Coconut macaroons

I love love love coconut!!! And these are so quick and easy to make. A few simple ingredients and a few minutes is all it takes. Heres the recipe.


INGREDIENTS:
1 14-oz bag of sweetened shredded flaked coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract
2 - 3 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour as needed 


I like the additional coconut flavor from the coconut extract the original recipe calls for 2 tsp of vanilla.



DIRECTIONS:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut, condensed milk, flour, extracts, until well incorporated. Cover and put bowl in the fridge for several hours; overnight if needed. (its very sticky)

Use a spoon to fill in the molds and press down so its nice and tight inside.  I placed the mold onto the pan lined with parchment paper and filled it in on the pan, leaving about 1-inch of space in between each. 
Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Bake for 20 - 23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Immediately transfer macaroons to a plate. 

When cooled dip into melted chocolate and decorate how ever you wish. I actually melted the chocolate in the oven since I didnt have a double boiler and seized up the first batch with a splash of water. Live and learn, right? A low temp oven  250 or so and just keep an eye and stir as needed.

Then eat and enjoy!!!

Cookies

OK remember I told you this blog was EVERYTHING that happens in the kitchen?? Well this is one of those moments that didnt turn out like I had planned..at all! There is no recipe with this post because these were supposed to be, get this Linzer tarts, obviously they arent. The recipe is actually very good but not for Linzer tarts so I will save it for next time I make those cookies so you can see it as its supposed to be.  Anyway I was so excited to make these, I had bought some heart shaped cookie cutters and was going to make tarts or so I thought, the dough was too soft and most of them just melted into round cookies, the ones that had the heart shape I decided to fill with icing. I am sure you can guess what happened to that idea...it all ran out the bottom. I was determined so I let the icing set so it wouldnt leak and then filled them again and again and sometimes again! They did taste good but this experiment just didnt work! 

I would love comments and apologize to anyone who has tried but couldnt, I adjusted the settings so hopefully now you can.

HAPPY BAKING! Even when its a surprise :)

Portobello burger & crispy potatoes

One of lifes pleasures is a good burger and some crispy potatoes. I like a portobello mushroom burger as much as a beef burger.  I find I can make it juicier than beef, I guess the beef theses days is so lean, you dont get the juiciness that makes a burger  taste so good. This is also a great option if you are vegetarian. So here goes, a medium size portobello mushroom works well. I just saute it in a little EVOO, kind of searing it, then flip it over, do the same to that side, then turn down the heat and put a lid on the fry pan, thats what makes it juicy.  Add a slice of cheese if you like, thats how I like mine some ketchup and a dill pickle on a nice roll and its done.

I do the potatoes in the oven with a little EVOO toss them together and bake them on 350 or so for about 45 minutes.  I like Yukon golds. I find using the oven rather than a fry pan I can use less oil, gotta watch that waistline. I grind some sea salt on top and dinner is served.

Pizza

 OK here is another quick easy dinner to make PIZZA!!!! Who doesnt love pizza and its so easy to make at home and its quick! I use the pre made dough that you find in the dairy aisle of any supermarket. I cut it in half for a single serving and add a nice salad and there is dinner. You can top it with whatever your heart desires. This has red onion, spinach & mushroom and some cheese grated on top. I take an enamel baking pan, you can use any dish thats good for baking and I put a little EVOO on the bottom so it doesnt stick, add your veggies, grate some cheese, bake for about a half an hour or so on 400. Done...hot pizza. Delish.

  This one has tomato, garlic & cheese. Its so easy and the possibilities are endless. Its also really fun for kids they love to make their own meal and this works out really well.

Creamy spinach pasta

OK I admit this came to me on one of those rare days I just didnt feel like cooking. I looked at what was in the fridge, found some cream cheese, knew I had some spinach and I always keep canned  tomato & pasta thanks Grandma! She always had some in the pantry. It comes in really handy on just such occasions. No running to the store on lazy days.

 I chopped some of the spinach and sauteed it in a little olive oil and then added the tomato. You can add garlic, onion whatever makes you happy, thats the beauty of these types of dishes. I added the cream cheese and let it melt into the mixture. Boil some water to cook your pasta. Toss the mixture with your pasta and add a salad youre done! Dinner is served!

Ginger Lychee Cupcakes with Lychee Frosting

These came out really well, I was concerned that the Lychee flavor wouldnt come through but it did!! Happy happy :) heres the recipe

Ginger Cupcakes:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground fresh ginger minced very finely (almost ground to a paste)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 ginger sugar syrup

2 tablespoons candied ginger, chopped



makes 24
syrup:

Just cut up some ginger and boil it in sugar water until it gets thick I used this in place of milk



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Sift together flours, ground ginger, fresh ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With a mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale, about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time until incorporated. Beat in flour mixture and syrup. Stir in ginger until distributed.

Divide batter among liners, filling halfway. Bake until golden and set, about 20 minutes. Transfer tin to rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove from tin; let cool. 

I also took some of the lychees and strained them really well and put them in the middle of the cupcakes just to bump up that awesome lychee flavor!!! Just use that tool I told you about to scoop out a space for the filling.

Frosting:

1 cup of butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar,  and  lychee syrup from canned lychees until creamy.

Sprinkle with some pretty colored sugar and enjoy!

Scallops & Veggie Rice

I should have known when I went to the supermarket and asked for "diver scallops" and the guy behind the fish counter didnt know what I was talking about that there was going to be a problem. Now these look good and in the end they actually didnt taste too bad, probably because of the amount of butter that got used, but be WARNED buy your fish from someone who knows what they are selling. Scallops are often soaked in a phosphate solution that whitens them and makes them absorb more liquid, its called "wet packed". Also that phosphate solution is a common ingredient in soaps and detergents, and, not surprisingly, has a distinctly soap-like flavor. When you cook these scallops, all that extra liquid drains out and into the pan, so instead of searing them, you end up steaming them in something closely resembling soapy water. This is what happened to me and it wasnt pretty. 

The rice however was a success!!                                                                                   

                                                                                    
                                                                                 

Chop up whatever veggies you want,  I used garlic, scallion, carrot, red pepper and sauteed them in some sesame oil and added that to some cooked rice. Done! really easy to make. 

I will try scallops again, sometimes if at first you dont succeed you have to try again. I learned a lesson and will go to a fish market and not a supermarket and make sure I get "dry packed" scallops. Happy cooking!