Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

I am hooked on Dave's Killer Powerseed bread. Safeway supermarket is the only place I can find Dave's Killer bread at the moment. It's a little pricey, but I love the 100% whole-grain goodness and seedy texture of this bread. I've been toasting a slice of this bread for the past few morning since I came across this recipe for Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter. I didn't realize making your own nut butter can be so easy. You need a reliable food processor that can run continuously for about 10 minutes without getting hot. I have an old Cuisinart from the 80s which works just fine. I don't recommend using a mini food processor which I have already tried. Because a mini food processor is not as powerful as the standard size processor, you will not achieve the same results as you would from a standard size food processor.

2 cups raw sunflower seeds (9.6 ounces)

2 to 3 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and position oven rack to the center of the oven. Spread sunflower seeds in a shallow rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring half way of baking time. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Insert a steel blade into the work bowl of a food processor. Transfer cooled seeds into the work bowl. Cover and pulse nuts about 30 times just to get the seeds to break up and become crumbly. Then continuously run for about 10 minutes until smooth, stopping machine a couple of times to scrape down sides.

When mixture looks smooth, while processor is running, drizzle in about 2 tablespoons sunflower oil. Let processor run until mixture is incorporated and becomes smooth. Add the honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt to the mixture. Continue to let processor run until smooth and well blended. Mixture will seem tight in the beginning, but let it continuously run for about 5 minutes and the nut butter will smooth out. Check the nut butter. If mixture seems too thick, add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the remaining sunflower oil and let it run until well blended. Taste and add more salt to taste if desired. Transfer the nut butter into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

This nut butter is delicious spread on toasted 100% whole-grain bread.

Yield about 1 cup

Hibiscus Tea (Agua de Jamaica)

Hibiscus Tea (Agua de Jamaica)

Hibiscus tea is more of a beverage than a tea. This beverage gets its rich burgundy color from the dried hibiscus flowers which is steep in boiling water for about 1 to 2 hours. While hibiscus tea does not contain any tea leaves, the steeping of the dried flowers is why this beverage is referred to as an herbal tea. I like to make my hibiscus tea a little strong so that when served over ice, the flavor will not weaken as the ice dilutes the beverage. The flavor of this beverage is a little cranberry-like and a little plum-like. This beverage is so refreshing, especially on a hot day. Without sugar, hibiscus tea is very tart so you need to add sugar to taste. I like the hibiscus tea sweet and a bit tart, like drinking cranberry juice or pomegranate juice. Dried hibiscus flowers, aka Jamaica, can be purchased at any Hispanic supermarkets sold in bulk bins.

6 cups cold water (48 ounces)
2 cups dried hibiscus (Jamaica) flowers (3 ounces)
1-1/2 cups organic cane sugar (10.2 ounces)
3 cups cold water (24 ounces)

Place 6 cups of cold water in a medium-size stainless steel saucepan which includes a lid. Bring water to a full boil. Add the dried hibiscus flower and sugar and stir to combine. When mixture returns to a boil (which is almost immediate), remove from heat. Place the lid on the saucepan and let steep for about 1 to 2 hours (I steep the flowers for about 1-1/2 hours). Strain tea through a coffee filter into a pitcher. Add the remaining 3 cups cold water. Stir and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

Yield 2 quarts

Donna Giblin's Artichoke Chicken

Donna Giblin's Artichoke Chicken
As viewed on The Chew

This will be a dish I will make often. It's such a simple dish to put together, but tastes like a lot of effort been put into this dish. Almost like eating a French-style dinner because of the tarragon herb. A lesson learn is to make sure you check your pantry to see if you have all the ingredients to any recipe before proceeding. A mental check is not thorough enough. I had everything for this recipe, except tarragon. I thought I had it in the pantry, but could not find it. So I had to stop and make a trip to the supermarket just for the tarragon. The oven is preheated, all the meat and vegetables are placed in the roasting pan, the sauce is ready to go, except for that one missing herb. I was thinking to omit the tarragon because I didn't have it, but tarragon is such a unique herb and cannot be substituted with another herb. It's hard for me to describe the unique flavor of tarragon...mild licorice-like...fennel-like?! I know it's commonly used in French cooking. It turns out that I am glad I made the trip to the supermarket just to get this herb to complete this recipe. I love this dish for its simplicity and flavor. Tastes like a home-style French comfort meal.

HEALTHY NOTE:  The original recipe uses chicken thighs and drumsticks with the skin. To make this dish healthier, I used entirely chicken thighs without the skin amd remove all visible fat. Since I removed the skins, I decrease the roasting time by 10 minutes.

3-1/2 to 4 pounds chicken thighs with bone (about 9 thighs), skins and all visible fat removed
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (6 ounces)
1 medium-size onion, cut into large chunks to match the sizes of artichokes (8.5 ounces)
1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered
2 tablespoons brown mustard (0.8 ounce)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (1.7 ounces)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (2.0 ounces)
1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon wine (2.0 ounces)
1 large clove garlic, minced (0.3 ounce)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of the oven.

Lightly salt the chicken on both sides and place skinless-side up evenly in a large roasting pan. I used a Le Creuset roasting pan measuring 9-3/4-inches by 14 inches. Evenly distribute the onions, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms around the thighs and trying not to cover the chicken meat too much. If chicken is covered too much with the vegetables, just lift the chicken up slightly so most of the chicken is exposed (see photo above).

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar, wine, garlic, basil, thyme, tarragon, bay leaf, salt and ground black pepper. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Pour sauce evenly over the chicken and the vegetables. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, basting every 20 minutes.

First basting after 20 minutes of baking: I use a turkey baster for basting.

Second basting after 40 minutes of baking.

Third and final basting after 1 hour of baking.

Remove from oven after 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Close up view of the finish dish. Even the chicken thighs looks brown without the skin.

Serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable side dish. The chcken is moist and delicious; the onions melts in your mouth; the artichokes and mushrooms are roasted to perfection...and the flavor is amazingly delicious. I cannot wait for leftovers tonight.

Yield 4 to 5 servings

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

Appliance Recommendation: Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone. I replaced my old rectangular heavy, grease-stained baking stone with Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone. I highly recommend this pizza stone. I have already used it several times and I am very satisfied. It's lightweight, easy to use and easy to clean. My pizza bakes up more crispier than my old baking stone. You preheat the stone the same way you would preheat a regular baking stone. You do not need to treat, grease or spray the stone before sliding your pizza on the stone. The pizza stone has handles making it easy to remove the hot stone from the oven with the baked pizza on top and using the stone as a serving platter. You can actually cut your pizza directly on the stone and it will not scratch the smooth "micro-crazed" finish. However, I still prefer to cut my pizza on a wooden peel because the pizza tends to slide around the smooth glazed finish while cutting. After I'm done cutting the pizza, I slide the pizza back onto the hot stone to keep the pizza hot. For the cleanup, I soak my stone in hot soapy water to loosen any hard baked-on foods. I have even used a scouring pad and Bar Keepers Cleanser to get stubborn stains off and it looks brand new again, although, it is dishwasher safe. This pizza stone costs $49.99 and is well worth the investment.

Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza

1 pound refrigerated fresh whole wheat pizza dough (i.e., Safeway brand White Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough)

2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms, about 1/4-inch thick slices (5.0 ounces)

1 cup sliced zucchini, about 1/4-inch thick slices (8.0 ounces)

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices (5.5 ounces)

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices on the grain (4.5 ounces)

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 large garlic cloves, minced (0.3 ounce)

1/2 cup tomato puree (4.5 ounces)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon pesto sauce (0.2 ounce)

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

Whole wheat pastry flour for dusting

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (2.8 ounces)

2 tablespoon small fresh basil leaves (optional)

Remove pizza dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 30 to 60 minutes before using.

Position two oven racks: first rack on the center position of the oven and the seond rack on bottom third oposition f the oven. Place baking stone on the bottom third oven rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Roasting the vegetables: In a very large mixing bowl, combine the mushroom, zucchini, red bell pepper, onion, 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil, Herbes de Provence, 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Toss vegetables until thoroughly combined and transfer to a shallow rimmed baking pan in a single layer. Place in the oven on the center oven rack and bake for 15 minutes. When done, remove from oven and toss in the minced garlic. Set aside. (Vegetables can be roasted a day in advance, cool and refrigerated until needed.)

Immediately lower oven temperature to 450 degrees. Transfer baking stone to the center oven rack.

Pizza sauce: In a small bowl, combine the tomato puree, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper and the pesto sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.

Assembling the pizza: Have ready a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal. Set aside.

Generously dust a large wooden board with the whole wheat pastry flour. Unwrap the pizza dough and lay on the wooden board. Dust all sides of dough with the flour and flatten one side of  the dough with your finger tips into a flat disk. Turn dough over and gently slide around to get more flour on the underside of dough. Flatten the second side of dough with your finger tips into a slightly larger disk. With a floured rolling pin, gently roll out pizza dough a few times just to flatten pizza dough more. Pick up dough and stretch the dough by holding the dough by the edge and stretch, turn, stretch, turn until you reach full circle. Place the dough on the knuckles of both hands (fingers turn in and don't forget to remove your jewelry). Stretch the dough by pulling your knuckles of both hands apart; then turn the dough, either right or left to rotate the dough, stretch and turn, stretch and turn until you reach full circle. It is also easier to stretch when the dough is slightly angled vertically than horizontally so that the weight of the dough can help with the stretching. Repeat the knuckle stretching until you get about 13 inches in diameter. For better clarification of stretching the pizza dough, you can watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72oe_j-0gwE

Place pizza dough on the pizza peel dusted with corn meal. Shake the pizza peel to make sure pizza dough is not sticking to the peel. Constantly shake the pizza every now and then to make sure the pizza will not stick to the peel (Shake). Make a little dam around the edges of the dough to prevent any oil/liquid dripping off the edge of the pizza. (Shake) Brush 1 teaspoon of olive oil on the pizza dough. Spread the pizza sauce on the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border. S(hake) Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese (2 ounces) on top of the sauce. Spread the roasted vegetables evenly on top of the cheese. (Shake) Sprinkle the vegetables with crushed red pepper and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese (2 ounces) on top. (Shake) Dollop with ricotta cheese. (Shake) Slide the pizza onto preheated pizza stone. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown, rotating pizza to halfway of baking time. Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil leaves, if desired. Slice pizza into 8 wedges and serve.

Yields 4 servings

Pasta with Creamy Tomato and Sausage Sauce

Pasta with Creamy Tomato and Sausage Sauce
Adapted from Kathleen Hulsy, Biddeford, ME, Bon Appetit Magazine

This pasta dish is so delicious! It's rich, comforting and full of flavor. Tastes like a pasta dish you would order in a restaurant. Definitely a great dish to impress your guest. I don't make this dish often, but there are times when I can't think of what to cook and I need to cook something easy and fast. This is one of those dishes I never get tired of making.

One 1-pound package of Jennie-O Lean Sweet Italian Turkey Sausages, casings removed
3 large shallots, finely chopped (5.4 ounces)
3 large garlic cloves, minced (0.7 ounce)
1 cup PLAIN heavy whipping cream (8 ounces)
Two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, UNDRAINED
1 tablespoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3/4 pound whole-wheat fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti (12 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)

Heat a large deep skillet over high heat. When skillet is hot, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Add the turkey sausages and cook until browned, stirring frequently and breaking up sausages into small pieces while browning. Transfer to a colander to drain. Set aside.

Lower heat to medium-high heat and immediately add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Add more olive oil if needed. Saute for 2 minutes until shallots are softened.

Add turkey sausages back to the pan and saute for 1 minute.

Add the heavy cream. When the cream starts bubbling heavily, lower heat to medium-low heat to simmer for about 5 minutes, until cream is thickened and reduced by half. May have to adjust your heat anywhere from medium-low to low heat, depending on your stove, but keep heavy cream at a simmer.

Increase heat to medium-high heat. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, sage and crushed red peppers. When mixture starts bubbling heavily, lower heat to medium-low heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered. Cook until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally and smashing the tomatoes against the sides of the pan to release more juices. Again, you may have to adjust your heat anywhere from medium-low to low heat, depending on your stove, but keep the sauce at a simmer.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions: under cook the pasta by 2 minutes.

Add the pasta to the sausage-tomato sauce, Toss over medium heat until sauce evely coats the pasta. Toss in the Parmesan cheese and ready to serve. No salt is necessary for  this dish. You can just add ground black pepper if desired. 

Serve with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Yields 4 to 6 servings

Roasted Carrots with Thyme and Honey

Roasted Carrots with Thyme and Honey
Adapted from Pastor Ryan and Pioneer Woman

Ree Drummond from http://thepioneerwoman.com first posted this recipe on her food blog November 2009. She pinky swears that you will always crave for carrots cooked this way from now on and she is right! Up until now. roasting carrots is my favorite way to eat carrots. Prepping and roasting carrots in one baking pan couldn't be easier and cleanup is not much at all. The oven is doing most of the work so it's easy to multi-task in the kitchen. One thing I do differently is that I drizzle some honey at the end of roasting just to give it a touch of sweetness which gives good balance of sweet and savory to the carrots. Here is the recipe:

12 whole medium-thickness carrots, peeled (about 4 pounds at purchase)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme (0.2 ounce)
OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup olive oil (1.7 ounces)
2-1/4 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Position the oven rack to the center of the oven.

Cut each carrot in half, lengthwise, and transfer to a shallow baking sheet. Drizzle carrots with olive oil and toss to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper over carrots and give another toss to coat evenly. Arrange the carrots in one layer on the baking sheet.

Roast for 35 to 40 minutes. The carrots should be tender and wrinkly.

Drizzle some honey over carrots for a touch of sweetness. Transfer carrots to a serving platter.

 

Note: There are times when I buy carrots in a 10-pound bag at Costco. When you buy carrots in bulk, you will find that the carrot are not uniform in size. I had carrots that were thicker on the root end and pencil thin half way towards the tip. To make the carrots more uniform in size during roasting is to cut the carrots in half, horizontally. I leave the pencil thin end whole and cut the thicker root end in half, vertically. Some carrots are so thin that I don't bother to cut them in half, vertically at all. I decrease the roasting time to 25 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness, and the carrots turns out perfect.

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Almond-Honey Power Bars

Almond-Honey Power Bars

Adapted from Eating Well Magazine

I love these power bars. I eat them for breakfast or for my afternoon snack. It's crispy, chewy, toasty, nutty, and fruity. What makes these bars so flavorful is the toasting of the oats, nuts and seeds which is an essential step. Don't be lazy to skip this part. I prefer to use Trader Joe's brand almond butter because the consistency of the almond butter is thicker than couple of other brands I've tried. If the almond butter consistency is thin, you will end up with softer bars that falls apart while eating.

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (3.0 ounces)

1/4 cup slivered almonds (1.1 ounces)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (1.2 ounces)

1 tablespoon whole golden flax seeds (0.4 ounce)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (0.4 ounce)

1 cup puffed millet cereal (0.5 ounce) OR 1 cup quinoa pops (1.0 ounce)

1/3 cup dried blueberries (2.1 ounces) or dried bing cherries, cut into fourths (2.1 ounces)

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots (1.7 ounces)

1/3 cup dried cranberries (1.6 ounces)

1/4 cup Trader Joe's brand unsalted creamy almond butter (2.1 ounces)

1/4 cup turbinado sugar (1.7 ounces)

1/4 cup honey (2.7 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray an 8-inch square pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

Place the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss to combine and shake pan to spread out in an even layer. Bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes, shaking pan halfway of baking time. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the puffed millet cereal or quinoa pops, blueberries, apricots, cranberries and cooled oat mixture. Toss to combine and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and salt. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture bubbles lightly, about 2 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the cereal-fruit mixture. Mix with a spatula until no dry spots remain.Transfer to the prepared square pan. Press mixture down firmly with the back of a large spoon to make an even tight layer.

Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Remove from pan and cut into 8 bars.

Wrap each bar in plastic wrap and place them in a Ziploc bag. Store power bars in the refrigerator to keep them firm.

Yield 8 bars