Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

I have a half dozen or so pomegranates in my fruit bowl, and had no idea what to do with them.  Eating them is fun, but 6 of them by myself is a bit much.  Then I saw a post on Bountiful Basket's blog for Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies.  It sounded pretty simple, and like a good excuse to break in the cookie paddles for Ulga, so I thought I would try it.  I think I might have put a few more pomegranate arils in the recipe, but it was like eating a chocolate chip cookie with a sweet and crunchy suprise.

First preheat the oven to 375 F.  Then you will need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup coconut oil (you could use another 1/2 cup butter, but I like substituting a healthy alternative when I can)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

12 oz chocolate chips (either dark chocolate or white)

1 1/2 cups pomegranate arils (about 2 medium pomegranates)

Mix everything except the chocolate chips and pomegranate arils until well blended.  Slowly add the chocolate chips, mixing after each addition.  Then add the pomegranate arils 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.  Spoon onto a baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack.  Then enjoy!

First Recipe Request - Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is the first recipe that I have had someone request!  I think this is my all time favorite pumpkin desert.  I have even decided that I will start a new tradition, and have this instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  I recently found the recipe I first used and fell in love with, and so I will share this one with you, and at a later time share my new Maple Cheesecake discovery.

For starters, preheat the oven to 350 F.  Then you assemble the crust.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (Each pack of graham crackers turns into about 1 cup of crumbs)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

For an easy way to make crumbs, put the graham crackers and ginger in a blender or food processor.  Then dump them out, and mix in the melted butter.  Press this into the bottom of a 10 inch cheesecake pan, and bake for 10 minutes.  Set the crust aside and mix the filling.

5 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup (I prefer grade B because it has a stronger maple flavor)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Mix in the remaining ingredients.  Now, pour the batter over the crust, and bake in the oven fro 65-75 minutes.  The top should be light brown, and the center should have a slight jiggle to it.  At this point you would pour the sour cream topping over the cheesecake and bake it another 10 minutes.  Otherwise, pull it out and cool it on a rack for at least 2 hours.  Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

When you serve it, you can serve it with whipped cream, which is really good, or a sour cream topping that I borrowed from my other pumpkin cheesecake recipe.

For the sour cream topping, you need to mix 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tbsp maple syrup.  You will need to pour this over the cheesecake just after the cooking time, and bake it for another 10 minutes, then continue to cool it.  And of course the most important step is to cut yourself a slice and sit back and enjoy!

A Glass of Bliss (Brazilian Lime-Ade)

I received a lot of limes for a couple weeks in my Bountiful Baskets, and wasn't sure what to do with them.  Then I remembered the most delightful and refreshing drink I had had at a local Brazilian Grill, a Brazilian Lime-Ade.  I searched online for a recipe for it, and found that it was a lot simpler than it sounded.  All you need is:

2 limes, juiced and zested
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 cups water
1-2 cups fruit, fresh or frozen (optional)

At this point, just put the lime juice, lime zest, sugar, milk, water and fruit in a blender, and blend.  Then pour and serve.  It is so simple, and it is always refreshing.  I shared it with my roommates, and they asked almost every day for more.

If you want it sweeter, you can always add more sugar.  If you don't want it fruity, you can omit the fruit.  I use frozen fruit normally because that is what I have a lot of, and the original recipe called for ice to help chill it.  I will drink a glass when I am feeling like a snack, and this seems to tide me over until the next meal.

Dutch Apple Cheesecake v 2.0

I mentioned in my last post that Ulga has helped me juice a lemon for a cheesecake, and mix a cheesecake.  After mentioning making a cheesecake, I figure I should share the recipe with you.  I started out with one recipe that was very rich and good.  (I could only eat one slice ever few days it was so rich.)  Since this is not very diabetic friendly, I decided to alter it a little, and eat a smaller slice.


The final product, and definitely worth the wait.

First off you need to place an oven safe container of water in the oven to help prevent cracking.  Now preheat the oven to 325 F, you need to make the crust.  The crust calls for:

2 cups graham crackers, finely crushed
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

I have found that one sleeve of graham crackers when blended makes about one cup, so I crush two sleeves graham crackers and add them to the blender.  I then add the other two dry ingredients to the blender and blend until fine and well mixed.  (You can always crush them by hand, but they don't come out as fine.)  I then add the melted butter until it is well mixed.  Spread it evenly inside a 10 inch spring form pan.  Bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes to help harden it, and remove some of the excess moisture.  Next I make the apple "layer."

6 small apples (any variety works, but I have used golden delicious since I have a tree in my back yard)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 sup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 lemon juiced (save the peel for later, you will need the zest)

I have an apple peeler corer slicer that I use on the apples, and then cut them in half.  I put the apples in a bowl, and add the other ingredients.  Then mix them and set them aside.  The sugar and other dry ingredients will pull the juices out of the apples, and make the cheesecake taste that much better.  Set this aside while you prepare the cheesecake filling.  You will need:

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon (from earlier)

Make sure all your ingredients are warmed up to room temperature as this will make for a smoother cheesecake.  Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, brown sugar, and honey on medium high speed until smooth  (This is where Ulga came in handy, I just put it all in there and mixed.)  Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, add the eggs one at a time and mixing between each addition.  Now you can mix in the vanilla and lemon zest.  Beat until fully incorporated.  Add the apple mixture to the filling.  Once this is fully mixed, you can pour it into the spring form pan, and tap it gently on the counter to push any air bubbles to the surface.  Now you are ready to make the Struessel topping.

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Mix all the dry ingredients together, and then add the butter until you get a good paste.  Spread the struessel topping over the cheesecake.  I generally take a chunk, and 'tear' out pieces to spread over the cheesecake.

Bake the cheesecake at 325 F for 35 minutes.  Then, without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 250 F and continue to bake for 1 hour.  At this point, do not open the oven door, just turn off the heat and leave it sit there for another 2-3 hours.  (It will continue to cook and cool.)

Now you can open the oven door and take the cheesecake out.  Let it cool completely on the counter, or some other safe place.  Make sure you take a knife around the edge of the spring form pan to loosen it from the sides.  Put it in the fridge and let it sit overnight.

I know making cheesecake it a long process, but it is worth it.  Now you can eat the fruits of your labors, and enjoy a slice of Dutch Apple Cheesecake!

The Naming of the Bosch

I have been looking at purchasing a stand mixer for many years now, and have been split between purchasing a Bosch or a Kitchen Aid.  Some of my friends would say Kitchen Aid because they really like the attachments, and like the look.  Other friends have told me Bosch because it is very durable, makes great bread dough, and has some really good attachments.  As I have researched over time, I found that I tended to favor the Bosch, so I went to a local kitchen gadget store to purchase a stand mixer.

I was pretty much set on the Bosch when I went in, and asked the clerk to show me where they were.  She was very helpful in pointing them out, and answering questions about the sale they had going on for the Bosch, and the attachments that you could get for them.

I saw the Kitchen Aids sitting next to the Boschs, and decided I would see what the difference is between the two.  The clerk gave me the best description I have ever heard.  She told me that having a Bosch in your kitchen is like having your grandma in there cooking with you.  Having a Kitchen Aid is like having a supermodel in your kitchen.  She said that the Bosch is very durable and gets the job done well while not always looking that stylish.  The Kitchen Aid looks great, and gets the job done, but tends not to do as good of a job, or last as long.  That settled the debate for me.  I went with the Bosch.

My roommate over heard the analogy, and said that it was like having a "burly German grandma" in the kitchen with you.  He decided we should come up with a burly sounding German name for my "burly German grandma."  We tossed around a few ideas, and settled on "Ulga."  So now my Bosch mixer is named Ulga, and boy does she get the job done.  I really enjoy working with Ulga, and finding new uses for her.

So far she has mixed a cheesecake, juiced a lemon for the cheesecake, sliced cucumbers for a salad, and shredded carrots for a salad.  I can't wait to try to make pomegranate chocolate chip cookies with her tomorrow, and bread at some point this week.  Ulga is turning into a great purchase for my kitchen, and a great tool to deepen my passion for cooking.

Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Tomatoes

For my first recipe, I figure I will post the one that helped me rediscover my passion for cooking.  This is the first year in my house that I have had the time to plant a garden, so I was a little overzealous in planting it.  I planted 9 tomato plants, so I had a lot of tomatoes to use.  I searched online for recipes using tomatoes.  I found this one, and had heard a lot about balsamic vinegar so I figured I would try it.

I have found that gathering the ingredients so all I have to do is to measure and add them makes things go so much faster and less stressful.  So to start thinly slice one small or medium onion and soak it in ice water for 30 minutes.  This allows the bitterness to soak out of the onion.  The longer it soaks, the milder the onion flavor.  Now get the rest of the ingredients out.

1 small or medium onion (from above)
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp water
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 to 1 cup chopped fresh basil
6 tomatoes thinly sliced
Parmesan cheese (optional)
French Bread (optional)

Now that the ingredients are gathered, it is time to assemble them.  Make sure you have drained and dried the onions.  Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, oil, water , sugar, salt pepper, and garlic.  Stir in the basil and parsley.

Finally it's time to assemble.  Layer half the tomatoes in a shallow dish.  Then layer half the onions.  Drizzle half the sauce over this, and then repeat.  Allow this to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving.

You can serve the tomatoes on their own, or slice the french bread, and put some tomatoes, onion and Parmesan cheese on it.  I really like it with the french bread and Parmesan cheese.  It makes a really good snack or light meal.  Enjoy!