I’m not sure whether it’s because July has a lot of food celebrations or if it’s because I’ve been craving the creativity of trying new recipes, but we’ve got a lot of posts about recipes this month. Today we’ll be celebrating that zesty root: horseradish. I like for my food to have a little kick, so I will often use horseradish on sandwiches in lieu of using butter or mayo. So here’s a recipe to take the flavor of some of your summer side dishes up a notch or three.

Lemon Horseradish New Potatoes

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, unpeeled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole dish in the oven. Stir in salt, pepper, horseradish and lemon juice. Place potatoes in dish and toss to coat with butter mixture.
3. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender.

Despite the rather sexist/silly name of this coffee cake, it is a super tasty way to celebrate National Blueberry Month. I did a take on the version by Cook’s Country, substituting some coconut oil for the butter and mixed berries for the blueberries.

Blueberry Boy Bait

Cake

• 2 cups flour plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugr
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup berries, fresh or frozen*

Topping

• 1/2 cup berries, fresh or frozen*
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*do not thaw frozen berries

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9 x 13-inch baking pan
2. Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter, coconut oil, and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated. Reduce speed to medium and alternate dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
3. Toss berries with remaining flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold into batter. Spread into prepared pan.
4. Scatter berries over top of batter. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and then sprinkle mixture over batter.
5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
6. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and pace on serving patter (topping side up)
7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Bon appetit!

Debra

Summer grilling is a great way to get together with friends and family to enjoy each other’s company and spend some time outdoors. Outdoor grilling can seem like a challenge when it comes to vegetarian options, but these grilled Portobello burgers can be great for those who don’t eat meat or are just looking for a change from the usual burgers. Unfortunately, I didn’t note where this came from.

Grilled Portobello Burgers

(serves 4)

• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tablespoons chopped rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Portobello mushroom caps
• 4 roasted red pepper halves
• 2 Kaiser rolls, toasted
• 6 ounces mozzarella, sliced

Balsamic glaze: Simmer vinegar, sugar, water and rosemary sprigs in small saucepan for 12 to 14 minutes, or until reduced to 2 1/2 tablespoons. Remove rosemary sprigs and allow the glaze to cool.

Garlic rub: In small, covered microwave-safe dish, microwave garlic and oil at medium-low power for 45 seconds, or until garlic is soft. Mash garlic and add broth, chopped rosemary and salt.

Burgers: Preheat grill pan or grill. Brush undersides of mushroom caps liberally with garlic rub. Grill 3 to 4 minutes. Brush tops, flip, and grill an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

Place roasted pepper halves on the bottom halves of the rolls and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic glaze. Top with Portobello caps and mozzarella slices, drizzle with remaining glaze and ser.

Today’s Country Cooking Month is a companion recipe to the earlier post this month for old-fashioned meatloaf.

Italian Wedding Soup

serves 6

• 2 14-ounce cans low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 16-ounce package frozen Italian mixed vegetables
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 reserved cooked meatloaf, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the vegetables and seasoning and return to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are cooked through (about 5 minutes).
3. Add the meatloaf chunks and parsley and cook until heated through (abut 2 minutes).
4. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Honestly, this was not on the same level as the meatloaf. The next time I make it, I’ll probably saute a clove of minced garlic before adding the broth and water and add some chopped, fresh parsley at the end.

Enjoy!

Debra

June 23rd is Pink Flamingo Day, a day to celebrate the fun or tacky plastic pink flamingos (depending on your perspective) that you see on people’s front lawns. But did you know the pink flamingo is also a cocktail?

Pink Flamingo

Combine in a cocktail glass:

• 1 ¹⁄₂ fluid ounces coconut rum
• 1 fluid ounce Amaretto
• 3 fluid ounces cranberry juice
• 1 ¹⁄₂ fluid ounces pineapple juice

Top with ice, as needed, and garnish with a pineapple chunk or cherry.

Enjoy (responsibly, of course)!

Debra

June is Country Cooking Month and, while “country cooking” can mean a lot of things, I tend to associate it with comfort foods. One of my favorite foods from childhood was meatloaf, so today I’d like to share a healthier version. It’s from a really fun book from Weight Watchers (no, really!) called Now & Later: 160 Hearty Recipes that Turn One Meal into Two. It’s a cookbook that features recipes that use one meal in a second recipe.

Old-Fashioned Meatloaf

• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 5 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 1/4 pounds lean ground meat
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted red pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the carrot, zucchini, and green onions, stirring occasionally, until softened. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients until just blended.
3. Divide the mixture in half. Form into 2 loaves and place 2 inches apart in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour.
4. Let 1 of the meatloaves cool and refrigerate for use in Italian wedding soup.
5. Cut the remaining meatloaf into 8 pieces and top each with 2 tablespoons of red pepper.

This turned out great. I can’t wait to make the next recipe – Italian wedding soup!

Dig in!

Debra

May 17 is World Baking Day. One of the simplest things to bake is a cookie. One of my favorites is Spicy Oatmeal Crisps from myrecipes.com. I have found when I make these that the dough should be refrigerated for about an hour to keep them from spreading too thin.

Spicy Oatmeal Crisps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine:
   • 3/4 c. flour
   • 1 t. cinnamon
   • 1/2 t. baking soda
   • 1/2 t. allspice
   • 1/2 t. nutmeg
   • 1/4 t. salt
   • 1/4 t. cloves
   • 1/4 t. black pepper
3. In a large bowl, mix together:
   • 1 c. packed brown sugar
   • 5 T. butter, softened
   • 1 t. vanilla
4. Add large egg to butter-sugar mixture.
5. Add flour mixture plus 1/2 c. oats.
6. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto lined cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until crisp. Cool on plan 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Then cool completely on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Debra

May is National Salad Month so here’s a simple, hearty salad to celebrate.

Crunchy Chickpea Spinach Salad

Serves 1

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 of large lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Heat olive oil over medium to high heat. Add chickpeas and allow to sizzle, stirring occasionally. Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 lemon over the chickpeas and continue cooking about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and remove from heat. Combine with spinach, hard boiled eggs, and feta cheese toss well and serve.

Enjoy!

Debra

Beverage Day is a day to celebrate whatever your favorite beverage is. Whether enjoyed in solitude or in the company of good friends, a favorite beverage can be comforting or bring us joy.

People who know me well, know that coffee is my favorite beverage. While I typically drink it black, it’s sometimes fun to dress it up. Here’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to try for a while. And it’s my new favorite drink!

Mexican Coffee

• 6 cups water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cinnamon (I used a handful of cinnamon sticks)
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/2 cup regular grind coffee
• 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• whipped cream

Heat water, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves to boiling in a Dutch oven, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in coffee and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in chocolate syrup and vanilla; remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes for coffee grinds to settle. Strain coffee into a coffee server or individual cups, discarding grounds. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Bottoms up!

Debra

April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Day, a day set aside to enjoy simple cheesy goodness. To celebrate, make your favorite version. Here are some of my favorite combinations:

• Asparagus and Parmesan on French bread,
• Roasted red pepper and Monterrey jack on whole grain,
• Tomato, basil and mozzarella on rye, or
• Apple and Gouda on sour dough.

Let your appetite and creativity to go wild.

Bon appetite,

Debra