Wordless Wednesday: Mama's Little Helper

Curly Sous (chef)
My daughter loves to help in the kitchen. From cooking, to setting the table to even washing the dishes! I love my little curly sous :) Here she's stirring pasta for her and her brothers' lunch.

Pomegranate Nutty Granola

I love granola. The first time I made my own granola was last year and I've been hooked ever since. There are so many different ways to serve this fun mix. As cereal, over yogurt, mixed in ice cream (though the husband isn't convinced), alone as a snack, over top muffin batter etc etc.

I wanted to make our favorite Nutty Granola from Ellie Krieger, but I was ready for a change yet still quite nutty, in fact, nuttier. While out at the grocery store,  I strolled past the pomegranate juice and thought, using a pomegranate syrup was a bit more...er sexier. I am a mother of 3, I gotta get my kicks some how ;). Excited, I put my creation to work and came out with some very delicious results. My little ones really loved it, and of course the husband did as well!

Note: I like my nuts coarsely chopped, but you can chop them a bit finer if you'd like! If you  do not want to make your own syrup, buy some (if available) or use maple syrup, honey or any other syrupy/gooey sweetener.

Pomegranate Nutty Granola
Print Recipe

For Pomegranate Syrup
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
squeeze of lemon


Granola
Pomegranate syrup (above) about 3/4 cup
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
2.5 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 300F
Add pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and white granulated sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until sugar's dissolved. Decrease temperature, then simmer over medium to medium low heat until reduced by a little over than half. This should take about 25 minutes altogether together. EYE IT. Allow to cool, juice syrupy texture after cooled. Once cooled, stir in brown sugar well.

Now, add nuts, oatmeal, and  salt to a large bowl.

Pour syrup mixture over nuts and oats then stir in well.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and spread mixture evenly on sheet. Bake 35 to 40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. Doesn't it smell divine?

Allow to cool 30 minutes on cooling rack, then have your way with it!


Enjoy!!!

Parsnip Fritters with Blue Cheese-Walnut Whip

The Baltimore Ravens, my hometown team, are out of the playoffs. Oh, well. There's still snacking to be done and I have the perfect recipe- Parsnip Fritters! 

Parsnips are one of my favorite root vegetables. They're slightly sweet, pleasantly aromatic, and full of flavor with a hint of anise! My husband, again, picked out this recipe and I was more than happy to get my fry on. These fritters are so light that your will be absentmindedly popping one in your mouth after the other. Pair it with the Blue-Cheese Walnut Whip and you've definitely gotta party. Blue-Cheese and walnuts is an incredible pairing that I shall try again soon. The family adored these and they were gone very quickly.

Sneaky baby!

Try a new appetizer at your Super Bowl Party, shoot any occasion! Warning: They're highly addictive!

Parsnip Fritters with blue cheese walnut whip

Gary Rhodes' Cookery Year: Autumn into Winter

Note: I halved the recipe. Below is full recipe makes 32!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/4 lb parsnips, peeled and cored

salt and pepper

1/2 onion

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

For Blue Cheese

3 oz blue cheese, room temperature

2/3 cups mayonnaise (homemade or purchased)

juice of 1 lime

8-10 walnut halves

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/3 cup cream

oil for frying

Directions

Rinse the chopped onion in a sieve, dry very well, then set aside.

Quarter the parsnips lengthwise and remove the central woody core, then discard.

Cook parsnips in boiling salted water until completely tender then drain. Place the parsnips back in th pot over low heat, allowing them to dry. Then puree with a potato masher for a coarse finish or blitz until smooth in a processor. Add to parsnips along with onions, eggs and butter. Add flour, beating it in well. Season with salt and pepper.

While the parsnips are boiling, make the whip. Whisk th cheese into the mayonnaise, breaking it down until reasonable smooth. Add the lime juice, walnuts, and season with with a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Lightly whip cream until soft peaks form.

Then gently fold into cheese-cream mixture until it's a whipped consistency.Can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Preheat the oil for deep frying between 160C/325F to 180C/350F in a deep fryer or in a large skillet with using a thermometer to read the temperature. The parsnip mix can be spooned with spoon ( I used a tablespoon) into the hot oil. Oil the spoon first to make it non-stick!

Turn the fritters from time to time until deep golden brown. Once they are cooked, remove them from hot oil, drain on paper towels and lightly salt, if desired.

Enjoy!

http://spiciefoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/ybr-your-best-recipes-of-january-2011.html

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Spring is certainly on my mind. After 4 consecutive days of rain and gloom in my town in Deutschland, I want something sunny, bright and of course delicious. Spring seems to have had a tag team match with winter recently. We've had some warm temps here, even reaching in the 60s. However, we have a common feature of spring that I am not so tickled happy about.....rain. Lots of it. So what's the best thing to do after a long puddle jumping marathon with the little ones? Bake some CAKE. A cake featuring a not so winter time fruit- blueberries. I used organic frozen blueberries, which are typically frozen at their peak of freshness, and some very seasonal lemons so I didn't feel so guilty. Besides, from the crumbly lemon scented cake base, the full sweet, bursting flavor of the blueberries, to the light cream cheese filling and the crunchy almond topping, you may end up running to your closet and put some shorts on. My daughter the "bewwy lovah" nearly ate all of the berries while I preparing the cake!

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

From Sunset Magazine

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1  cup  fresh blueberries, rinsed, or frozen blueberries
• 1/4  cup  apple juice
• 1  teaspoon  cornstarch
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1/2  cup  (1/4 lb.) cold butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon peel
• 3/4  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 2  large eggs
• 6  ounces  cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1  teaspoon  lemon juice
• 1/2  cup  sliced almonds

Preparation

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, bring blueberries and apple juice to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until blueberries have released their juices, about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, blend cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water. Add to blueberry mixture; stir until it simmers and thickens, about 1 minute. Let cool to room temperature.

In a bowl or food processor, mix or whirl flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Add butter to flour mixture. Cut in with a pastry blender or pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Reserve 1/2 cup; pour remaining into a large bowl. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon peel.

In a bowl, mix yogurt, vanilla, and 1 egg until blended; stir into flour-baking powder mixture until incorporated.

Spread batter in a buttered 9-inch round cake pan with a removable rim.

In a bowl or food processor, beat with an electric mixer on high speed or whirl cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, remaining egg, and lemon juice until smooth. 

Spread over batter in pan, leaving a 1/2-inch border bare. Gently spread blueberry mixture over cream cheese mixture, leaving some visible. Stir almonds into reserved flour mixture and sprinkle over cake, concentrating most around edge of batter.

5. Bake in a 350° oven until center of cake barely jiggles when pan is gently shaken and top of cake is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove pan rim. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hope you all enjoy and are staying nice and warm....preferably by an oven ;-)


Cream Cheese