Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I love me a good ice cream. And I’m not the biggest fan of pumpkin pie. When I were little, I would try and smash my dad’s face in the pie so that he would return the favor, and hopefully my piece would be ruined. I know. It’s odd. And on the other hand, I still eat a piece every year. I am also too sentimental for my own good and must participate in tradition for tradition’s sake.
Confused yet? Welcome to my husband’s world.
So when I saw this ice cream, I knew I had to try it. Just for the sake of wanting something different. And I added marshmallows because in a strange way it made me feel like this ice cream resembled the traditional Sweet Potato Casserole, which of course meant that this was an ice cream casserole of sorts, made of mostly vegetables, so of course, it’s healthy.
Again. Confused?
Alas, let’s get one thing straight: toasted mallows make everything grand.
And everyone has their preference. A little toasted. Medium toasted.
Or burnt. You know, the kind of toasting when you let it catch on fire and then blow the flame out with a breath that is entirely too big, like you were blowing out your own clothes to save your life. Just me?
I’m always over-reacting.
But serious folks. This ice cream is delicious. Made with no eggs it’s not as creamy as most ice creams are, and I think it fits the bill. It’s a great alternative to your traditional pumpkin pie, or at least an addition. And, it’s fun to toast mallows, perfect activity for the kids to do, under supervision of course.
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. I’m thinking of making a marshmallow sauce to drizzle on before I toast the mallows. For flavor purposes, but also so the mallows stick to the ice cream better. (Husband’s idea. What a smart guy.) If you know of any good recipes, please, link below!
Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Toasted Marshmallows
(adapted from David Lebovitz)
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk (whole milk with be the creamiest, and then the consistency of the ice cream will get icier as you decrease the amount of fat in the milk)
a bit of extra milk for desired consistency
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon maple syrup
mini marshmallows
Special equipment: Ice cream maker, kitchen torch
Wash sweet potatoes, and then peel them. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Place potatoes into a medium to large saucepan and cover with water, turning the heat on the stove to medium-high and brining it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer, add a lid and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when poked with a fork. Drain the sweet potatoes in a strainer and let cool to room temperature. Pour milk, brown sugar, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg into a blender and puree until very smooth. Add extra milk to ensure that ingredients are blended smooth enough, and that the mixture is not chunky. Don’t add too much so that it’s runny, but enough to resemble a well-blended smoothie. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator, or if you are low on time, just skip this step.
I did.
Pour ingredients into ice cream maker that has been frozen according to manufacturer’s instructions. As ice cream begins to churn, pour in maple syrup. Churn until ice cream is frozen, about 30-35 minutes depending on ice cream maker. Once fully churned, scoop into preferred storing container.
Upon serving, allow ice cream to soften at room temp for about 10 minutes before serving. Scoop desired amount into ice cream bowls, troughs, or buckets, and place mini marshmallows on top. Use kitchen torch to toast to desired burnt or non-burnt consistency. Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
I love hot chocolate. And I love peanut butter. So why not put them together? It’s not even cold here in Southern California. In fact, “cool” is not really a word that you would associate with it either. But it’s still November, and it still feels like fall. It’s a mental state really.
Cozy.
Blankets.
Candles.
Turkey.
Lights.
Hot Coco.
And this little number not only has peanut butter, but it’s made with brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and of course, whipped cream sweetened with vanilla. This is truly luxurious. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration. It’s not champagne in the bath tub luxurious, but it’s definitely cuddle under a blanket,-with a wonderful book- luxurious.
Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
Makes one large mug
3 tablespoons organic unsweetened coco
3 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 cups milk (your choice for nonfat, kind of fat, or full fat. I think you know where I stand.)
1 heaping tablespoon natural, creamy peanut butter
1 cinnamon stick
Place a small saucepan over medium heat. Put in the coco, brown sugar, milk, and cinnamon stick. Stir slowly until brown sugar is dissolved, and coco is dissolved into milk. Allow cinnamon stick to simmer and flavor milk. Add scoop of peanut butter and continue to stir until dissolved. Continue to stir until desired heat is reached. Make sure that the hot coco doesn’t get too hot and start to bubble or boil.
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
sugar to taste
vanilla extract to taste
Beat in mixer on high adding sugar and vanilla to reach desired sweetness. Mix on high until whipped cream reaches soft peaks, but watch closely and not beat too much. Put a dollop of whipped cream on top and sprinkle with cinnamon, chocolate shavings, or chocolate sauce if you so desire.
Monday, November 15, 2010
It’s National Bundt Day! I have loved Bundt Cakes for so long because they are so pretty, and allow for easier and “more creative” frosting. Can’t do fondant? Drizzle a Bundt. Can’t do decorations? Bundt with sprinkles of powered sugar will do the trick.
Bundts also can make a quick bread, like this recipe, and make it seem much more like a sweet treat. I have a pumpkin bread recipe that I make in a Bundt pan, add some home made whipped cream and it’s more of a dessert than just a quick bread. Love it.
This is a sweet bread with a bit of zest and a small amount of glaze to add a bit of something sweet. I’m having it this moment as toast with butter and jam, but for dessert, warm it up and put some whipped cream on it, or even ice cream and it’s delicious that way as well.
A big shout out to The Food Librarian who hosted “30 Days of Bundts” on her blog. If you have a second, go check it out, they all look delicious!
Sweet Wheat Bread
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon citrus zest (orange or lemon, or clementine, because that is what I had on hand)
2/3 cup non fat plain yogurt (or buttermilk)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 cup loaf pan, or in this case, a bundt pan. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, molasses, brown sugar, oil and citrus zest. Add flour mixture to molasses/egg mixture in three parts, alternating with the 2/3 cup yogurt. Mixture will be very thick, mix until just combined. Spread evenly into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. The original recipe says 35-40 and I did 37 and it was too much. So check at 30, and keep checking until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place pan on cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before un-molding and let sit on cooling rack until completely cool.
Sweet Maple Glaze
Maple Syrup to taste
1/4 cup powdered sugar
milk added for consistency
In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, maple syrup and milk slowly adding the liquid, testing for taste and consistency. If you want it thicker, add more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, add more milk and maple syrup. You get the idea. Spoon on to cooled cake and enjoy!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Follow Friday (#FF) is an on going struggle of mine. I either forget to do it, never go on Twitter on Fridays, or have a hard time just listing people’s names, because well, I want you to know WHY I want you to follow them. So this week, I have listed whom you should follow, and some of my favorite posts from this week. If you click on their name you will be taken to their Twitter page, if you click on the recipe, you will be taken to their blog.
Easy, right? Here we go:
Julia Mestas: This girl can bake, I mean really bake. I can attest to it too, since she often shares her goodies with me. This week: Candied Pecan Coffee Cake and Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait.
GimmieSomeOven: I love this blog. Great original recipes and great presentation. This week: Apple Cider Cups.
Baked Bree: She made a cake this week that I am still drooling over. This week: Wes’ Birthday Cake.
Guilty Kitchen: I want her hair. And her skills. This week: Pumpkin Carrot Bread.
How to Simplify: Jen is adorable and all her recipes look so delicious. This week: Thanksgiving E-book!
Nutmeg Nanny: Super fun recipes, and the sweetest girl! This week: Pumpkin Pie Spice Rice Krispie Treats.
The Food Librarian: She loves Bundt Cakes as much as I do and is doing 30 days of “I Like Big Bundts!” This week: Bundt Galore, but my favorite was Zucchini Olive Oil Bundt with Crunchy Lemon Glaze.
TwoPeasandPod: I really feel like she can do everything, live life, bake, take perfect pics, etc. This week: Toasted Coconut and Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Of course there are many more, but it’s fun to highlight the recipes this week that made me drool. We are in San Francisco for a business trip for my husband for another week. 2 down and 1 to go, I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen!
Full House anyone?
Happy Weekend!
Monday, November 1, 2010
“Hi. Dad.”
“Oh, hi Bonnie. What are you doing?”
“I’m getting ready for class. It was so beautiful here today. In the high 70′s I think.”
“Oh really? It was freezing here. So guess what I have.”
“What? Your jacket?”
“No. I bought two pumpkin pies and whipped cream.”
And he ate them both. That night. After dinner.
Because, you see that is how my dad is. A food machine. His metabolism is the speed of light and for as long as I can remember he will eat a full dinner and then a large dessert of some sort. Pumpkin pies. A box of cookies. A pint of ice cream. And, never has gained an ounce. He’s a runner, like father like daughter, and so it melts right off him. He is cut up, in fact my husband said once when we were at the beach and he saw my dad with his shirt off, that he looked like batman.
But look, we all dont have the ability to consume two pies and never see it. But we all do love a good, delicious, fall treat. So please, do yourself a favor and try this. It’s. so. delicious. Its made with non-fat yogurt, and yes there is sugar, but if you use organic then you are better off. My guest Martha who ate this said “this may be the best frozen yogurt I have ever eaten.” Serious. What a compliment. I’m blushing. My husband added some whipped cream to it and declared it wonderful, and of course I followed suit with an additional squirt of chocolate syrup.
Buy an extra can of pumpkin and give this a whirl.
Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt
1 cup milk {I used Almond Milk}
2 cups plain yogurt {I used non-fat}
1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon {I used whatever I felt like here. I LOVE cinnamon}
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg {Again, whatever looked pretty}
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup of pumpkin puree {If you have a 15 oz can, this will give you a bit left over. No worries, just mix it with a bit of butter in the food processor, with some spices and sugar to taste and bam you have enough pumpkin butter for a few slices of toast.}
Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend, or process, until smooth. Place all ingredients into ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and when finished, enjoy.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
After two days of craving hot coco, and complaining about my insatiable desire for it on Twitter, my husband took me to Kara’s Cupcakes at Santanna Row here in Northern California.
Let me tell you a bit about Kara’s Cupcakes. They are delicious. Incredible. Moist. Fluffy. Mighty competition for Sprinkles, which is also a chain. Something unique about Kara’s? They only use local products to create a locally-made cupcake and supporting their communities, and a business built on a sustainable model. They also use organic ingredients when possible, and try their best to be green in their building, recycling, and delivery.
My husband and I ate a S’mores cupcake that had a layer of graham crackers on the bottom and a toasted mallow on top, as well as a Chocolate Velvet cupcake along with a nice large glass of milk. It was divine.
One of the ingredients that Kara’s Cupcakes uses is Scharffen Berger. They host an annual chocolate contest that is really fun and has great prizes. But I did some research on Scharffen Berger to see where, oh where, do their cacao beans grow? And does it matter?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news of us food bloggers, especially on National Chocolate Day which also happens to fall right before Halloween- a holiday we are all passing out chocolate, or consuming it maybe more than usual. But shouldn’t these three factors be the very reason that we care where our chocolate comes from?
The bitter truth is that 60% of the world’s chocolate is from the Ivory Coast and Ghana, where pods are grown only 10 degrees from the equator, one of the only places in the world with the correct environment to grow such a product. One “pod” that is grown can make up to seven chocolate bars. Because of the demand for chocolate and the necessity for it to come from this region of South Africa, farmers will go to any length to produces these beans and export them.
Even child trafficking.
According to the ILO, the International Labor Organization, certain standards must be put into place to ensure fair treatment of workers. Of these standards, work must not interfere with children going to school, can not use harmful chemicals or weapons. In most farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, these rules do not apply. Some of these child workers are as young as 8 years old, and in a study done in 2002, 248,000 children were trapped in four South African countries in slave labor on cacao farms.
Things have been put in place to stop this terrible treatment of children, and the irony of it all is the sweet taste that comes from such bitter treatment. However, we are nowhere near stopping the trafficking, and big companies like Hershey’s chocolate, who is a favorite of the American market by 42.5%, are not certified slave-free.
What can we do? According to the Stop Chocolate Slavery website, both Fair Trade and Organic products have standards put into place that stop or diminish the chances of child slave labor in the production of their products. A list of these suppliers are here.
Writing a letter or calling Hershey will help. In addition, purchasing and baking with products that we know are fair trade or organic whenever we can will up the demand for these products and lessen the demand for the other.
Scharffen Berger is not organic or Fair Trade Certified. I ate a cupcake. I ate two. However, according to their website they pay a premium price for their cacao (something signature of most Fair Trade products) and are very aware of the issues. But, people like Kara’s Cupcakes endorse them because they are a local organization, which is a sustainable model for the environment and the economy.
And while I am not suggesting that we must choose the lesser of two evils here, when we purchase already baked goods where the chocolate is out of our hands, we still can choose wisely. We can bake with wise decisions, and we can alert big companies who have a big impact not only on the environment and the economy, but on the children who are growing these beans. And we can purchase wisely as well. If we purchase local products, supporting local businesses, the need for major exports will lessen and so will the need for child workers. I know it’s a small step, but it still is a step.
What are we doing to bake responsibly?
For more information please visit:
BBC World News Report
Stop Chocolate Slavery
Raise the Bar Hershey
International Labor Organization
Fair Trade USA
The National Organic Program
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