Apple Oven Cake

I discovered this lovely recipe while waiting in the oral surgeon’s office to get a tooth pulled.  It was featured in Sunset magazine over a year ago and I use it all the time. It’s a lovely dessert and I always have all the ingredients I need in my kitchen.  You can also serve it as a sweet breakfast treat.

Prep Time: 10 minutes                   Bake Time: 15 minutes                  Oven Temp: 425 F

Ingredients
3 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 sweet apple, peeled and sliced (I use pink lady or granny smith)
3 Large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup soy or almond milk
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Melt butter in 12 in. frying pan over medium high heat. (frying pan must be oven safe, no plastic handles!)
3. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to combine.  Add apple and cook till softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a blender combine eggs, salt, flour and milk.
5. Pour egg mixture into pan and bake until puffed and brown, about 15 minutes
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I swear this is the easiest cake I’ve ever made and if you want a quick homemade dessert, try the oven cake!  Serve it with a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

Quinoa Pancakes!!!

Quinoa Pancakes!!!

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart’s website.  The quinoa in the pancakes makes them healthier than traditional pancake recipes and they are more filling. This recipe makes a lot so I usually just make a whole batch and freeze the leftovers.  You can pop the cakes in the toaster and have a quick breakfast the rest of the week.

Quinoa Cakes Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa (follow package instruction for cooking quinoa)
3/4 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup almond or soy milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup 

1. In a bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.
2.In another bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, butter, soy milk, and syrup until smooth.
3. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine.
4. Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter and heat over medium-high. Drop batter by large tablespoonfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, 2 minutes.
5. Flip cakes and cook until golden brown, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter and remaining batter (reduce heat if cakes are turning to dark before they are cooked through).
6. Serve hot with maple syrup and fruit.

Variations….
A friend of mine tried this recipe with gluten-free flour and said they turned out even better.
If you like cinnamon, add a pinch. It will add to the flavor.

Yellow Cake with Strawberries and Cream Cheese Icing

Yellow Cake with Strawberries

I make this cake for friends’ birthdays all the time.  It is simple and with a few added ingredients, this box cake tastes like it’s homemade.

Prep Time: 10-15 mins   Bake Time: 30-35 mins

Ingredients
1 box of yellow cake mix (I use Betty Crocker)
1/2  carton of strawberries (washed and sliced)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup vanilla soy milk
¼ cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is preferable)
1 jar of cream cheese icing

1.Bake cake according to box instructions with one minor substitution.  The Betty Crocker cake mix calls for 1 ¼ cups water.  I use ½ cup water, ½ cup vanilla soy milk and ¼ cup orange juice.
2. Next add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract and ½- 1 cup sliced strawberries.
3. Stir till combined and pour into cake pan.
4. Bake cake for 30-35 mins at 350 degrees.
5. Let cake cool and then top with icing and sliced strawberries. 

Before Icing.....

Delicious! 

Shrimp Two Ways- Tacos and Salad

I was browsing GOOP (Gwyneth Paltrow’s site) and came across her shrimp tacos.  They looked delicious and simple but Melissa and I wanted to make a healthier version.  What we ended up making was Shrimp, Pico de Gallo and a Black Bean and Corn Salad.  We served the shrimp and pico de gallo over spinach with homemade tortilla croutons on top.  Dano ate the shrimp in a taco.  Everyone was happy and full.

Shrimp Recipe

1- 1 1/2  pound of shrimp (peeled and deveined/tails removed)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Juice of one lime

pinch of chili powder (optional)

pinch of garlic salt (optional)

Toss all ingredients in a bowl.  Cook shrimp on stove top at medium heat for 2-3 minutes each side or until light pink.

Pico de Gallo

1 carton of small tomatoes (diced)- I use the kind that are about twice the size of grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

5-6 tablespoons white onion (diced)

Salt  (to taste)

Squeeze of Lime

1 Jalapeno diced, seeds removed- optional

Combine all ingredients and season with lime and salt to taste.

Tortilla Croutons
Left over Pita or Tortillas.  I prefer wheat versions.
1-2 tablespoons Sesame Seed Oil or Olive oil
Garlic Salt (to taste)


Slice  1 or 2 piece of pita or tortilla into small chunks. Toss pita/tortilla chunks with one tablespoon sesame oil and a few pinches of garlic salt.  Add one tablespoon of sesame oil to heating cooking pan. Sauté pita/tortilla chunks over medium heat for 4-6 minutes, depending on heat.   They should look a little crisped.

Black Bean and Corn Salad
1 can of sweet corn (rinsed and drained)
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
3-4 tablespoons white or green onion (diced)
3-4 cilantro stems
1 garlic clove crushed (or garlic salt)
pinch of salt
Add black beans, 3-4 cilantro stems and crushed garlic cloves to a pot.  Cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes so flavors combine. Remove garlic clove and stems from pot. Pour black beans into a bowl and add corn, onion, and salt. Serve.
We served the shrimp over spinach and added the pico de gallo and croutons with cojita cheese sprinkled on top(feta works too). The Black Bean and Corn Salad  was served on the side.
Not interested in the Black Bean and Corn Salad? Another great option is Mexican Three Bean Salad
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/mexican_three_bean_salad/
It’s delicious and tastes even better if you make it earlier in the day so the flavors can really marinate.  If you dislike one of the bean options you can substitute garbanzo beans for one of the other beans.

Fig (or Plum) and Almond Tart

This is a beautiful dessert and it tastes as good as it looks. Don’t let the picture fool you, even beginner bakers can make this tart.  This is the tart before it is cooked. Sorry but I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

Ingredients
1 sheet of store bought puff pastry dough (I found a great brand called French Picnic at Whole Foods)
3 ½ ounces almond paste  cut into small pieces(at room temp.)
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (at room temp.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey
6 large or 12 small figs (sliced and stems removed) OR 4 plums (Depends on size)
¼ cup apricot jam
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup half and half (optional)

Prep Time: 15 mins         Bake Time: 40 mins            Oven Temp:  400 F

1. In food processor, combine sugar, almond paste, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract and honey. Blend until smooth.
2. Slice figs or plums into wedges.
3. Place one sheet of puff pastry dough on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
4. Spread almond mixture in the middle of the dough leaving 2 inch border around the edge.
5. Arrange figs or plums over filling.
6. Spoon jam over figs.
7. Fold the dough border over the filling.
8. Brush half and half over dough border and sprinkle with sugar.
9. Bake 40 mins until golden.

This is a great dessert to make for Mother's Day! Try it out and impress your family.

Healthy Lentil Salad

Lentils are a cheap and healthy meal.  I bought lentils at my local produce stand for 99 cents a pound.  I made the following recipe as a side dish for four people and had plenty left over for lunch the next day. Hope you enjoy. 

Lentil Salad Ingredients
1 ¼ cup uncooked lentils (I used green lentils)
¼ cup chopped white onion
1 green bell pepper (chopped)- any kind of bell pepper works. I use green because they are usually the cheapest
6-8 Shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
½ - ¾ cup crumbled turkey sausage
2 green onions (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of garlic salt

Prep time: 5 mins     Cook Time: 25 mins

1.Cook lentils according to package instructions.  I cooked 1 ¼ cups raw lentils with 2 cups water for 20-25 mins.
2. Half way through cooking, add a crushed garlic clove. When lentils fully cooked, remove garlic clove and drain off any excess liquid. 
3. Meanwhile, in a separate pan cook turkey sausage in olive oil.  After 5 minutes, add onions, pepper, mushrooms, and crushed garlic clove.  Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.  Remove garlic clove when meat and veggies are fully cooked.
4.  In a bowl, combine lentils with turkey sausage and veggies.  Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Add salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste.  Serve.

Variations….
I think some diced jalapenos would be delicious in this recipe.  I didn’t put any in my salad because my roommate won’t eat spicy food but you should try it if you enjoy hot peppers.

Mexican Chocolate Swirl Coffee Cake

I made this cake twice in the last weekend and it turned out great.  Hope you guys enjoy it too! The picture kind of makes it look like a gigantic doughnut but it's just the way the bundt cake looks with the chocolate glaze. :)

Cake Ingredients
2 Disks Mexican Chocolate chopped (Brands: Ibarra or Abuelita)
3 Cups of flour
2/3 Cup of slivered almonds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Cup unsalted butter (at room temp.)
1 Cup sugar
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup buttermilk (directions how to make your own buttermilk below)

Glaze ingredients
4 oz. semisweet chocolate (chopped)
2 tsp unsalted butter

Prep Time: 20 mins      Bake Time: 50-60 minutes      Oven Temp: 350 F

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. (It helps to have a thermometer in your oven at all times so you know the temperature is accurate.)
2. Use cooking spray to spray baking pan. I used a bundt cake pan but my mom uses a 10 in. spring-form pan.
3. Using a food processor, pulse chopped Mexican chocolate in food processor until almost finely chopped with some large pieces remaining.
4. Add 2 tblsp of flour, the almonds and cinnamon. Pulse 5-6 times or until the nuts are chopped.
5. Beat butter in large bowl at medium speed. Add sugar and beat until pale yellow. Add one egg at a time till all three are combined. Beat in vanilla and almond extract.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk 2 3/4 cup + 2 tblsp flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. 
7.  At low speed, beat flour into butter mixture.  Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk. Beat till buttermilk, flour and butter mixture are combined.
8. Spoon 1/3 of the batter into baking pan.  Spread batter evenly with the back of a wet spoon.
9. Sprinkle 6 tblsp of the chocolate mixture over the batter in the pan.
10. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan.
11. Run a thin knife through batter to swirl. (this is how you create the marble effect)
12. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup of chocolate mixture over batter.
13. Bake for 50-60 mins.  At 50 mins I use a toothpick to test the cake.  Poke the toothpick in and if it comes out clean the cake is done.
14. Cool in baking pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes. 
15. If using a bundt cake pan, you can flip the cake out of the cake pan after 10-15 minutes.

How to make the glaze
1. Place chopped chocolate and butter in heavy duty small resealable plastic bag.
2. Simmer water in medium saucepan.  Place bag in water until the ingredients melt and combine. 
Be careful to make sure the water does not get too hot.  If the water is too hot it will melt the bag and the chocolate mixture will flow into the water.

Spread glaze over the cake and you're done!

Variations and Tips
If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own.  Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk.  Let sit for a few minutes and it will begin to curdle. 
The second time I made this recipe I ran out of buttermilk so I used 2/3 cup of buttermilk and 1/4 cup almond milk.  It turned out great so don't be afraid to substitute other milk products.  A quick search online will tell you how to make buttermilk out of a milk substitute like soy milk or almond milk.
Mexican chocolate can be found at most major grocery stores in California.  If you can't find it at your local store, visit a Mexican grocery store. 

Frittatas!!

Frittatas!!!

A frittata is an egg based dish which is similar to a quiche or Spanish tortilla.  Frittatas are one of my favorite things to make when I have a lot of veggie leftovers from last night’s dinner.   I always have the ingredients to make a frittata which makes it a great dish to make when you haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while.

The first frittata shown was made using entirely left overs.

 

 

Prep  Time: 10-15 minutes     Bake Time: 25-30 minutes (depends on the depth of your baking dish/size of the frittata)

I used a 8x8x2 baking dish for this frittata which is why I needed so many eggs.  They cook just as well in an oven safe pan.

1. Break 10 egg whites and 2 whole eggs into a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of water and whisk for 1-2 minutes.
2.  Add a few handfuls of veggies and meat into the egg mixture.  The amount of vegetables and meat depends on the size of the dish and your own personal preference. I probably used about a 3/4 a cup of the cooked vegetables and a 1/4 a cup of the raw vegetables. The first frittata pictured has leftover cooked zucchini, yellow squash, and ham. I also included raw mushrooms and red onion.  
3. Chop or with your hands break up cheese to put on the top of your frittata.  I had a left over Babybel cheese and some Parmesan so I sprinkled that on top. 
4. Pop it in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your baking dish.  You can tell when it’s done by moving the pan in the oven to see if the center is solid. If the center wobbles, it is probably liquid underneath and needs a few more minutes.
5. Remove from oven and serve!


Other variations…
If you are not concerned about calories you can use all whole eggs instead of mostly egg whites.
If you REALLY aren’t concerned with calories, I suggest using bacon in your frittata and frying the potatoes in half of the left over bacon grease.
If you want your frittata to turn out more like a Spanish tortilla, cover the bottom of the pan/baking dish with chopped cooked potato or sweet potato before adding the egg mixture.  I usually do this if I have left over sweet potato wedges from last night’s dinner.




The second frittata pictured uses the same amount of eggs but different veggies and meat.  This one has broccoli, corn, mushroom, onion and turkey bacon.  I cooked the turkey bacon in the oven beforehand and rubbed the raw bacon with a mixture of paprika, cracked black pepper, a dash of cayenne pepper, and brown sugar.  You only need enough to sprinkle over both sides of the bacon. I enjoyed the first frittata more than the second because I think squash works really well in an egg dish.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine and I've changed it a little bit.  I've made these bars at least five times since I found the recipe two months ago.  PB & J bars are a wonderful comfort food and they always remind me of bag lunches I enjoyed in elementary school.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes  Total Time (including cooling): 1.5- 2 Hours  Oven Temp: 350 F

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (wheat flour works too!)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp. (I've softened it in the microwave before and it turned out fine)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup grape jelly (any flavor works, I suggest using whatever you like best)


Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line 8x8x2 in baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving over some foil to hang over on two sides.  This will help you remove them from the pan after baking and cooling the bars.  Spray foil with non-stick spray. 

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat peanut butter, sugar and butter.  I add them all at the same time and they combine just fine.
3. Next, add the large egg and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until combined and smooth.
4. Slowly add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, using mixer to combine till smooth.
5. Place half the dough into the prepared baking pan.  Use your fingers to press dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.  If half the dough doesn't seem like enough to cover the the bottom, add a little more dough.
6.  Take the remainder of the dough and place it in the freezer for 10 mins.
7. Spread jelly over into the pan over the peanut butter dough layer.  Leave a small border around the edge of the pan so that the jelly won't bake onto the aluminum foil.  This can make removing the bars more difficult.
8. Remove dough from freezer.  Break dough into grape size pieces and scatter over jelly layer.
9.  Bake bars until the top is golden brown,  about 25-30 minutes.
10.  After baking, cool bars on a rack.  Once completely cooled, use aluminum foil overhang to gently lift them out of the pan. Cut into 12 or 16 pieces, depending on how big you want each bar to be.

I have never had trouble with this recipe and they make for a wonderful gift.  Hope you enjoy!! :)

Secrets of the Wonder Cook: A Simple and Delicious Guide to Cooking and Baking

The nickname of Wonder Cook was given to my mother by her friend Barbara who jokingly suggested my mom have it engraved on her mixer bowl. My mom really is a wonder cook and she has passed down some of her skills and recipes to me. I was lucky enough to have the Wonder Cook as my first teacher in the kitchen.  With her help, I’m slowly becoming a promising cook and baker.  I have begun to branch out and invent my own recipes as well as attempt my mother’s more advanced recipes.  A few years ago, all I could do in the kitchen was make eggs and boil pasta.  With a little Wonder Cook instruction and a lot of internet recipe searches, I have improved my cooking abilities.  I hope this blog will encourage my friends and family to cook on their own.  Anyone can learn to cook and it’s never too late to start. Delicious recipes can be simple and if it doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, throw it away and try again! Trial and error is how every cook learns. 

Before I begin with my recipes, I want to thank my mom Berna for all of her guidance, my roomie Melissa for being the best sous chef I could ever ask for and my boyfriend Dano for letting me test all my recipes on him.