Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

When I was in Michigan I picked fresh cherries and bought some dried cherries for future baking and snacking. The dried cherries are perfect for oatmeal cookies. I swear, I could eat half a dozen of these at one time. They are so good.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces of butter, softened

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix until creamy.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until combined. Add oats and chopped cherries and stir until evenly distributed.

4. Scoop dough out and place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.*

5. Chill cookies in the fridge for about an hour before baking. This will cause them to be a little bit thicker.

6. Bake on the middle rack for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown and the center looks a little under cooked. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.

*I like my cookies on the larger side so I got about 12 cookies out of this recipe. You can make smaller ones and get about 2 dozen from this recipe. If you do that, shorten the baking time by 3-5 minutes. 

Kale Soup

More soup! 'Tis the season for warm bowls of delicious and nutritious soup to get us through the cold winter months. I liked this soup better than the leek soup I made recently. All the garlic and onion gave it a bit of a punch. Good for the clearing of sinuses.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves

1/2 large yellow onion

1 shallot

3 small russet potatoes, unpeeled and diced

4 cups (1 quart) vegetable broth

1 cup water

1/2 cup milk *

6 cups kale leaves, stems removed

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream for garnish *

DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, chop garlic, onion, and shallots. Lightly coat the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil. Sauté garlic, onions, shallots, and diced potatoes for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

2. Add vegetable stock, water, and milk. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through and soft. Add kale and stir. Cook for 3 minutes.   

3. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Return soup to soup pot and keep warm on low heat until ready to serve. Garnish with sour cream. 

*To make this a vegan dish, use almond milk instead of regular milk and omit sour cream

Leek, Potato, and Parsnip Soup

In my last post I was urging you to make buttery, calorie-heavy biscuits. I'm now going to urge you to eat healthy! Yes. It is a new year and time to pack your body with nutritious foods. I know, I know...this blog is a nutritional roller coaster...sigh.

This recipe comes from my new favorite chef/nutritionist/cook/teacher: Christina Pirello. I watched her show for hours this past weekend. I couldn't get enough. She has a lot of great recipes, all vegan. I'm looking forward to trying more.   

I adapted this recipe to my liking. My version is not vegan because I used regular milk. But you can follow the original and use almond milk.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 leek, rinsed free of dirt/sand and diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Sea salt

1 large parsnip, unpeeled and diced

2 large russet potatoes, unpeeled and diced

3 1/2 cups filtered water

1 1/2 cups milk *

1 1/2 cup miso broth

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly coat the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil. Sauté onions, leeks, and garlic for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add parsnips and a few pinches of salt. Sauté for 1 minute. Add potatoes and another pinch of salt and sauté for 2 minutes.

2. Add water, milk, and miso broth. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 35 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add ground pepper.

3. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Return soup to soup pot and keep warm on low heat until ready to serve. Garnish with parsley.

*To make this a vegan dish, use almond milk instead of regular milk

Garlic-Rosemary Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

Happy 2013! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. Now I know it's time to shed those holiday pounds but before you do that, you might want to make these deelish biscuits. I've made these a few times (most recently for Christmas dinner) and they are always a hit.Garlic + Butter always = a good time.

Printable Recipe

Yields 8 biscuits

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4  cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbs dried rosemary
6 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup buttermilk
4 tbs melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. in a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for buttermilk and melted butter. With a pastry blender, mix ingredients until the consistency is similar to cornmeal.

3. Pour buttermilk into the center of the mixture. Fold the buttermilk in until all ingredients are evenly combined.

4. Place parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. With a tablespoon, drop 8 mounds of dough (evenly-space) onto the baking sheet.

NOTE: Batter will be sticky.

5. Evenly pour melted butter over the biscuits. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

YUM.