers in a Bake Sale this weekend to benefit “No Kid Hungry“, 100% of the proceeds go to this amazing charity. In America, one of the wealthiest countries in the world 1 in 5 children go to bed hungry, thats a staggering statistic and this has to end. Local food bloggers are all donating baked goods and we are selling them here in Brooklyn at “The Flea” in an effort to raise money and awareness.

Divine Chocolate is one of the sponsers, click on the link to find out more about this wonderful company. They are the only fair trade cocoa company owned by it’s farmers. What a wonderful concept, the farmers/owners share in the company profits. You might ask why the photo of that luscious chocolate, well the good people from Divine have generously donated some chocolate to a handfull of bloggers that we will use in making our goodies for the bake sale and one of the lucky bloggers is moi!!! I am very excited, because not only is this chocolate delicious, and the baked goods are going to help a very worthy cause but I am so happy to use chocolate that comes from a company that is owned by the farmers themselves. It’s a win win as far as I am concerned.

Back to the bake sale, visit the website to find out more information and what you can do to help. You can make a donation, there are raffles with fantastic prizes and this is something you can feel good about. We all love our children and knowing that we are doing something to help is the best feeling in the world. If you don’t live in NYC, no problem, enter the raffle or make a donation. Think about it, ending childhood hunger in the USA is within our reach and a donation no matter how small brings us one step closer.

I will be posting photo’s of the items I am making and also of the bake sale itself this weekend. We will also be able to meet some of the farmers from Ghana who offer their support for this very worthy cause. More to come….

Preview of the baked goods!

Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Photo taken by Whole Foods

Chive And Cheddar Buttermilk Waffles And White Gravy

Posted on April 18, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

Chive and cheddar buttermilk waffles and gravy

This is an old recipe I created for my recipe collection on Food52. It’s sort of Southern, primarily because of the white gravy. Now you may think that waffles are only meant to be eaten with syrup or fruit but they are delicious as a savory dish, I thought this would be nice also for Spring since I use spring onions and chives. It’s delicious with pork chops, topped with a poached egg or eaten alone. I added cheese to the waffle batter along with buttermilk making them tangy. If you have never had white gravy before you are in for a treat, it’s delicious. My Mom always made white gravy with pork chops or chicken fried steak or chicken. This is my take on biscuits and gravy. Diet food, definitely not but nice for a splurge.

Serves 4-6

Gravy:

6 spring onions chopped using the white and light green
6-8 slices thick cut bacon cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup + 2 tbs flour
2 1/2 cups milk
OPTIONAL: 1/2 tsp chopped rosemary (I like it if I am serving pork chops)

Fry the bacon bits in saute pan until browned, remove from pan and save the fat you will use that for the gravy. Turn flame to med/low and add the spring onion (and optional rosemary) and saute until the onions are soft and translucent then add the flour, whisk until it’s combined with the fat and let cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Whisk in the milk and add the bacon let cook until it thickens, add salt and pepper. Pour over the waffles and garnish with chives.

Waffles:

2 large eggs separated
1 3/4 -2 cup buttermilk (start with 1 3/4 cup if you need more add if too thick)
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, buttermilk and melted butter add the cheddar cheese and chives and stir to combine. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Whip the egg whites until they form a peak, don’t overbeat but they should be quite stiff. Combine the wet and dry ingredients just until almost smooth, now fold in the egg whites. Heat waffle iron, spray with cooking spray or brush with oil or butter and cook the waffles according to the directions for your waffle maker.

Favorite Cookbooks

Posted on April 12, 2013 by apuginthekitchen

This morning I saw Chef Mimi’s post on her favorite cookbooks, and I thought wow, what are my favorites. I have hundreds of cookbooks but what are the books I use all the time and go back to constantly. It’s tough to narrow them down but here are my favorites, what are yours? You can see I like to bake, the majority are all baking books. I tend to wing it on savory recipes for the most part. This is a lot of fun and feel free to join in and blog about your most used cookbooks.

Baking with Julia

I use this book so often I have a second book I bought for when this copy becomes unusable due to overuse. It contains some of Julia’s greatest recipes for baked goods and it’s written by the great Dorie Greenspan.

Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom

I love this book it contains Julia’s master recipes for both savory and sweet items. From stock to mayonaise to pie dough. I couldn’t live without it.

Food52 Volume II

This book is fantastic, it contains some of the best recipes from the food52 community and is a book I use all the time.

Baking in America

Greg Patents wonderful book is an historical guide to baking, this book contains recipes new and old and is easy to follow, impeccably written and the recipes are foolproof.

Mini Treats And Hand Held Sweets

This is one of my new favorite books, the recipes are amazing, Abby Dodge is a goddess in the kitchen and who doesn’t love bite size treats.

James McNair’s Cakes

I use this book all the time. It has some of the best recipes in it, this book is amazing, My favorites are Mr. McNair’s angel food cake, chiffon cake, whipped cream icing, upside down cake I could go on and on, I love this book.

good food with simple ingredients

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