Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake

What's better than streusel topping? I can't think of anything. I can eat streusel topping on its own. My husband could bribe me to watch baseball with streusel topping (if he only knew). When I make it for a dessert, I always make a little extra so I can sneakily eat spoonfuls on the sly.

So, it was with great excitement that I saw "Grandma's Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake" on Always Eat on the Good China. First off, she's got several recipes with streusel!!! I like this lady! Second of all, I can always tell when I'm working with a solid, time-tested recipe, because it holds up to my ingredients switcharoos. This recipe is part of the Taste & Create food blog recipe exchange.

Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake
Mouth watering yet?


Cake:
2 cups unbleached organic spelt flour
2/3 cup organic sucanat sugar (unrefined brown sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
grated lemon peel (most, save some for the streusel)
4 T. melted butter
2 organic free-range eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup water
2 cups blueberries

Streusel:
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sucanat sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
4-5 T. room-temperature butter
1/4 cup organic oats

1) Begin the cake. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2) Whisk together the eggs, butter, yogurt, water, and vanilla in a second bowl.
3) Then, begin the streusel in a third bowl. In this third bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, and chopped-up pieces of butter. Use a fork or your hands to blend these ingredients together.
4) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5) Mix together the wet and dry cake ingredients (the first and second bowls). Then, gently fold in the blueberries.
6) Pour the blueberry cake batter into a 9 x 9 pan or an 8 x 11 pan, prepared with coconut oil or butter.
7) Scatter the streusel on top.
8) Bake 35-40 minutes. Check the cake with a toothpicks. If it comes up clear of cake batter, then you're good to go! If not, turn off the oven and leave in for another 10-15 minutes.
9) Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* I dig non-wheat flours. I don't want all of American agriculture to be cows, pigs, corn, and wheat. I believe my purchase of non-wheat flours, such as spelt, is like a vote in the grocery store. More diversification on the farm field and in our gullet is healthy for everyone all around.
* In addition, spelt is higher in protein than your average flour. A cake with protein in it? Yuh-huh! So, using spelt flour turns a simple carbohydrate cake into a more complex carbohydrate, which my body will take longer to break down. More nutrients and good for stable blood-sugar levels!
* In comparison to standard bleached, white flours and sugars, I have found that spelt flour tends to need/absorb more moisture and sucanut sugar tends to creat more moisture when heated. Together, they are a perfect combination!
* I don't believe in pre-heating the oven before I begin making a multi-step dish. While I want the oven warm before sliding in the cake, I don't want to use all that gas and electricity the *whole* time I'm measuring ingredients. What a waste! So, I pre-heat the oven a few steps before the end of the recipe. Here's a nice and brief article about avoiding pre-heating your oven for a variety of recipes.
* In addition, with stable recipes such as quick-breads and cakes that rely on baking soda and baking powder, I have often tried the approach of turning off the oven and leaving in a nearly-done-but-not-quite baked good for about 10 more minutes. The oven is warm enough to finish cooking the baked goodie. No problemo!


Here are more pictures from the process.

Hello, dry ingredients! I'd like to introduce you to my little friend...


... lemon rind!



... and a few hundred of my little buddies, blueberries!


All set for that recently preheated oven (small mess in the background!).


Good on its own ...


... and with some Greek strained yogurt on top!




Go here www.tasteandcreate.com for more info about Taste & Create.

Pesto Edamame Salad: Husband-Approved Salad #2

I played a little word association game with The Husband today. It went something like this:

Me: Giants .................... Hub: Jets
Me: coffee ..................... Hub: more
Me: cat .......................... Hub: dog
Me: vegetables .............. Hub: minerals
Me: eating vegetables ... Hub: puking up vegetables

Well, if that doesn't just say it all!

So I'm continuing with my personal challenge of coming up with 50 HUSBAND SALADS! We're onto HUSBAND-APPROVED SALAD #2!

Pesto Edamame Salad
I'd recently made a pesto penne with chicken and edamame, which we both really loved. So, I decided to adapt that recipe into a salad. I served the salad with some goat cheese. But this would also be good with thin slices of parmesan, toasted walnuts or pine nuts, or tossed with salad greens. We had it as a side to a salmon entree for a lovely dinner.


1 bag of shelled non-GMO edamame
2 medium-large organic green bell peppers
1 large organic shallot
a handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 organic lemon
a bundle of fresh basil (fully washed of all the dirt and grit)
1 T. organic olive oil
1 tsp. garlic chili sauce
salt and pepper

1) Follow the directions on the edamame bag to cook the soy beans. Then cool.
2) Finely chop the green bell peppers, shallot, and tomatoes. Add to the bowl of soy beans.
3) Rip the basil leaves by hand. Add to the bowl of veggies.
4) Now, time to season! Pour the olive oil onto the veggies. Squeeze the juice from the lemon over the veggies. Add the chili peppers, salt, and pepper. Toss together.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* My husband dislikes most vegetables, but he loves lima beans, kidney beans, and such. Edamame is wonderful for anyone who likes beans, as it offers a fairly familiar texture and flavor, but a much better nutritional balance. Edamame has tons of protein, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and fiber, and they're low in calories. Check out the nutritional breakdown edamame for more info.
* By making my own simple salad dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, and seasoning, we avoid trans fats and unnecessary corn syrup that are common with store-bought bottles of salad dressing.
* I like to buy non-GMO edamame. If you ever watched Food, Inc., then you remember the whole section about Monsanto's control over GMO soybeans. Big Brother. Disgusting corporate behavior. For more info, here's an article from Ecosalon, and another article about Monsanto suing farmers for saving seeds from Organicconsumers.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Freshly cooked edamame. Que adorable!


Why hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Green Pepper, fresh from the bath!


The pale lavender veins in shallots are gorgeous to look at up close. Lovely enough for a tattoo ... hmmm.

I Love A Good Challenge--Want to Give Me One?

I love a good challenge!

Maybe I watched too many MacGyver episodes as a kid. Maybe I view my kitchen as a cutting-edge laboratory. Maybe this is my way of being an astronaut, a scientist, and a magician all at once.

I don't know why. But I'm a challenge addict. Easy = boring. Challenges = fun!
I don't know what it is about piling my plate high with "to-do" tasks that gets my brain going and my blood flowing, it just does.

#1: I've already given myself the The 25 Husband-Approved Salads Challenge. (Wondering if I'll allow certain things like pasta salad ... hmmm ... seems like cheating.)

#2: This fall, I'm thinkin' I might give myself The Pancake Challenge. After trying Dragon Musing's excellent pancake recipe, I suddenly had loads of ideas for different pancake recipes. Something I'd definitely like to try once it gets cooler.

#3: But the challenge I'm MOST keen about, MOST excited would be the one I've just come up with (of course) ... The Leaner, Greener, Meaner Challenge from Friends. I was thinking how much fun it would be for friends to give me their recipes to try to adapt into a healthier or greener versions. Is that obnoxious of me? I hope not.

So would you help me out? Give me a challenge? I'm willing to get my hands dirty and make my taste buds giggle. Pick your favorite comfort food, your favorite overall recipe, a recipe you would make more often if it was healthier, or Aunt Betty's Artery-Clogging-Casserole recipe ... and I'll see if there's any thing I could come up with to make it healthier AND make it taste as close as possible to the original.

If you have a recipe you think would be fun to contribute to my goofy challenge, please post or e-mail me.

xoxo

I WANT PANCAKES!

I'm sitting ... waiting ... morning church bells ringing, computer chair sticky, husband asleep.

Oh, how I want pancakes, I want to eat them right now!

But, you see, I'm waiting for my pancakes to rise. "Rise"? Yes, rise. These are wicked cool pancakes. Made with yeast. My husband and I will be dining on pancakes for Sunday supper.

This recipe is part of the Taste & Create food blog recipe exchange, and I got to try out a nifty recipe from Dragon Musings, a blog I'd been checking out and admire. And I decided to try her pancake recipe. I mean, how could I resist? "Sultanas"--what the hell are those? But they sound sultry. Pancakes made with yeast, not quick rising like your usual pancake recipe. I don't know if it's more common to make pancakes with yeast in Australia, but I think it's nifty.

So, right now I'm waiting ... for my pancake batter to rise in the frig.

Overnight Pancakes
Dragon Musings recipe was awesome. "Sultanas," as it turns out, are a type of raisin. Which I thought I had in my pantry. But found I did not, a bit too late. So, instead of the sultanas/raisins, I added in some of my favorite pancake ingredients, to see how they'll meld with the yeast-based dough. It turned out awesome. After tasting these cakes, I can tell you, I plan to use this recipe again, and with raisins next time! Yum.


1 and 1/2 cups unbleached organic wheat flour
1/2 cup organic spelt flour (or other non-wheat)
1/2 cup bran flakes
1/4 cup oats
2 T. raw sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 package dried yeast
1 tsp. (or more) grated organic orange rind
1 T. molasses
1/4 melted butter
1 organic, free-range egg
1 and 1/2 cups warm organic milk

1) In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, bran flakes, oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and yeast.
2) Then, add the moist ingredients: orange rind, molasses, butter, egg, and milk. Stir gently until well blended.
3) Cover and store in the frig overnight, or for about 12 hours.
4) When you are ready, cook the batter in a buttered skillet, as you would with normal pancakes. (NOTE: My batter was a tad too thick once I took it out of the frig, so I added about a half cup of water to the batter. Turned out perfect, light pancakes that held their form through cooking and flipping.)

Now that I've tried this recipe once, I can't wait until next time. Somehow thinking of pancakes with yeast completely alters my perception of pancakes. How about rose water and pistachio pancakes? Or Chai and raisin pancakes? I believe I'll be trying Dragon Musing's pancake recipe again soon!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* Whenever I'm making something fairly sturdy, like pancakes, I try to blend the types of flour I use. I'd like to avoid using only wheat. Other types of flours bring more to the table and my gut: spelt has got protein, bran flakes have fiber, and the combination will help create a more complex carbohydrate. So, my body will register the pancake not as sugar, but as a longer lasting energy.
* For a portion of the sweetener, I used a wee bit o' molasses. Molasses has got that deep color, deep flavor, and iron!
* It's hot here in Brooklyn. Hot and humid. (Bluck!) So, doing a recipe that requires such little cooking and use of a heat source is a perfect way to conserve energy and keep from frying in our little apartment.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Those alluring orange rinds peeking out from the dry ingredients...


Now, adding in the liquids ...


Just some pictures of pretty fruit, bound for the fruit salad!




MMMMMmmm, more please!



Go here www.tasteandcreate.com for more info about Taste & Create.

The Husband Salad Challenge (#1)

The Husband is a picky eater. He dislikes most vegetables.

He says "Nope" to tomatoes.

"Nope" to cucumbers.

"Nope" to green beans.

"Nope" to most green leafy things, squashes, root vegetables (like beets), snap peas, cabbage, and most everything else that goes from the ground to your mouth.

This poses a real problem, a real predicament. When we met, I was more vegetarian, and he basically lived on bologna-white bread sandwiches. We've had a long time to try to come up with a middle ground. Over the years, this difference between us has actually helped me articulate the way I view eating in clearer, more distinct ways. For example, I don't think of "vegetables" as a category unto themselves. I have subcategories ...

I think of four types of vegetables:
* SUGAR--Carbohydrate veggies, such as corn, potatoes, green peas, lima beans, and many legumes. I called these "sugar."
* "REAL"--Vitamin and mineral veggies, such as tomatoes, kale, spinach, pumpkin. I call these "real vegetables."
* FAT--Then there are the veggies I call "fats," such as olives and avocados.
* PROTEIN--Some veggies also have a decent amount of protein in them, such as black beans, chick peas, and lentils. I generally use these as sources of protein when I cook.

The Husband and I have conversations like this:
Hub: I'm feeling sluggish. What should I eat?
Me: Maybe you should eat some vegetables.
Hub: What are you talking about? I've been eating vegetables all weekend! (His head in the frig, he points to a bowl of leftover boiled lima beans and then holds out a bag of corn chips.)
Me: Those aren't vegetables. Those are sugar!

Of course, there's overlap amongst my veggie subcategories. Often certain veggies are dual-role veggies, meaning that they might also be high in sugar and protein. Or high in sugar and vitamins. And so on. I try to prioritize eating "real veggies" in order to get more vitamins and minerals into my diet, and try to limit my consumption of veggies that are pretty much just plain ol' sugar.

I thought I'd give myself the challenge of coming up with 100 HUSBAND SALADS. But that's just impossible. So, for now, I'm going to give myself a challenge that will only take one lifetime to complete--coming up with 50 HUSBAND SALADS. Still an impossible number, but just hard enough to make it a real challenge and keep me intrigued.

Husband-Approved!: Corn and Potato Salad
Here is a new husband salad I came up with. He loved it. Notice how it's mainly my husband's favorite vegetables (sugar). Cest la vie! What can you do? Except to insure that a few other types of veggies are in here, also. For example, this salad has some real vegetables (tomatoes) and some fat/protein (avocado). I also used a little red onion and cilantro to open up the range of his taste buds. (I'm plotting my path for future salads!)


2 ears of cooked corn
1 large cooked organic red potato
1 organic plum tomato
1 organic avocado
about 1/8 of an organic red onion
1 tsp. garlic chili sauce (which, you already know, I love!)
organic cilantro
salt and pepper
1/2 organic lime

1) Make sure the cooked corn and potato are cool. Carefully slice the corn kernels off the cobs.
2) Dice the potato, tomato, and red onion.
3) Chop the cilantro (as much or as little as you like).
4) Mix the corn, potato, tomato, and red onion in a bowl with the garlic chili sauce, cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime juice.
5) When you are ready to serve the salad, dice some of the avocado and top the salad with fresh avocado.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* We went camping. Lately, I make sure to throw a few more potatoes and ears of corn on the fire the last night we camp. Then, I bring the veggies back home to eat. So, this salad didn't require any use of our stove at all! And the corn and potatoes were extra tasty, being fire-roasted and all.
* By topping the salad with avocado, you can avoid wasting avocado. This salad made 4 side servings. We ate it as a side salad for two different dinners during the week. If I'd added all the avocado, it would have gone brown and mushy by the second dinner.
* No need for an oily salad dressing. The veggies are fresh and moist. So, a little lime juice does it up just fine.
* The Hub hates tomatoes. I've started dicing them very small. In the end, I like the texture of the finely-diced tomato, and he's more interested in eating the combo as the tomato blends in.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Freshly tossed salad ...


A close up on all those colors ...


When making something new for The Husband, I like to give the new dish a "Grand Entrance." I.e. brand-new salad accompanied with an old favorite--grilled cheese with rustic bread, provolone, and cheddar ... With the grilled cheese in these photos, you can see, most of the cheese oozed out in a delicious gooey mess!

Hot Fun in the Summertime: Part 2 & Finale--Dinner Is Served

So, I've got cold, crisp pickled radishes and chocolate pudding. What the? How will I ever put together a romantic combination from these things?

Simple.

Perfect.

Summer night dinner ...

A cheese platter, nice thinly-sliced bread, an assortment of high-flavor additions (including the pickled radishes), a green salad, and pudding for dessert at the end--as if what we'd eaten so far wasn't enough!

Part 2: The Chill Supper, Romantic Dinner for Two


2-3 types of cheese, thinly sliced (organic cheese if you can)
2 types of bakery bread, thinly sliced (or crackers)
assorted tasties: organic pickled radishes, pickled jalapenos, good olives, a jar of organic pesto, good mustard
1 organic mango, thinly sliced
some organic strawberries

I make a little green salad, which we eat as an appetizer. Then, I simply put all the rest of these lovely things out on a platter, and we enjoy a happy blend of flavors as our entree for the evening: manchego cheese and mango, goat cheese with black olive and sliced jalapeno, cheddar and pickled radishes, pesto and cheddar, etc. etc. etc. Deeelightful.

Then, we finish the meal with our little espresso cups of chocolate pudding.

Even more delightful.

Then, my husband tells me how lucky he is. Then, I beam. Then, we sit on our couch right next to each other enjoying the teensiest breeze and feeling our little surface of the Earth cool down for the evening.

It's a good night!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* Cheese platter means no cooking, no use of carbon sources to heat up food or cool down the apartment. And the pickled radishes and pudding required very little stove time as well.
* The foods are fresh. An array of colors, which means an array of vitamins and minerals. By thinly slicing the cheese, I've tried to keep my animal fat to a minimum. Because I used a decent amount of dark and semi-sweet chocolate in the pudding, small servings still pack a whallop of flavor without loading up our bodies with tons of sugar.
* The bread is local. Many of the ingredients are organic. While I can't afford for everything to be organic, I try my best.

Here are more pictures of the cheese platter meal, altogether.

Hot Fun in the Summertime: Part 1--Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Well, the summer is upon us like a cat on a mouse. With global warming, I have begun to feel like I am a rotisserie chicken turning on the spit-like axis of the Earth, roasting from the fire of the sun.

The last few years, I've begun to seriously cultivate fun and flavorful cold or chilled dinner ideas that require little to no cooking. I mean, why use electricity to heat up the apartment then use more electricity to cool it down?

With the weather forecasters declaring a series of 90-degree days followed by 80-degree days (which in Brooklyn always turn into more 90-degree days), I decided to try a new cool recipe this past weekend.

So here's the first step to this week's "cool romantic dinner for two."

Part 1: Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Hell, yes! Chocolate, a hint of coffee in a perfectly cool, creamy form. And I made a whole bunch of it, which means my hubby and I can get some of this cold chocolatey homemade pudding into our bellies to cool down at any time! (Feel free to cut the recipe in half. This makes a huge amount of puddin'.)


1/2 cup organic granulated sugar
4 T. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
2 organic eggs
6 oz. chopped or shaved chocolate (eating chocolate, fair trade)
4 cups organic milk
2 tsp. instant coffee granules
2 tsp. vanilla extract
My recipe is an adaptation of a classic recipe from the superb Ms. Betty Crocker!

1) In a large pot, mix the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and eggs together thoroughly.
2) Slowly whisk in the milk.
3) Whisk in the instant coffee.
4) Add the chocolate. I used about 2 oz. bittersweet, 2 oz. milk chocolate, and 2 oz. dark chocolate. If you use unsweetened chocolate, double the sugar. But I use regular eating chocolate. And I believe a blend makes the flavor deeper and more multi-faceted.
5) Cook on a low or medium heat until the mixture boils, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes.
6) Whisk in the vanilla extract.
7) Take off the heat, allow to cool. Once cool, put into glasses or a container to store in the refrigerator.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* This recipe needs almost no heat to cook! Hoorah!
* Just like with the pickled radishes, let the food cool on the counter before putting it in the frig.
* Homemade dessert is way better than store-bought dessert. It's organic. It's made exactly how I like it. And there's no wasteful packaging or disposable containers that have to be tossed into the landfill.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Eggs in a pot with some sugar and cornstarch, simple and gorgeous ...


Now with milk, chocolate, instant coffee. Hell, yes!

The espresso cups are ready for their pudding homage to Ms. Crocker!


When pudding gets thick and juuuust right, you can make these neat swirly lines and designs with the whisk.


Voila! With some sliced strawberries. Now me and my hubby just need some spoons. Num, num, nummmmm.