October is National Cookie Month and I so love to bake cookies! Lately I’ve been on the search for gluten- but not taste-free options. Several helpful folks have pointed out that there a number of decent mixes you can buy, but I’m stubborn and I want to do it myself.

I came across a recipe for Lemon Pistachio Shortbread No-Bake Cookie Bites (say that three times fast) and thought I would give them a try. The verdict? They’re good but not great. I’d like a bit more pistachio flavor.

Debra

October is National Cookie Month. It’s a bit early for my baking – I usually go on a bit of a cookie baking binge around the holidays, mostly commonly baking Russian teacakes, snickerdoodles, chocolate crinkles, peanut butter cookies, and molasses spice cookies. The recipe for the latter is from my former sister-in-law, Betsy.

Aunt Betsy’s Molasses Spice Cookies

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Combine shortening, molasses, sugar and egg in a large bowl and use a mixer to mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Combine with the shortening mixture and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. Measure by spoonfuls and roll dough into balls then roll in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes (cookies will look undercooked).

Enjoy!

Debra

August is National Coffee Month! Coffee is one of my favorite things in the world. While I generally drink it black, I do love Thai iced coffee so I was super excited to try this recipe from the Food.com.

Thai Iced Coffee (4 servings)

• ground coffee, sufficient to make 4 cups brewed
• 4 T. sugar
• 4 T. heavy cream
• 2 t. ground cardamom
• 1 t. almond flavoring
• crushed ice

1. Add the cardamom to the ground coffee, and brew the coffee; when the coffee is brewed, add the sugar and almond flavoring, mix well and then let the coffee cool to lukewarm.
2. Fill four 12 ounce highball glasses half-way to the rim with crushed ice and then fill two-thirds full with coffee; into each glass, stir about 1 tablespoon of heavy cream.
3. To achieve a layered effect, hold a spoon on top of the coffee and pour the cream slowly into the spoon so that the cream floats on top of the glass over the coffee.

This recipe turned out great and I’m sure it would be almost as good with some healthy substitutions.

Enjoy!

Debra

August is National Coffee Month and why not keep it simple. I love a strong black coffee brewed via French press for 6 minutes. Enjoy your coffee your favorite way today!

Watermelon is wonderful just as it is but if you want to do a little something different for National Watermelon Day, Emeril Lagasse’s My First Watermelon Granita can be a fun change of pace. This is one of my favorite summertime treats. This time when I made it, I used a yellow seedless watermelon that had a bright, citrus-y flavor on it’s own. The recipe intensified the citrus-y element, which makes for wonderfully bright and light taste.

My First Watermelon Granita

• 5 cups peeled and seeded watermelon chunks (from about a 3-pound slice of watermelon)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Place the watermelon chunks in the bowl of a blender or a food processor, replace the top, and blend on high speed until very smooth. Turn the blender off.
2. Transfer the watermelon puree to a mixing bowl and add the sugar and lime juice.
3. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixing bowl to the freezer and freeze for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the bowl from the freezer and use a fork to scrape any ice crystals from the sides of the bowl. Stir to incorporate the crystals. Return to the freezer.
6. Repeat this scraping procedure every 30 minutes, or until the consistency is “snowy” when scraped with a fork or spoon, at least 4 hours. Then scoop into bowls or dessert glasses and serve.

Bon appetit!

Debra

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.