Thursday, July 31, 2014

Chocolate Raspberry Coconut Bread Pudding

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Do you ever struggle with what to make for dessert?  I know, really...who has to struggle with an idea for dessert?  Let's pretend, shall we?  Sometimes you just can't think of what to make for dessert that isn't in a box.  How about a sweet tooth?  Have you got one of those?  I sure do.  Well, bread pudding is one of those throw together desserts that totally satisfies a sweet tooth and really, anything goes.  And, the best part is it is pretty dang quick!  So one evening when my sweet tooth was hurting bad, I knew I had a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Mixed it all together and got....


Chocolate Raspberry Coconut Bread Pudding
An easy throw together dessert that is full of lots of flavors.  First there's chocolate and then there is raspberry and then coconut all in a simple bread pudding that marries all the flavors.  But, there is a secret ingredient inside that gives you a tropical flavor.  It's not just the coconut flakes on top.  The secret is that you replace the milk with coconut milk.  The result is truly a divine dessert! Totally comfort food and a great way to finish off the meal or any late night sweet tooth cravings.  Here's what you need to gather:

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
10 slices of white bread
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint of raspberries
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chunks
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut bread slices into cubes and toast them for 10 minutes of until golden brown.  Remove from oven,
Heat coconut milk, cream, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla in a saucepan until gently boiling.  Remove from heat.
Beat the eggs in a medium bowl, gradually add hot cream mix.  Whisk well and add slowly so as to not cook the eggs.
Add toasted bread cubes to the egg mixture.
Allow to soak until all the liquid has been absorbed.  Gently fold in the raspberries and chocolate chunks.
Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Serve warm with extra toasted coconut or sprinkle with powdered sugar.






I love chocolate, raspberry and coconut so to have all of them together?  Totally a one stop dessert for me!  The coconut milk adds such a fun flavor to the bread pudding.  The fun of bread pudding, besides being a perfect comfort food, is that once you have the base of bread pudding, add what you want.  What flavors do you like combined.  I am totally into coconut right now.  Maybe from our summer trip?  Speaking of coconuts...have you ever cracked one open? While living in Florida, I so remember my dad bringing home a coconut after a day at the beach.  He would crack that baby open (with a hammer and screwdriver) and coconut water would splash everywhere!  But, the coconut meat inside was delish, not as sweet as what we buy in the grocery store, but still good.  In fact, while we were in Hawaii watching a Polynesian type seminar, the man cracked the coconut open with his head!  Whoa!  So not trying that!  Very cool to watch, though!

Anyway, grab some of that bread you have been leaving out.  The staler the better!  Or just toast it in the oven like I did.  The marriage of flavors will nip that sweet tooth in the bud!

Celebrate the little things that make life sweet,

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Lemon Balm and Cashew Pesto

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I planted a Lemon Balm plant last year and was happy to see it come back this year.  Not only did it come back, but it has GONE C-A-R-A-ZEEE!  It is a huge bush on the side of my house and may overtake the house...well, not really but it has gotten really, really large.  I love to rub my hands across it's leaves to pick up that fresh lemon scent and I love to put it in my sweet tea.  Since it is HUGE, I started searching for other uses for this prolific growing plant and I found one that I am so excited about!



LEMON BALM AND CASHEW PESTO on pasta is such a light summer meal.
It has just a hint of lemon and that nutty taste from the cashews.  Oh my gosh, you will just love it!



Originally from The Cook's Garden
Ingredients:
2 cups packed fresh lemon balm leaves
1 cup packed fresh parsley
3 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh, shredded Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Combine lemon balm, parsley and cashews in a mini food processor until chopped.
Slowly add olive oil.  Continue to pulse until blended.
Add the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.  Pulse again.
Then add salt and pepper to taste.  Pulse until combined.




Add some more fresh shredded Parmesan, cashews and a few more lemon balm leaves to finish it off.



Serve the pesto over pasta, cooked potatoes or freeze it until later.  This lemon pesto so says summer!

Give it a try, I am sure you will love it!
Celebrate the little things that make life sweet,
Christine

You may also like:
Pesto and Goat Cheese Crostini
Pesto Chicken Sandwich



Linking up with Design Dining and DiapersSkip to My LouInside Bru Crew LifeI Heart Naptime,
 Confessions Of A Plate AddictMorsels of LifeLady Behind the CurtainYour Homebased Mom,
Wine and GlueThe 36th AvenueJoyful Healthy EatsThe Weary ChefSix Sisters' Stuff,
 Lou Lou GirlsBloom DesignsLori's Culinary Creations and The New Mrs Adventures.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Ice Cream Mash Up

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ICE CREAM MASH UP TIME!

Here's a really simple way to take your vanilla ice cream to ice cream parlor level!!!
Your family will never again ask to go to the local ice cream shop when you create these varieties.  So, be prepared to build up your scooping muscles 'cuz the ice cream shop is in your very own kitchen!

I was on a long, eight hour flight reading magazines.  Did you know that the particular airline I flew doesn't serve food?   Well, actually they do...for a cost.  No more of those fun little, free airline trays of food served by the happy flight attendants.  If you want something, you walk to the back of the plane and purchase of box of food.  I know, airline food, boxed or served on a tray by a happy flight attendant, isn't that good anyhow.  But, I am weird...I liked the tray stuff.  Maybe it was just something that broke up the length of the flight?  Who knows?  So, I spent the time reading magazines...of course food magazines.
Perhaps that made me hungrier...but, I digress.  
I saw this idea in a Food Network Magazine June 2014 and thought is was s"mash"ing! I couldn't wait to get home and try it out!

Here are 4 super easy variations for vanilla ice cream:





Blueberry and Oatmeal Cookie




Coconut and Chocolate Chunk





Ladyfingers and Toffee Chips





Cinnamon Cereal and Strawberry Jam

Don't those look good?  They are so easy to make and really you could put 2 of anything together.  All you need to do is start with 1 1/2 cups of softened vanilla ice cream.  That will make you enough for 4 people with 2 scoops of ice cream each.  Next add your two ingredients.  See my combos or create your own.  Fold them into the ice cream and return your ice cream to the freezer for about 1 hour.  Then serve!  If you are using cookies, break them up into bite size pieces prior to mixing them into the ice cream.  Be creative with your pairings!  I told you!  Your family will have no more need for the ice cream parlor...it's just steps into your very own kitchen.

Looks like you'll be saving some gas money!
Celebrate the little things that make life sweet,

Monday, July 28, 2014

Rustic Blueberry Slab

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Oh my goodness!
I actually have purple stained fingers from running my finger through this awesome dessert!
Nothing says summer like blueberries, right?
Well, this RUSTIC BLUEBERRY SLAB will leave you reaching for another slice and maybe even another.  It is good enough for dessert and I reckon you could even eat this for breakfast.  Just call it a danish and you're good.



Oozing with sweet blueberries, a layer of sweet cheese and a light flaky crust...need I say more?

Inspired by Lemons for Lulu
Ingredients:
1 pint of fresh blueberries
cooking spray
1/2 package puff pastry
4 oz goat cheese
8 oz mascarpone Italian sweet cream cheese (cream cheese will work too)
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet.
Roll out defrosted puff pastry on a floured surface.
Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven.  Use the back of a fork to depress the middle, up until 1 inch around the sides to create a lip.  Cool completely.

Place blueberries and sugar into a saucepan.  Heat for 7-8 minutes or until blueberries begin to burst.  Add vanilla and stir.  Then add cornstarch, stir and remove from heat.  Cool.

Use a mixer to blend together goat cheese and mascarpone.  Add honey and blend completely.

Spread cheese mixture onto cooled puff pastry.  Next add the blueberry mixture.  Serve.

Store in refrigerator.



Easy peasy!  The honey, that is added to the cheeses, gives just the right amount of sweet to compliment the blueberries.  And the crust?  Well, I love crust!!!!  How can you go wrong with puff pastry?  The short answer...you can't.

As we are about to enter the season of blueberries, add RUSTIC BLUEBERRY SLAB to your recipe index!

Celebrate the little things that make life sweet,

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Singing the Blues?

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Are you singing the blues today?
If you are, I got the cure!
No more singing the blues 'cuz you can have a Blueberry Coffee Cake that is going to tap dance it's way into your heart and ultimately your stomach!




I am sooooo not exaggerating.  This is such a good coffee cake, there will be no more...I say no more singing the blues in your household today!




Grab a cup of jo and get ready to learn how to make this baby.



Originally from Cooking Light June 2003
Ingredients for coffee cake:
cooking spray
1 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 2/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Ingredients for topping:
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 9" round cake pan with cooking spray.  Dust with the 1 Tbsp flour.
Beat the sugar and butter until well blended.  Add the egg and egg white.  Beat until all combined.  Set aside.
Combine all flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, orange juice and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture into the original sugar mixture.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture.  When well combined, fold in the blueberries.
Spread into the prepared pan.
Combine the brown sugar and nutmeg.  Sprinkle over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and slice.
For the topping, mix together the sour cream, vanilla and vanilla yogurt.  Spoon dollops on each slice.  Top with fresh blueberres.



The Blueberry Coffee Cake has a light texture that allows the blueberry flavor to just shine through.  The vanilla topping is that extra something; something to make it extra special.
If you have a lot of blueberries, definitely use them in coffee cake.
Or...
another great way to have a quick blueberry treat that comes right out of your freezer.



Frozen Yogurt Covered Blueberries
A healthy fun snack that you can grab anytime!
Just rinse a bunch of blueberries.  Let them dry and then dredge them through a low fat vanilla or Greek yogurt.  Place each yogurt covered blueberry onto a waxed paper covered cookie sheet and then freeze.




Frozen yogurt covered blueberries are such a fun, frozen treat.  You'll be popping them 
out of your freezer A LOT!  It's also a great way to use up blueberries right before they go bad, in case you had too much.  Can't see how that could happen, but could...

Anyway, no more singing the blues!!!!
Fresh blueberry recipes are within reach!

Celebrate the little things that make life sweet!
Christine

You may also like:
Raspberry Danish