Pomegranate Smoothies

2 cleaned pomegranates
1 cup ice cubes
1/2 c rasberry sorbet
 blend together till smooth and enjoy!

4 cups frozen strawberries whole
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Sparkling grape juice
blend until smooth

So I had a few friends over to test my food on them. One of the sides I had, ended up being bad when I opened the package... So I had to quickly come up with another side to make up for it. Weirdly enough it was the best dish on the table that night. A big success and was the first thing to go. I just took Swai Fish and put salt, sesame oil, red curry paste, mushrooms, and green onions on it. mmmmmm :P


Baked Swai

1tsp. salt
1Tbsp sesame oil
red curry paste (just enough to color the top of the fish)
chopped mushrooms and green onions for garnish :) took about two mushrooms 1 1/2 green onions

pat salt and sesame oil onto outside of fish with your hands(make sure they're cleeean) brush curry paste on with a fork... not too much or it ends up being too salty, just enough to color the top maybe a tad more. top with mushrooms and green onions. :) Lay fish on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 min then broil on high for 1 min to brown the top. Fantastico!!!!

:)

Almond layer cake

So I made a cake.... It's almond cake :) hopefully I can mess around with it a little to get it perfected It was still really good though :D Here's the recipe and some pictures... It ended up being a heavier cake and I would have liked it to be fluffier but this was way way better than I thought it'd turn out.

Almond layer Cake with whipped cream frosting. :) topped with strawberries and crushed almonds
makes 1 full cake serves around 10


Makes 2, 9 in. round layer cakes,
1 1/2 sticks butter and extra (for coating pans..or spray)  at room temperature
2 cups Flour (sifted)
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 T baking powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs beaten
1 cup almond milk
1 1/2 T vanilla

preheat oven to 350 f. Use butter to coat the bottom and sides of two 9 inch round cake pans.Flour the pans.. shake to distribute, then tap out excess flour. Set aside.
2. into a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. put aside for later... Put the sugar in a bowl and set aside also.
 blend the eggs. Stir together the almond milk and vanilla. Set the eggs and almond milk aside
3. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment in place, cream the 3/4 cup of butter on medium speed for 1 min
4. With the mixer still running add the sugar then stop it and scrape the sides with a spatula
Return the mixer to medium and continue creaming the butter and sugar for 5 more minutes. The mixture should become fluffyish. ;)
5. With the mixer still running, add the beaten egg.
6. Turn the mixer off, add the flour and almond milk mixture slowly. Run the machine to incorporate.
7. Divide the batter between the cake pans.Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter.
8. Bake the cakes for 35 minutes, until golden on to, insert a toothpick into the middle if it comes out clean your cake is done.
9. Cool the cakes till room temp. fill with strawberry mousse, then frost with whipped cream frosting and top with strawberries and/or raspberries and crushed almonds.  I topped mine with cuties and strawberries (didn't have almonds :)

 Strawberry mousse filling
2 Tbsp Grape Juice
1 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 pint sized container Strawberries or raspberries
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c heavy cream, chilled

 

Put the juice in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set aside.

Wash and pat the strawberries dry with a dish towel. Hull and cut enough berries into small pieces enough to make a little more than a cup.
Put the strawberries in a small skillet and add the sugar, stirring to combine. Heat over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar has melted. Remove from the heat and add the juice, stirring, until the gelatin has dissolved. Pour into a mixing bowl put in fridge to cool about 1 hour.
While the strawberry mixture cools, whip the 1/2 cup cream using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer until soft peaks form.mix together with the strawberry mixture. This is to put between the cake layers. Pretty much all of whipped cream frosting are really close or pretty much the same. At least all those I looked at. So I just picked one from a cookbook instead of making my own. you can use your favorite for this recipe also! here it is :)

Whipped cream frosting:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


For the frosting, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Then whip using a stand mixer until done. Refrigerate the cream until ready to use. here are pics of the cake in progress and the finished product!

Finished and yuuuummmmy! :D



We had some extra filling left over so a cute little snack we made ;D

 

Italian Wet Burrito Casserole

So this was one my sis and I created together awhile back :) We used the sauces from a Recipe Maker kit, Creating a beautiful casserole. We decided to call it Italian wet burrito casserole. It was very good. :) the recipe will be down below. This makes enough for 10 people.

2 bottles oregano lemon simmer sauce
2 pouches tomato and Italian Herb sauce or 2 cups tomato sauce with , garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.(to taste)
2 med onions- chopped
1 green bell pepper- chopped
2 quarts cooked chunked chicken
1/2tsp red pepper
small tortillas around 12
mozzarella cheese
Toppings

Mix together the sauces in a bowl.
Put the chicken, onions, and peppers into a frying pan on the stove and heat till heated through add  half the sauce mixture, and simmer 15min. add pepper and stir. put the chicken mixture in tortillas, and role up and put in a 9x13 glass pan cover with the remaining sauce mixture. bake at 350 for 15 min. sprinkle cheese on top and bake 5 more min. top with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream. Or whatever you want! :P Enjoy!

Swamp Gumbo!

This is A recipe I kinda yanked outta my head and to my absolute shock, It was amazing! Or should I say the bees knees. One of the first recipes I created which also started my love of cooking :) I got the idea from The Princess And The Frog When frog Tiana makes gumbo (the swamp gumbo made from okra and mushrooms and pumpkin)while mine doesn't have pumpkin, (it can certainly be added though), it has a variety of other things. Also perfect for those who, like me, are allergic to shellfish. :) Enjoy! You can also make a vegetarian version by taking out the Polish sausage. :) This makes enough for 9 people... with leftovers :)

Ingredients
Vegetable oil  
3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 quarts hot water or half water half chicken stock
3 garlic cloves, minced 
2 bay leaves 
1 pound Polish Sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 0z tomato paste
2 pints grape tomatoes (whole )
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning 
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme  
2T sweet basil dried
4 green onions, sliced
1 package of Portabella mushrooms sliced 
2 bags of frozen Okra or less if desired
Tabasco sauce to taste (optional)
chili powder to taste (optional)
salt and pepper- to taste

Preparation

1. Add enough oil to drippings in The pan to measure 1/2 cup. Add flour, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 20 to 25 minutes, or until roux is brown colored.
2. Stir in onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook, stirring often, 8 minutes or until tender. Gradually add 2 quarts hot water, and bring mixture to a boil; add garlic, tomatoes, and okra and tomato paste. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
3. Add sausage and mushrooms to gumbo; cook 30 minutes. Stir in green onions; simmer for 30 more minutes.
4. Remove and discard bay leaves.
5. Remove gumbo from heat. Serve over hot cooked rice. Garnish with scallions, if desired.
6. Also add some of salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce and chili  powder and your gumbo is complete          Here are some pictures! Sorry not a great photographer but here goes...
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Finished and served with Jasmine Rice! Excellent!

Lemon Honey Slow Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake

This is a recipe from one of my other blogs I got the basic recipe somewhere but I can't remember where and I tweaked it here and there to make it my own. :) this is amazing and rich... Just don't let the bottom get soggy or it won't taste right. It is great for the first couple days but after that it's ok but not "to die for" So here it is in all it's glory!

Lemon Honey Slow Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
Crust
9 oz of graham crackers (roughly 11 graham crackers)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
Zest of 1 medium lemon
6 tablespoons melted butter

Cheesecake Filling
1 cup of slow roasted balsamic strawberries, divided
(recipe below the picture)
3 8oz bricks of cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup locally bought honey
3 large brown9not that it matters) eggs, at room temperature
4 oz (1/2 cup) sour cream lowfat
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (strained)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



1. Preheat an oven to 325˚F. Take a 13”x9” pan and lightly spray the bottom and side with olive oil. Then fit a piece of parchment paper into the pan, with two inches overhanging the sides. The oil will allow the paper to stick to the pan, while the paper itself will make it easy to life the cheesecake bars out of the pan without having to dig them out.

2. Place the graham crackers in a food processor and crush until you have a fine powder. You should have 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs. Place the brown sugar and lemon zest in the food processor with the crumbs and pulse three or four times to blend in. Then turn the processor on, and slowly drizzle the melted butter into the graham cracker crumbs until they start to clump together.

3. Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan, and press it evenly down creating a flat even coating of graham cracker crumbs. If you need to, you can use the bottom of a flat dish to pat it down further.

4. Place the pan with the crumbs in the oven for five minutes or until the crust starts to get fragrant and brown a little.

5. Pull the pan out and let it cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.

6. Wipe out the food processor and place the 1 cup of slow roasted balsamic red wine strawberries in it. Puree the strawberries. Take out 1/2 a cup and place aside, leaving half a cup in the food processor.

7. Place the cream cheese and 3 tablespoons of flour in the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until blended and fluffy. Add the honey and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time beating between additions until each is incorporated. You may want to scrape down the sides with a large spatula between each addition.

8. Mix the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla together in a small bowl until well blended. Then add it to the cheesecake batter and blend until incorporated.

9. Measure out 1 cup of the cheesecake batter and pour it into the strawberry puree that is still sitting in the food processor. Pulse until the batter is smooth, and the batter is light lavender. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour and pulse until incorporated.

10. Pour the batter into the pan with the graham cracker crust. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread the strawberry cheesecake filing to create a thin layer all over the bottom of the pan, covering the entire graham cracker crust. Then carefully, spoon the remaining plain cheesecake filling on top of the strawberry one. Then using a clean offset spatula or butter knife carefully smooth out the plain cheesecake filling on top covering up the strawberry cheesecake filling.

11. Take the remaining Strawberry puree and poor over the top swirling gently with a knife.

12. Bake the cheesecake for 40 minutes or until the sides of the cheesecake start to look golden, puffy, and the center is only slightly wobbly. The cheesecake will deflate, sink a little and set while it cools.

13. Once baked, let the cheesecake cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
Makes 16 servings.

 slow roasted balsamic strawberries

You can easily double this recipe, but increase the roasting time by a half hour or so.

2 lbs fresh strawberries
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
 1tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh finely ground mixed peppercorn
 2 cinnamon sticks

1. Preheat an oven to 275˚F

2. De-stem and hull the strawberries. Then quarter the strawberries into 1” pieces (if the strawberries are large, you might need to cut them down further) placing them into a large mixing bowl as you go.

3. Slice the vanilla pod lengthwise, and then take a small paring knife and scrape out the seeds from inside the pod into the bowl of strawberries. Once they are scraped out, throw the pod itself into the bowl.

4. Add the brown sugar, vinegar, red wine, pepper, and cinnamon stick and toss gently to mix.

5. Pour into a rimmed baking sheet, making sure to scrape the bowl with a spatula to get any juices and evenly distribute the strawberries into one layer.

6. Place in oven and roast for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, making sure to stir every half hour so the strawberries don’t stick to the pan. The strawberries are done once they are softened, darkly colored, slightly dry on top, and the juices have thickened.

7. Cool on pan and then use at room temperature or store in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes about 2 cups of slow roasted strawberries. I also did half strawberries and half raspberries which was even better.

I made Haylie Duff's Baked Herbs and Eggs with Parmesan. It turned out really good! here is a link to her website... http://realgirlskitchen.com/ Here is the recipe... If you like you can buy her book on Amazon... So I used custard dishes instead of ramekins. It turned out thicker than I wanted but still good, and dried herbs instead of fresh, cause it's autumn, and there are no fresh out in my garden.. :) Here's the recipe. made for one person.


OLIVE OIL
2 EGGS
PARMESAN (to taste)
PARSLEY (to taste)
ROSEMARY (to taste)
SEA SALT (to taste)

preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease inside of dish with olive oil so the eggs don't stick. Crack 2 eggs into the dish. Drizzle olive oil on top. Sprinkle herbs and salt on top, and grate parmesan cheese on top. bake until the whites are firm. :) easy! Serve with buttered toast :)

Fairly New To Blogging

So I'm fairly new to the blogging world... This should go well. Okay to start off, I am a young woman who loves trying new things! Especially in the cooking and art worlds. My Personal favorites to try are Korean and Japanese cooking. There will be a lot of those on here. I guess to start off I'll share one of my quick and easy recipes. Seaweed Soup, I have a few different recipes for this but the main one I created is one of my favorite quick meals. So a little bit of backround... Seaweed is actually considered to be a super food in North America, even though it's not normal "American" food. It is an awesome source of calcium, iodine, fiber, omega acids, vitamin B1 and B3, and is also low in calories! It has a lot of health benefits including detoxification, anti aging, blood purification etc. In South Korea people eat seaweed with other seafood such as oysters and fish. this makes enough for one person... or two if you don't eat much... I am almost absolutely starving when I come home from work so I can clean off a whole bowl. ;)

2cups -water
1tsp--- Dashi stock
broiled or baked Fish. as much or as little as you want. I love Swai but Tilapia is just as good :) also for a quicker meal you can use canned tuna(not broiled).
Either half a sheet of dry roasted seaweed(ripped up) or dried brown seaweed(to taste, and available in asian food stores)
1/2 cup cooked rice

Bring water and Dashi stock to a boil. add seaweed and broiled or baked fish(you'll have to cook it a little longer if the fish is broiled). lower temp to simmer. and cook 5-10min either add rice or serve it on the side. Also if you like, a side of Kimchi is good with that as well. :) you can buy kimchi at various different stores in the refrigerated section. As soon as I pick my best one I'll put the recipe for it on here if you'd like to make your own.

Finished! with a side of rice and a side of Kimchi!