A lot of people think of vegetable cream cheese as the health nut cream cheese.  The cream cheese that only work out aholics eat because if they are going to use cream cheeses they should at least get in a few vegetables.  Sometimes even the outcast of all the cream cheeses.  Well guess what, it’s not!  It is just as delicious as the other cream cheeses, and it is actually healthier.

Here’s the recipe:

1 C of cream cheese

5 baby carrots

3 chives

3 scallions

freshly cracked sea salt

fresh cracked pepper

Put cream cheese in a bowl and stir until softened.  Take the carrots and chop them into small cubes.  Cut length wise twice and then cut width wise in small half centimeterish cuts.  Mince all of the scallions and chives into pieces about as long as the carrots pieces.  Stir well.  Add freshly cracked sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.  If available, use fresh cracked pink peppercorns as well.  Spread on a toasted bagel and enjoy.

Interesting fact: pink peppercorns are not actually peppers, like black pepper is.  Pink peppercorns are actually a dried berry harvested in may from Brazil.  They are also known as “baies roses”.  They are quite satisfying with their sweet, fruity tang and their spicy flourish after each bite.

Apparently, the lure of a coconut coating isn’t enough to convince her that the texture of shrimp isn’t odd.  She did eat a few bites of one shrimp, but then graciously left the rest for us.  We like shrimp and coconut, so we were more than delighted to eat it.

To my mind, shrimp served in this cocktail sort of fashion begs to be dipped.  We didn’t have any pre-made cocktail sauce at home, but as it is simple to make your own, I wasn’t worried.  I thought I would try using some of our homemade peach jam for sweetness in the sauce.  Also, it felt like a way of challenging my almost 16 year old.  He declares that he doesn’t like peaches, but I was pretty sure he would eat them in this format.

Guess what?  I was right.

Peachy Cocktail Sauce

2 Tb. peach jam
2 Tb. cider vinegar
4 Tb. ketchup
4-7 dashes hot sauce

Combine jam and vinegar in a small microwave safe bowl.  Heat for 20 seconds to allow jam to liquify.  Add ketchup and stir to combine.  Add hot sauce, determining amount by your heat preference.  Stir.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 45 minutes.

Personally, I am not a fan of most french fries.  They tend to be heavy in grease or oil and are unappetizing to me.  So, for me, switching to green beans is an easy choice.  There is a delicious green veggie as the base, and a light coating of olive oil and salt to give crunch and flavor.  Members of my family enjoy them as well, especially when they are served alongside some less healthy snacks.  That’s fine with me; they get to enjoy a balance of healthy and unhealthy snacks, and I get more of the green bean fries.

These fries are ridiculously easy to make.  Give them a try; they may be an ingenuous way of getting people to eat their veggies.

Green Bean Fries

1/2 lb. green beans, washed

1 Tb. olive oil

salt

Preheat oven to 475.  Trim ends off of green beans.  Place green beans on a rimmed baking sheet in a pile.  Drizzle olive oil over pile and toss green beans to coat all pieces thoroughly.  Spread green beans into a single layer and season with salt.  Move baking sheet to oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Flip green beans, making sure to return to a single layer, and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.

Eat at once.  They’re best when hot.

Last weekend my family and I were having munchies for dinner, and I offered to help cook.  I decided to make pineapple mango salsa because I love mango, and I figured we would need something to cool down the meal seeing as we were having hot, homemade taquitos.

Pineapple Mango Salsa

3/4 pineapple
1 mango
1/4 red onion
1 jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup of lime juice
1 Tb. of honey
salt and pepper to taste

Pineapple:  I find the easiest way to cut it is to take the top and bottom off first and then take my knife and wedge it right between the shell and the flesh and to cut all the way down while the pineapple is standing on one end.  Do this until the pineapple is completely peeled.  Then cut it into eight pieces lengthwise.  After that take the core out of all the pieces and cut each round into twelve pieces.  (I know it sounds like a lot, but you don’t want huge chunks of pineapple in your salsa.) Place all the pieces in a large bowl.

Mango:  Cut it in half and take out the pit.  Take each half and sear them.  (By this I mean I ran the tip of my knife on the inside of the peel where all the flesh still is and I cubed it pretty much while it was still connected to the peel.  After that I inverted the peel so the fruit was sticking out off the peel and cut the chunks off the peel.  I know it sounds a little complicated, but it is much easier than peeling the mango.)  If a lot of fruit is still stuck to the core, just cut it off and then chop it up into pieces about the size of the seared mango.  (Be very careful when you are cutting the fruit off of the core, mango gets very slippery!)  Put these in the bowl as well.

Onion & jalapeno:  Dice the red onion and place the onion in the bowl.  Take the jalapeno and take the top off and cut it in half.  All of the heat lies in the ribs (the white fleshy things on the inside) and the seeds.  I took these out because I didn’t want much heat in my salsa.  If you want it to be spicier, you can add these in, but go sparingly.  You can always add, but you can never subtract in cooking.  Mince the jalapeno and throw it in the bowl as well.

Combine 1/4 cup of lime juice and tablespoon of honey in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, so they combine nicely.  Pour that onto your chopped fruits and veggies, toss, and refrigerate.  Right before you serve it add a pinch of salt to awaken the flavors and add pepper to taste.  Best served cold.

Hope you like it!

I was thinking about what could be added to the menu to provide a little lightness and more flavor when my husband asked about adding balsamic strawberries.  This was a convenient suggestion in that we had over a pound of strawberries in our refrigerator.  It also was convenient in that this is another one of those ridiculously easy, not really a recipe, recipes.

However, the combination of flavors in this topping is amazing.  Plus, it can be served in a variety of ways.  Use it on its own, as a dip for pita chips or crackers.  Serve it atop cheese, as a bruschetta topping.  Turn it into a dessert accompaniment, using it as an embellishment for pound cake or ice cream.  No matter what you choose, it is sure to be delicious.

Balsamic Strawberries

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
15 strawberries, diced

In a small bowl, combine vinegar and sugar.  Microwave for 30 seconds to help dissolve the sugar.  Add strawberries to vinegar, and toss well.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and to chill the ingredients.

*I prefer using this topping at the 30 minute point.  It can be refrigerated longer, but the strawberries will become softer.

After our dinner on Sunday evening, our 15 year old asked why we had leeks in the refrigerator.  I then realized that while shopping I had purchased all of the ingredients for the recipe I had chosen, plus a few more from the second choice recipe.  With leeks on hand, it was time to be inspired and use them.  Making them into a Tapas Monday dish seemed like the perfect solution.

I decided to sauté the leeks and make them the topping on a goat cheese mini tart.  For our version I used lavash and cut it into 1-inch circles that covered the bottoms of a mini muffin pan.  However, mini phyllo shells could easily be used in place of the lavash.  I wanted less crust, but others may prefer the crunch of the phyllo shell.

These bite-sized appetizers were quite popular.  Of course, we love anything with warm cheese.  Adding some slowly cooked leeks only made it more tasty.  Yet another recipe to add to our tapas rotation.

Leek & Goat Cheese Mini-Tarts

1/2 Tb. olive oil
2 leeks, washed and chopped
1 tsp. sugar
1 piece lavash
2 oz. goat cheese
1-1/2 tsp. cream cheese

Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-low heat.  Add leeks and sauté for 10 minutes, or until tender.  Sprinkle with sugar and cook for an additional minute.

Preheat oven to 400.

Using a 1-inch biscuit cutter (or a shot glass), cut 16 disks from the lavash bread.  Place each disk into the bottom of a mini muffin pan.

In a small bowl combine goat cheese and cream cheese, stirring until thoroughly combined.

Place a small amount of cheese mixture on top of a lavash disk.  Repeat until all disks have been topped.  Divide leeks among muffin cups.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

I must note that she said that politely, and I had to smile.  How many 14 year olds talk about the simplicity of making a roux?  Yes, we are creating a few foodies.  She was right.  Making a roux is ridiculously easy.  Thus, she had a parmesan sauce for her pasta, and later my husband and I had feta sauce for our Greek meatballs.

I made both sauces using skim milk.  The feta sauce had a thinner consistency than I had anticipated, but I thought it worked well for dipping meatballs and pieces of grilled eggplant.  If you prefer something creamier, even using whole milk would add body.  If you are feeling quite indulgent, light cream would make it rich.

Feta Sauce

1-1/2 Tb. unsalted butter
1-1/2 Tb. flour
1 cup milk
6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
black pepper

Melt butter in a small saucepot over medium heat.  Add flour, and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.  Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth.  Bring to a gentle boil, and reduce the heat.  Add feta slowly, whisking until it is melted.  (There may be a few small pieces of feta that don’t melt, but they add delightful bites of flavor.)  Season with pepper.

I personally love the combination of pears and blue cheese, but we were without pears.  Looking for something sweet to contrast with the salt and bite of the blue cheese, I remembered that we had a package of dates.  I didn’t have the time to stuff the dates, but I did think that they would work well with the gorgonzola.

What I created really requires no recipe.  However, the flavors in this combination were so well paired, I decided it was worth sharing.  When you are seeking a sweet and salty combination that can be served on your favorite cracker, this is perfect.

Blue Cheese & Dates

12 small dates
4 oz. gorgonzola (or other creamy blue cheese)

Chop dates into small bites.  Combine dates and cheese in a small bowl, stirring until well combined.  Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface.  Transfer cheese mixture from bowl to plastic wrap.  Shape into a log, and wrap in plastic.  Refrigerate for one or two hours.

Serve with crackers.

Many of these nights involve a fair amount of cooking.  While the kids eat their dinner, I am working on that night’s menu.  However, sometimes there are other events on a Monday, which means that we need to reconfigure our dining.  This past Monday was one of those nights.  With a high school sports night from 7:00-9:00, I knew that my cooking time would be almost nonexistent.

So, we planned a simple menu.  On Sunday afternoon we shopped for an assortment of cheeses, sausage, crackers, and fruit.  A quick batch of maple-glazed almonds and walnuts was made.  Thinking about the assortment of cheeses, I thought that mustard would be a nice accompaniment, but why settle for something simply out a jar?  I wanted to add something that had my fingerprint.

Considering possible mix-ins, I ended up with Maple Apple Mustard.  It was a great compliment to some aged cheddar, providing a little sweet and a little vinegary pop.

Maple Apple Mustard

1 apple, peeled & diced
water
1/4 cup mustard
1-2 Tb. maple syrup

Place apple in a small saucepot and cover with water.  Boil until apple is fork tender, approximately 5 minutes.  Drain apple and place in a blender.  Add mustard and 1 tablespoon maple syrup.  Purée until smooth.  Add second tablespoon of maple syrup if you prefer a sweeter flavor.

Refrigerate or use immediately.

Make these cupcakes early in the day (or even the day before), and you will have a dessert that requires no last minute work.  Once you’re ready for dessert, it will be ready to serve.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Grasshopper Icing

Ashton Keefe, author of Diary of a Sweet Tooth

Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
1 cup stout, such as Guinness
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, the higher quality the better (I use Valrhona, it’s worth it!)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream (full fat)
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in large saucepan and allow it to melt. Slightly brown the butter, meaning the butter’s fat (the white foam on top) will begin to melt away and the butter will start to brown and smell nutty. The second this happens remove from heat and add Guinness.   Whisk until smooth and add cocoa powder. Whisk all lumps out. If lumps continue to form, return to heat until dissolved.   Sift all dry ingredients together.

In meantime in a large mixer beat eggs and sour cream. Add the butter, stout and cocoa powder mixture to electric mixer and mix until combine and smooth. Add the flour mixture on low speed and mix until JUST combined. Remove from mixer and use a spatula to fold rest of batter and chocolate bits.   Place in muffin tins or cupcake liners and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Icing
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 tsp. mint extract (creme de menthe)
4 Tb. milk (depending on consistency, less milk = stiffer icing)

In a large bowl with paddle attachment beat half of the sugar with half of the butter. Blend extract with half milk in. Slowly add remaining sugar into mixture. Depending on desired stillness add more milk, 2 tablespoons maximum.