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Category Archives: Recipes

Cheeseburger Pie

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Veronica

Nearly every single recipe that Faith from An Edible Mosaic posts, I want to try.  I have saved so many, but just like most recipes I save, I forget about them quickly.  However, this one really stuck in my cranium and even a week after I made it, I still can’t get it out.  I have to make this again, stat, and luckily I still have another sheet of puff pastry waiting in the freezer for me!

Her Cheeseburger Pie jumped out at me for several reasons.  First, it’s fairly simple.  Second, it’s pizza.  Third, it’s pizza that tastes like a cheeseburger, with a crust that looks like a bun!  Fourth, the ketchup and mustard are mixed in with the hamburger filling along with Worcestershire to kick it up a notch.  And fifth, she added a garlic & chive dressing to the top that I thought was a stroke of genius. I’ve had cheeseburger pies before, but never one quite like this.

This pizza not only met, but exceeded my expectations.  I wasn’t so sure using puff pastry as a pizza crust would work, but I really loved the shattering-crisp flakiness of it.  It really went well with the toppings.  The flavors in the filling were spot-on, and the lettuce, tomato, and dressing on top gives it a very nice, fresh quality that pairs well with the salty, cheesy filling.  This recipe is definitely worthy of my my “favorite recipes” folder and has already claimed it’s spot inside.  Thanks, Faith!

Cheeseburger Pie

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1 sheet (1/2 lb) puff pastry, thawed
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 to 3/4 lb 95% lean ground beef*
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dill relish
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning
4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
1 egg, beaten (for eggwash)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Creamy Garlic & Chive Dressing (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place onion and beef in skillet and cook over medium heat, mixing and crumbling with spatula, until meat is browned. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add relish, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, and steak seasoning and cook until the liquid is evaporated (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat.

Unfold puff pastry and place on prepared baking sheet. Spread the meat mixture on the pastry (leaving a 1-inch border all the way around), and sprinkle the Cheddar on top. Use your finger to lightly brush the border with eggwash (you will have extra eggwash) and sprinkle sesame seeds around the edge. Bake about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Cut into four slices and top each with lettuce, tomato, and a drizzle of Creamy Garlic & Chive Dressing.

*If you use meat with more fat than this, drain off the fat after browning.

Creamy Garlic & Chive Dressing
Yields about 1/3 cup

1/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried chives
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch salt and pepper

Whisk together all ingredients; store refrigerated until serving.

Recipe source: adapted from An Edible Mosaic

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Not Your Grandma’s Chocolate Sheet Cake

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Veronica

A while back, my cousin, Pattie, shared a recipe for chocolate sheet cake with me that our Grandma Davis had written in her own hand, and allowed me to scan it so I could keep a copy for myself.  (Thank you, Pattie!)  This is precious to me, because my Grandma was and is precious to me, I love to bake, especially cake, recipes are precious to me, and this one is doubly so because it was written and used by her.

However, I don’t think I will ever make it as written.  I have had this old-fashioned chocolate sheet cake before (not baked by Grandma, but the same recipe), and I was not impressed with the lack of chocolate flavor, and thought it wasn’t quite moist enough.  I hate to say it, but it was, in fact, the worst homemade cake I’ve ever had.  Not that it was a terrible gag-worthy cake, it just wasn’t as good as all the others I’ve had.

Yes, my name is Veronica, and despite liking cake mixes, I am a cake snob.  I won’t even touch a store-bought cake (gag) unless I’m at a party where it’s being served, and I’ll take a slice so as not to offend.  But don’t you dare try to buy me one for my birthday.  I require that cakes have great flavor, great texture, delicious homemade frosting (preferably made with real butter), and be very moist.  This cake met none of those requirements, although the icing was almost good enough.

When I ran across Paula Deen’s recipe for Savannah Sheet Cake on From Apples to Zucchini recently, I could tell right away that it would be more moist, sweeter, and more chocolatey than Grandma’s recipe.  I combined that recipe with my Grandma’s directions for baking, and switched the regular cocoa powder with Dutch process to make it even more chocolatey.

I’m pleased to report that this cake is everything I hoped it would be: insanely moist and perfectly chocolatey.  It’s so good, I’m thinking of using the cake recipe to make a layer cake and seeing if it is as good as my favorite chocolate cake.  And I’m not sure how I know this, but when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it is sheet cake nirvana.

Super Chocolate Sheet Cake

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1 cup water
1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup Dutch process or Hershey’s Dark cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Pecan Icing:
½ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup Dutch process or Hershey’s Dark cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
16-oz. box confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted*

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour an 18″ x 12″ jelly roll pan. In a small saucepan, combine water, butter, oil, and cocoa. Bring the mixture to a boil; remove from heat. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and cocoa mixture. Add the vanilla. Mix until very smooth, about 2 minutes.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 15 minutes, until the center appears firm and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Five minutes before the cake is done, start the icing. Bring the butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil in a medium saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in the sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, about a minute. Stir in the vanilla and pecans. Pour warm icing over warm cake and spread quickly with a spatula. Let cool about 2 hours before cutting. Laugh after reading that and dig right in, topping the warm piece with ice cream and let your eyes roll back in your head as you take your first bite.

*To toast pecans, place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Recipe source: Adapted from Paula Deen’s Savannah Sheet Cake

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Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Veronica

I saved a recipe for “Perfect Pulled Pork” that I found in a magazine in an ad for pork, but since I don’t like pork (other than bacon, of course), I decided to try the recipe with beef and turn it into barbecue beef sandwiches.  It worked famously!  I’m not a huge meat eater, but I kind of went crazy for these and was so sad when the last of the leftovers were gone.  I can’t wait to make them again.

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

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5 lbs. beef roast
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2-3 cups barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
Soft sandwich buns
Dilly Cucumber Salad or coleslaw (optional)

Combine all seasoning in a small bowl and rub evenly over roast. Place meat in a 6-quart slow cooker; add water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours or until beef is very tender. If you are at home, I recommend turning the roast over halfway through cooking time because the top will get a little dry. Place beef on large cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, pour out all the juices from the crockpot. Pull, slice, or chop the meat and return to crockpot. Stir in as much barbecue sauce as you desire. Serve on buns and top with Dilly Cucumber Salad or coleslaw, if desired.

Serves 16-20

Recipe source: adapted from the National Pork Board’s Perfect Pulled Pork

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Raw Double Chocolate Brownie Bites

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Veronica

I joined The Secret Recipe Club at the end of May, which was too late to participate in June, so I was super eager to finally get my assignment for July.  In this club, each month the participating bloggers make a recipe from another participant’s blog.  The blog is assigned secretly and at random, so no one else knows who’s making something from their blog that month.  I found the whole idea really fun and exciting!  (Don’t judge me.)

I was assigned to make a recipe from Ginger Lemon Girl’s blog, and my first reaction was a mixture of both trepidation and anticipation.  Carrie follows a gluten-free diet, and since I don’t have any dietary restrictions, I wasn’t sure if the recipes would appeal to me, but I knew I could adapt them if necessary and was ready for the challenge.  Once I started browsing her archives, I quickly realized that her recipes were good, wholesome foods that anyone could enjoy, and some of them were naturally gluten-free because no flour was involved.  Like this one!

When I came across Carrie’s recipe for Raw Chocolate Brownie Bites, I immediately thought of my love for Fudge Babies, and knew it was the one I’d have to make.

I made the recipe as it was written the first time (pictured above) and really liked it (maybe that’s an understatement, seeing as how I ate half the batch the first day!), though adding as much agave nectar to sweeten them as I liked (2 T) made them too soft for me. I wanted them chewier and a little sweeter (i.e. more dates!). I also wanted more of the chocolate dough so that it would completely cover the bottom of a loaf pan. The first batch, spreading it to the thickness I wanted, filled only 2/3 of the bottom of the pan. So I took Carrie’s rockin’ recipe and tweaked it a bit, and couldn’t help adding some mini chocolate chips to make them doubly chocolatey!  The chocolate chips only add 16 calories per Brownie Bite and don’t change the points, so I really recommend you put them over the top to make these bites, well, over the top. :)

For those unfamiliar with raw desserts, they are a lot like Larabars, but better (at least I think these are).  If you’ve never had those either, now’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about.  This isn’t like eating a candy bar or any sort of processed sweet, because it’s all-natural, raw, and much healthier (not to mention allergy-friendly), but they are very good!  I bet even your kids will love them.  Give them a try and see if you don’t agree.

Raw Double Chocolate Brownie Bites

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1 cup pitted dates
1 1/3 cups raw nuts (I used 2/3 cups each almonds & pecans)
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon Fleur de Sel or kosher salt
~or ¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Soak the dates in a bowl of hot tap water for five minutes; drain well. (Skip the soaking step if you are using Medjool dates.) In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, grind the nuts until very fine. Add the drained dates, cocoa powder, and salt. Process for a minute or two, until nuts are very fine and the mixture sticks together quite easily, if it’s not already coming together in the bowl. With the food processor running, add the vanilla through the feed tube and continue processing until the mixture starts to form a ball. Just run it for another 10-30 seconds and if it doesn’t form a ball, check the consistency and see if it will stick together when pinched. If not, add a teaspoon of water and continue processing, adding more water if necessary (it shouldn’t be) until the mixture is sticky. Pat the chocolate dough into a loaf pan. It is OK if oil separates a little and forms a layer on top; it will soak back down into the brownie dough while it sits in the refrigerator.   Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and pat them down into the surface so that they will stick. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Cut into 18 squares (6 rows x 3 rows) and enjoy cold.

Makes 18 Brownie Bites

Per Brownie Bite: 107 calories; 7 g fat; 1.1 g saturated fat; 1.6 g polyunsaturated fat; 3.8 g monounsaturated fat; 0 g cholesterol;  33.2 mg sodium; 151 mg potassium; 12 g carbohydrates; 2.4 g fiber; 2.1 g protein; Vitamin B-6 2%; Vitamin E 8%; Calcium 2.2%; Copper 10%; Iron 4%; Magnesium 8.4%; Manganese 21.3%; Phosphorous 5.6%; Riboflavin 3.6%; Thiamin 3.3%; Zinc 3.6%      3 Points Plus

Recipe source: adapted from Ginger Lemon Girl



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Margarita Cake {Alcohol-Free}

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Veronica

I got one of my favorite cake recipes, for Zesty Lemon Pound Cakes, from the back of the cardboard label that came on a Wilton pan.  So when I bought a Wilton bundt pan and found a recipe for Margarita Cake on the back, I saved it in hopes that it would be equally delightful.  Three years later, I finally got around to trying it!

This cake uses a mix, so I apologize to those who are averse to cake mixes.  If you have been following my blog for very long, you know I prefer cakes that start with a mix for not only the ease, but the flavor & texture.  (I make no apologies for my unrefined ways.)  As is the case with many doctored cake mix cakes, you can not tell it started with a mix.  The margarita mix, along with the lime zest in the cake and glaze, gives it a nice lime flavor, and the texture is incredible.  The only thing I’ve ever had that is similar to it is a sour cream angel food cake, managing to be both airy and a little dense all at the same time.  Honestly, the texture delighted me so much that I ate a second piece that I really didn’t need, just to feel it in my mouth a little bit longer.

Margarita Cake

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1 package (18.25 oz) white cake mix
1 can (10 oz) frozen margarita mix, thawed and undiluted
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped lime zest, divided
1 cup confectioners sugar
Lime juice, as desired
Coarse sugar for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside. In large bowl, combine cake mix, thawed margarita mix, eggs and oil. Beat at medium speed two minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the lime zest. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes; invert onto cooling rack, remove from pan, and cool completely. In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon lime zest and enough lime juice to make a glaze; drizzle over cake. If desired, sprinkle the top of the cake with coarse sugar to resemble salt.

Makes 10-12 servings

Recipe source: Wilton

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Dairy-Free White Cupcakes

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Veronica

My husband and I don’t have an allergy to dairy, but we typically don’t keep milk in the house because we prefer coconut or almond milk beverages.  So when I decided to send some cupcakes to work with my husband to welcome his boss, who lives in Colorado and was coming to Wichita for the first time to stay for a week, I decided just to make them completely dairy free and see how they turned out.  I was really impressed with the results!  I’ve never made white cake without using a box mix, and I was quite pleased with how crazy moist these were, and they did not have a hint of coconut flavor, despite all the “dairy” coming from coconut.  They tasted just like regular white cake, and they were a hit with the boss and co-workers.

I wasn’t sure if these would turn out, so I made this recipe for a dozen cupcakes instead of the usual two dozen.  If you would like to make two dozen, or a two layer cake, just double the recipe.

Dairy-Free White Cupcakes

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½ cup coconut milk beverage*, room temperature (I used Silk Pure Coconut Original)
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder*
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup refined coconut oil, room temperature*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tin with paper liners; set aside.

In a 1-cup measure, mix together the milk, egg whites, and extracts; set aside.  In large bowl, mix remaining ingredients, except for the oil. Add the oil and mix until incorporated and there are moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.. Add all but ¼ cup of the milk mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 ½ minutes. Add remaining milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more.  Stop mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl, then beat again on medium for 20 more seconds.

Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter between prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.  Cool in tin on a wire rack.  I prefer to turn mine out onto the rack after a few minutes to finish cooling so the pan doesn’t bake them too much by retaining the heat.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost with White Celebration Frosting, or your favorite dairy-free frosting.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

*Notes: you can use canned coconut milk and unrefined coconut oil, but this will give your cupcakes a distinct coconut flavor. If you want them to taste like white cake, please follow the recipe as written. Also, I recommend using Rumford, or another aluminum-free baking powder in recipes calling for more than a teaspoon, as the aluminum can give a very strong, unpleasant aftertaste.  This is especially true in cakes with milder flavors, like white or yellow.

Recipe source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

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Corn, Avocado, and Black Bean Tostadas

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Veronica

For some reason, before I made these tostadas, I had an aversion to chipotle peppers that came canned in adobo sauce.  I think I made one bad dish with them that turned me off, and I was hesitant to use them in anything again.  This recipe has completely turned me around!  These are the absolute best tostadas I’ve ever made.  I love how the sweet corn balances the smoky and spicy flavor of the chiles.

I really love it when I can find vegan meals that don’t require a lot of fake ingredients, and love it even more when those meals are just as delicious as a meat-centric meal.  I have to say that these tostadas beat the pants off of any tostada I’ve made with meat to date.  Although I did put cheddar cheese on these, you can leave it off for a vegan meal because you get plenty of (healthy) fat from the avocado.

This is a great summer meal because it comes together really quickly and only requires a few minutes of heat on the stovetop.  Enjoy!

Corn, Avocado, and Black-Bean Tostadas

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1 large zucchini, diced
2 cups frozen corn kernels
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tostada shells
1 cup refried black beans*
Shredded lettuce
1 avocado, peeled & sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spray a large nonstick skilled with oil and heat over medium-high head. Add zucchini and sauté 3 minutes. Add corn and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chipotle chiles, lime juice, and salt. Spread each tostada shell with 2 tablespoons of heated beans and top with shredded lettuce. Spoon corn mixture over lettuce, then top with shredded cheddar and slices of avocado.

*To make your own quick refried black beans, drain a can of black beans and reserve the liquid. Place beans in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, along with 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Process, adding in liquid through the feeding tube as necessary to obtain your desired texture. Taste and add salt, pepper, and additional seasonings if desired.

Makes 8 tostadas.

Per tostada: 235 calories; 11.6 g fat; 27.5 g carbohydrates; 5.4 g fiber; 8.6 g protein; 6 Points Plus

Recipe source: adapted from Redbook, October 2010

Secret Recipe ClubThis recipe has actually been recreated twice by the SRC. Here is the first blogger who made it (click the box above for the second): Thru the Bugs on My Windshield

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Homemade Magic Shell

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Veronica

Have you ever had Magic Shell?  If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a Smucker’s ice cream topping that comes out liquid, like chocolate syrup, but hardens when it comes in contact with your ice cream, so that you have to tap and break it to take a spoonful of icecream.  It’s so cool!

My husband is obsessed with it, but you can rarely find the peppermint kind, his favorite, so I started making it for him last year.

It is super simple to make, and you can add any extracts you like to change the flavor profile.   You can also use dairy-free chocolate, such as Ghirardelli semisweet chips, and you have a vegan topping for your vegan one-ingredient ice cream. Since that ice cream is so healthy, I didn’t feel too guilty about adding some of this to the top of it and calling it my breakfast.  :)


Homemade Magic Shell

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1 1/2 cups (300 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (200 grams) refined coconut oil
pinch of salt

Place the chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for thirty seconds, stir, and microwave another 15 seconds. Repeat, if necessary, stirring well every 15 seconds, until mixture is melted and smooth.  This can also be done in a double boiler. Stir in salt and store in an airtight container at room temperature.  Mixture will remain liquid during the summer, but might solidify during the winter.  If it becomes solid, simply heat it until liquid again.

Peppermint Magic Shell: add 2 teaspoons peppermint extract.  I like to divide the batch in half, leaving half plain and adding 1 teaspoon peppermint to the other half.

Makes about 2 cups Magic Shell.

Recipe source: adapted from Brownie Points

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Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Veronica

I recently read a short story, by an unknown author, that teaches a simple, yet incredible lesson about life.  Since I’m sharing a recipe for coffee with you today, I thought this would be the perfect time to share this parable with you as well.

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

“Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

“Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

“Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.”

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

~Author unknown

*******************************

Since we’re concentrating on the coffee here, let’s talk about this recipe, which really lets coffee shine.  Allowing the coffee to steep at room temperature overnight yields a strong brew devoid of any of the usual bitterness you get when percolating it.  I have never been able to tolerate the bitterness of strong coffee, which is why I steer clear of Starbucks.  I still prefer a milder coffee, but cold-brewing makes it so much smoother that I can even enjoy a strong cup prepared this way.  You can control how strong your cup is by adding more or less water to the coffee concentrate.

Unless you are averse to sweet coffee drinks, I highly recommend you use some of that leftover sweetened condensed milk from my pound cake recipe to try a Vietnamese-style iced coffee.  It is out of this world!

Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

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3 cups water
2/3 cup ground coffee

Optional additions:
Milk &/or Sweetener
Sweetened Condensed Milk

In a 4-cup measure, add 3 cups water and stir in coffee.

Unless you are super cool like me (are you laughing?!?!) and have Tupperware measuring cups, you will have to measure two 1/3 cups, or use one of those one-cup measures that have marks on the inside/outside to show where 2/3 is.  I’m so happy to now have 2/3 and 3/4 cup measures for the first time since I left home!! Thank you, Tupperware! (Wait, am I already losing sight of the lesson by concentrating on the measuring cup and not the coffee?)

Cover your measuring cup with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.  Line a sieve or colander with a large coffee filter, cheesecloth, or a double layer paper towels, and prop inside a bowl.  Strain coffee through the sieve.

As you can see, my measuring cups are way cooler (why are you laughing?!?!) than my colander, which I’ve had longer than I’ve been married, and I’m pretty sure I bought it for 10 cents at a garage sale, where the owner was getting rid of it because it was the first colander ever made.  So, you see, I can’t get rid of it.  It is a piece of living history, in my very own kitchen.

Besides, it’s all about the coffee (or life, if you will), so whatever colander I use really doesn’t matter because it won’t alter the resulting brew, or my life. Wow, this “life is coffee” philosphy is so empowering!  :)

Pour strained coffee concentrate into a jar, or rinse out the measuring cup and pour it back in to store.  Keep refrigerated.  To serve, fill a glass with ice, and add equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste.  Stir in milk and sweetener, if desired.  For a Vietnamese iced coffee, stir in a tablespoon or two of sweetened condensed milk.

Bada-bing, bada-boom!  If you like sweet stuff, you have to try it this way!  I’m hooked.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups coffee concentrate, usually good for 4-5 servings.

Recipe source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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Black Bean and Sweet Corn Quinoa Salad

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Veronica

Last week, I shared the Fudge Babies recipe, divulging how late I was in jumping on the raw dessert train.  Well, raw desserts aren’t the only thing I was incredibly slow to catch on to.  Until this week, I also had not tried quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), despite seeing it on nearly every blog I frequent!  I’ve been saving recipes for years, finally bought some over a month ago, and finally, finally, made something with it this week.

Quinoa is gluten-free and while it’s not a grain (it’s a seed), it is often used in place of rice and is cooked the same way.  Although I’ve now enjoyed it, I still can’t tell you if I like quinoa or not, because I couldn’t identify its flavor apart from everything else in this salad.  The salad itself was stupendous, so I guess if I didn’t like quinoa, I wouldn’t have liked the salad as much.

It has a pleasant Mexican flavor profile, and while carbohydrate-heavy, it is also fiber and protein-rich.  It is so delicious that I am a bit ashamed to admit I couldn’t even wait to sit down and eat it from a bowl like a civilized human being.  As soon as it was done, I took a taste and then stood over the pan, shoveling it into my mouth with the ginormous serving spoon.  In my defense, I was stressed, approaching a certain time of month, very hungry, and found this salad to be irresistible.  The perfect storm of coincidences to bring out the barbarian in me.

Black Bean and Sweet Corn Quinoa Salad

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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen sweet yellow corn
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When shimmering and hot, add the onions and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the quinoa and cover with broth. Stir in cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes (or until all the liquid is absorbed).  Stir in the frozen corn and black beans. Cover and let the pot sit off the heat until the corn and beans are heated through, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Serve warm or chilled – it is delicious both ways!

Serves 4 as a main dish, serves 6-8 as a side

Per serving (1/4 of recipe): 417 calories; 7 g fat; 72 g carbohydrates; 17 g fiber; 20 g protein; 10 Points Plus

Recipe source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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