Key Lime Pie

I have never been a pie person.

Until now.

Key Lime Pie, you stole my heart the first time I made you.

For one of the first times in my baking existence, the first recipe I tried is dead on. No need to look any further. It is like when I first met my husband, I just knew. Well almost.

My main disdain with pies in general is their crust, I simply do not care for the globby, soggy crust of pasty flour and butter. It takes away from the beauty of what it is encasing. If it is fruit I'd rather have a cobbler, and go straight for the good stuff. Of course their is one exception: graham cracker crusts, IF the pie fits.

Key lime pie filling is so amazingly tart and refreshing, you almost need a little crust to mellow the flavor. So thanks to some Allrecipes research, I found this recipe fast and it's perfect, just perfect.

Key Lime Pie

1 9 inch Graham Cracker Crust, or GF crust if that's how you roll!
3 eggs
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
pinch of cream of tarter

Whipping Cream and lime for Garnish (optional)

Separate 2 of the eggs, placing the two egg whites into a mixing bowl. Reserve the yolks in another bowl.

To the yolks, add one whole egg, lime juice and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until smooth.

With clean mixer blades or a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff, but not dry. Fold whites into filling mixture. Pour filling into crust.

Bake in preheated 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until set (not jiggly). Let cool at room temperature, then refrigerate (optional place in freezer for an hour before serving for easier slicing). Serve decorated with whipped cream and lime slices.

Cardamon Coffee Cake

For those of you that believe that you can find any recipe you need on the internet at any time (ok, I am actually talking about myself) I have a question for you. What do you do when your internet goes out? It's a similar convenience to all the grocery stores that have started to stay open 24 hours, that means we can run and pick up the missing ingredient ANY time. Is this a blessing or a curse, do we get lazy and forget how things used to be done?

So before the days of laptops and 24 hour on-line accessibility, starting in my early teens, I read cooking magazines and cookbooks. Am I alone on this one, did anyone else have a fettish with reading recipes in their youth? At that time the only way to read recipes was in a cookbook or magazine. So whatever I could get my hands on that bore at least one food photo, if even only the cover, I read it. If I was as diligent in reading my textbooks as I was reading recipes in high school, surely I would have graduated with a 4.0. With each recipe I analyzed accessibility of ingredients, cost, nutritional value, attractiveness, ingredient ratios, and quantity. I studied them for hours, I imagined what it would be like if I made it with my own unique variations. Many recipes I simply imagined making them if only in my mind, but at that time, that was enough.

In my adulthood one of my favorite cooking magazines has been Eating Well, of which my wise sister gave me the subscription to a few years back for a Christmas gift. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. I still have the entire collection of 2 years, and have them neatly stacked next to other sacred readings. I particularly fell in love with Eating Well Magazine because they offer a variety of recipes with seasonal ingredients, healthy, simple, and even have a section on cooking for two! From time to time, I remember my roots of pre-internet days, shuffle through the pages and stumble upon a new surprise that I absolutely must re-create.

One such moment came yesterday, and while I reveled in re-reading recipes from years prior, I caught the flair to make Cardamom Coffee Cake. Years ago when I saw this recipe I am certain I thought nothing of it, at that time I had no idea what Cardamom was, where to get it, or why I wanted to use it in a recipe. Now that I am older and wiser, I have realized Cardamom is, truly, the spice of the Gods, seriously I love this stuff, and I would like to find a viable reason to put it into, well, just about anything. It is used heavily in Indian cooking and Ayurveda (science of life). I love how it taste, smells, and feels. Initially it comes in pods which you can grind yourself for the freshest powder, or buy it already ground. Someday I will grind my own spices, but I am not there yet. So for now I will put my Cardamom in Coffee Cakes, and I don't even drink Coffee. But not to worry a tall glass of milk will help the Cardamom go down, again, and again, and again.

Cardamom Coffee Cake1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Sift above ingredients together and set aside.

1 large egg

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk (I never have this on hand, so I make my own by adding 1 1/2 tsp of lemon juice to 1/2 cup of milk and let sit for at least 10 minutes)

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the above ingredients until well combined.

Add dry ingredients in 2 additions, stirring until well blended.

Prepare the crumble by mixing the following in a food processor:

3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 2 tbsp of walnuts (optional)

Spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray, pour the batter into it, add the crumble on top evenly. Sprinkle a few rolled oats on top for appeal.

Bake at 335 degrees for 25-28 minutes. ENJOY!

A Man's Salad

So getting Micah, my husband, to eat vegetables is like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, it's possible but it takes a trained magician. I have considered pureeing them into a baby food mush and adding to our meals, but even then his hypersensitive taste buds would still detect them a mile away. Discussion after discussion he claims that he does like vegetables and when we go out to eat he does eat his dinner salad. He said that he will eat a salad as a complete meal "if it is done the right". Done right to Micah means no dressing, lots of meat, eggs, olives, and all the fixins. Well, if you insist, I can serve you a Man's Salad. A salad for a man who thinks that each individual fruit snack contains one full fruit serving.

Here you go, our rendition of a A Man's Salad, no cooking, fast, fun, and makes both of us happy!

A Man's Salad

Spinach Greens (or your preference of lettuce)

Ham (or meat of choice)

Hard boiled eggs

Cheese

Croutons (leave these out for Gluten Free)

Carrots

Olives

Peanuts

Dressing (I like Salsa and Asian Sesame Dressing, Micah likes it dry!)

Assemble to your liking!

Enjoy!

PB&J Heaven Cookies

Ok, how PB&J brings us back to the days of childhood, or maybe college survival? The infamous PB&J is distinctly American, a food that became popularized during the great depression for its low cost and high nutrition. Chances are, if you are American, and not allergic to peanuts or wheat, at some point you have experienced a classic PB&J.

As I child I didn’t care much for PB&J’s, in fact I opted for just about any other sandwich (even tuna). But my adulthood has changed my discerning taste buds. My first love of PB&J came not from a sandwich but a PB&J cupcake from Buttercup Bake shop on 72^nd street (bw Columbus & Amsterdam) in Manhattan. Which, if you go to Manhattan you must get a cupcake at Buttercup Bake Shop, they hands down far surpass Magnolia’s Bakery.

It seemed like such a unique flavor, and with a love of PB, I simply couldn’t resist. The first bite exceeded any expectations, as it combined fluffy sweet nutter frosting and strawberry jam surrounded by a light airy cake. It was at that point PB&J took on a whole new level. Love at first bite.

Now, in order to recreate this blissful experience, I have to honor that my forte is cookies, not cupcakes. So I have attempted to recreate these in cookie version, and trust me, they wont let you down. The initial idea and recipe came form a Pillsbury Bake Off cookbook, the old fashioned ones from 1991 that sold for only $2.50. Pillsbury called them Children’s Choice Cookie, I call them PB&J Heaven. With a few tweaks to the recipe, I recreated the jam in the center effect that the cupcake delivered. You can place the jam on top without a covering, but after trying both ways, I highly recommend a lid for your jam, just like the sandwich!

PB&J Heaven Cookies:

Mix together and set aside in separate bowl:

2 ½ cups flour (AP or mix of half white/wheat)

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 ¾ cup rolled oats

Cream together:

1 cup butter

½ cup Peanut Butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

After creaming until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes, add in:

¼ cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Mix until fluffy, then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough for 12-24 hours.

Shape about 2/3rds of dough into 3 inch round ¼" thick patties. Use the rest of the dough to make 1 ½ -2 inch round patties as a topper. Place ½-1 tsp of jam of choice (I like Raspberry) in the center of the larger patties, place smaller topper on and let a bit of jam ooze out the sides, looks prettier this way! You can dress up these cookies as much as you like with a garnish on the topper: slice of strawberry, peanuts, chocolate chips!

Parchment paper is best on the cookie sheet, especially if any jam oozes out the sides (and it will)! If they ooze too much try making the edges of the cookie base thicker or using a bit less jam.

Bake at preheated 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

ENJOY!