Cranberry Citrus Muffins

Last week - in this post about a Cranberry Chai Spiced Smoothie - I said:

"Bo and I can't seem to get enough of the Cranberry Orange Bread that I made...This bread has an incredibly delicious muffin-like texture that [we] loved!  We have eaten this bread simply with butter, crumbled it over yogurt, crumbled it over ice cream, and now used it as a topping for a smoothie.  In fact, I can't wait to go to the grocery store this weekend to buy several more bags of cranberries just so that I can bake another loaf."

So, that's exactly what I did.

Except this time, instead of making a loaf of bread, I was inspired by the "muffin-like texture" to actually make, well, muffins!  

And just let me tell you, these muffins are D.I.V.I.N.E.!  

As in, without a doubt, worthy-of-being-sold-in-any-of-the-world's-best-bakeries, DIVINE!

In order to make the muffin recipe work, I had to tweak my inspiration-recipe even more so than last time.  The end result is worthy of being called a recipe all its own.  So, without any further ado, here ya go!

Cranberry Citrus Muffins
Serves 12

2C organic all-purpose flour
3/4C sugar
2 stevia packets
1 3/4tsp baking powder
1tsp (scant) salt
1/2tsp baking soda
3/4C orange juice, with pulp (if possible)
zest of one lemon
1T vegetable oil
1T applesauce
1 egg
1 bag of frozen cranberries, left whole

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift together dry ingredients (minus lemon zest and cranberries).
• In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (minus lemon zest and cranberries).
• Fold in the lemon zest and cranberries.
• Fill nonstick-sprayed muffin liners to the top with batter.
• Bake for 40 minutes, checking at 30 minutes, and again at 35 minutes, to ensure that the muffins don't burn.
  
  • Note: My oven bakes notoriously slow.  Therefore, if you have a fast-baking oven, 30-35 minutes might suffice.  Remember, however, that this batter is dense, and will take more time than some other muffin recipes to bake through.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing onto a cooling rack.
• Once fully cooled, muffins can be frozen for up to three months.

Aren't these muffins beautiful?! 

I wish my mom lived closer because I would bake a batch specifically for her.  She loves cranberry orange muffins, and I KNOW that she would love these!

Oh well, I guess that leaves more for Bo and I...hehehe. :)

...by the way, is it considered lunch if I just eat two Cranberry Citrus Muffins?...

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite kind of muffin?  Blueberry?  Chocolate Chip?  Cranberry Orange?  Bran?  Lemon Poppyseed?  Truly, the options are practically endless!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Light and Lemon-y Pasta

Night before last I was (strangely) craving pasta.  Usually, pasta is not my thing.  I'm not sure why, but I just don't really crave it...maybe it's because I usually find it to be too heavy and unsatisfying.  More times than not, I end up making it for Bo, and throwing together something else completely for myself.

Not two night ago.

Surprisingly, I actually wanted pasta, AND I wanted the last of our summer tomatoes.  So, I threw together a light and lemon-y pasta dish that satisfied all of my cravings.  The result was colorful, nutritionally balanced, and - most importantly - delicious!

Light and Lemon-y Pasta
Serves 2

2 campari tomatoes, diced
2 handfuls of spinach, torn
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2C uncooked pasta
1/2 lemon (squeezed to remove juice)
1/2T EVOO
1/4C Parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 avocado, diced

Directions:

• Add the diced tomatoes, torn spinach, and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl.
• Cook the pasta according to package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the lemon juice and EVOO.
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and then immediately add it to the tomato/spinach/lemon zest mixture.  Toss together.
• Add the Parmesan cheese, and then pour the lemon juice and EVOO dressing on top.
• Toss to incorporate and melt the cheese.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with avocado chunks, and serve quickly (before the avocado turn brown).

Oh hi Lola!  

(Thanks for poppin' in!)

You can always count on Lola to be close by whenever food is involved...surprisingly, she loves ALL food (i.e. not just meat and peanut butter).  Even if I am cooking a vegan/vegetarian dish, she is directly under-foot and intently interested (and hopeful that I might drop a mouthful - or two)!

I captured the perfect lighting in the picture below (probably my favorite out of the bunch).  You can really see all of the dish's colors in this one:

• red from the tomatoes;
• green from the spinach and avocado;
• brown from the pasta;
• yellow from the lemon zest; and
• flecks of white from the Parmesan cheese.  

Hmm...hmmm...good!

As a TOTAL tangent: 

Look at how much my hair is growing!

Remember when is was THIS short?!

(That was last Thanksgiving...less than a year ago!)

Now it is just above my shoulders, and I can almost pull it into a full ponytail.  

For now, I am just going to keep letting it grow.  I don't really have any specific length in mind...as long as it continues to look healthy and shiny then I will just keep letting it get longer.  Who knows, maybe one day it will get this long...

Question of the Day:

What's your favorite pasta shape? Macaroni? Penne? Spaghetti? Lasagna? Shell? Orzo?

Personally, I like shells and penne because they capture lots of yummy sauce inside! :)

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Lemon Honey Stone Fruit Salad

Sadly, the last of this year's blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries have come and gone.  That means another year of waiting until they are fresh and in season again.

BUMMER.

Thankfully, just as berries go out of style season, stone fruits come in!  So what - exactly - are stone fruits?!  Well:

• peaches, nectarines, apricots, mangoes, avocados (yes, it's a fruit - not a vegetable!)and plums are characterized as "stone fruits;"
• so-called because of the stone-like seed inside, these fruits ripen in late summer and early fall; and
• among other benefits, stone fruits:
• create collagen;
• care for your nerves and muscles;
• sharpen eyesight;
• strengthen bones; and
• aid in digestion (Source).

Pretty good report card eh?!

Since I love both peaches and nectarines, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that both fruits boast up to five times more antioxidants than previously thought (that's because some of them are "unlocked" during the digestive process); AND - perhaps even more exciting - stone fruits are known for curbing appetite and providing a sense of fullness.

Sounds like the perfect snack to me!

The lemon-honey dressing for the salad is out. of. this. world. delicious!  I could have drank a glass full of it...yes - it was that good.

Lemon Honey Stone Fruit Salad
Serves 2-3

1 medium peach, washed and diced into bite-size pieces
1 medium nectarine, washed and diced into bite-size pieces
1 medium-to-large plum, washed and diced into bite-size pieces
zest of one lemon
juice of half a lemon
2T (scant) honey

Directions:

• Place the peach, nectarine, and plum in a medium mixing bowl.
• Zest the lemon on top of the fruit.
• Add the lemon juice and honey to the fruit.
• Toss to incorporate.
• Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to two hours).
• Serve chilled.

Can you see the little specs of lemon zest?!  

As a sidenote, I am LOVING the natural light in these photos.  Note to self:  make more recipes in the middle of the day so that I can take pictures of them in the sunlight!

Question of the Day:

What is/are your favorite fruit(s)?!  I LOVE apples, really good peaches, and almost any type of berry (unfortunately, the season for berries is far too short in my opinion).

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Panzanella Salad

Before the age of 25, I had never even heard of Panzanella salad.  The salads I grew up with were your average garden variety.  Don't get me wrong, they were always delicious, but in general they consisted of lettuce, carrots, celery, and tomatoes topped with whatever bottled dressing was currently stocking our refrigerator door.  These days I like to change it up a little (okay, a LOT) when it comes to my salad repertoire.  So last night, when I saw a half-eaten loaf of Seeduction Bread from Whole Foods staring at me, I realized that I needed to come up with something that would use up several slices of this soon-to-be-stale bread.  A number of things ran through my head:

• bread pudding - no...that's too sweet;
• savory bread pudding - eh...still too much work; and
• french toast - nah...too breakfastey AND too sweet.

And then it hit me!  

I remembered a time, about three years ago, when I was staying with a dear friend for a week or two.  This friend is a foodie, like me, and one summer evening she whipped together this amazing bread and vegetable salad and called it Panzanella.  It was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.!  Thinking back on it, I honestly can't believe that I have waited so long to recreate the dish in my own kitchen.

Well, wait no longer!

Panzanella is here!

Specifically, Panzanella is a Florentine salad of bread and tomatoes popular in the summer.  It includes chunks of soaked stale bread and tomatoes, sometimes also onions and basil, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  It is also popular in other parts of central Italy.

Panzanella salad is an Italian salad that was probably an invention of necessity.  Italian cooks waste nothing, and this was a way to utilize stale bread and vegetables from the garden.  The record of Panzanella goes back centuries.  In the 1500's, a poem by the famous artist, Bronzino, described the salad.  Of course, the tomato was quite a few years from being introduced into the Italian kitchen.  Therefore, until the 20th century, Panzanella was based on onions.  

[Today, Panzanella] always includes bread and tomatoes plus vegetables from the garden.  Vegetables can include cucumbers and onions.  Other ingredients - lettuce, olives, mozarella, white wine, capers, anchovies, celery, carrots, red wine, tuna, parsley, boiled eggs, mint, bell peppers, lemon juice, and garlic - are sometimes used, but Florentine traditionalists disapprove of them.  (Source 1 and Source 2)

Here is my version of the classic Italian dish, using many of the vegetables that we found at the Riverside Arts Market this past Saturday!

Panzanella Salad
Serves 4

4 pieces stale bread (or bread left out overnight), cubed
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
2-3 outer leaves of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
1T dried basil
zest of 1 lemon
6T EVOO
1-2T balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Drizzle the cubed bread with 1T EVOO.
• Bake the bread cubes for 15-20 minutes, tossing every 7-8 minutes, until crispy and lightly browned.
• Meanwhile, cook the minced garlic in 1 tsp EVOO until fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, romaine, parsley, basil, and lemon zest to a large salad bowl.
• Add the cooked garlic.
• Drizzle in the EVOO and balsamic vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Toss to incorporate.
• Add in the baked bread cubes; and toss.
• Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.
• Serve, chilled, alongside your protein of choice.

Next time - another book review (and this time the book is neither utopian/dystopian in theme nor Young Adult in genre).  In fact, it's historical fiction, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Question of the Day:


Have you ever had a Panzanella salad before?  If so, what did you think? If not, have you ever made your own croutons?!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo