re-vamp

I recently made a batch of Ellie Krieger's Apple Pecan Muffins.

I added some kanso okara (dry okara) in place of half of the flour amount.

I'm glad that this muffin still turned out very moist.

Though I was bummed that the adjustable element in my oven, decided to adjust itself while the batch of muffins were baking and the muffin papers got a bit scorched.

At least there wasn't a fire (though it kind of smelled like it), and the muffins didn't taste smoky.

How's your week going?

zippy's fresh strawberry summer salad

I know, I know by looking at the title you're shivering if you are reading this in wintry climates, but strawberries are kinda in season over here (for Christmas), so it was the perfect chance for me to try this.

While in Hawaii this past summer, I scribbled down this recipe by Zippy's, a popular local family style restaurant.

I adapted the dressing because I didn't have dry mustard, I also added more "stuff" to the salad...here is what I did...

Adapted Zippy's Fresh Strawberry Summer Salad (MIDWEEK 9/11/2013): serves 2

Salad
2 generous handfuls of baby leaf mix (washed and shaken dry)
10 strawberries, tops taken off and sliced in half
1/2 a package of maitake
10 shrimp, deveined, rinsed and butterflied
some yellow bell pepper, cleaned and sliced thin
some glazed pecans*
some bleu cheese

Dressing
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
some grated onion
grinds of pepper

Glazed pecans
handful of pecans
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Tossed and baked in 325F (165C) oven for 10 minutes

Sautee the shrimp and maitake in some olive oil on medium heat until shrimp and maitake are cooked, set aside
Toss the baby leaf, shrimp, maitake, yellow bell, strawberries in 2 tablespoons of dressing
Top with cheese and nuts

NOTES: This was delicious! I think the bleu cheese I used needed to be a little stronger, but all the other flavors went nicely. The dressing is a bit puckery, sweet-sour. I think the next time I make this dressing, I'll add a little dijon or whole grain mustard.

I'm making this again, but during Spring...

It's Friday here, I hope you enjoy the weekend!

easy

One of my Twitter friends tweeted this recipe that was on Pinterest.

Coincidentally, I was planning to make a salmon dish for dinner that night.

So, I decided to try out the new recipe instead and it was totally easy.

Pecan crusted Salmon adapted from The Girl who ate Everything : serves 2

1 piece of salmon (161 grams), sashimi grade, cut in half

1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/2 shoyu (soy sauce)
1 handful pecan, chopped
several grinds of pepper

Bake in 425F (220C) oven for 15 minutes

NOTES: First off, according to the author this recipe is from Weight-Watchers, which surprised me.

I used sashimi grade salmon because I'm lazy and didn't want to run into any bones while eating.

The original recipe used honey, but I wanted to try using agave nectar. From what I read on the internet, to substitute honey with agave nectar is an even exchange, so you don't need to re-calculate anything...woot!

Also, the original recipe was for 4 salmon filets, but since my pieces were smaller, I cut back the amount of "sauce"/marinade.

The author notes that she marinates the fish overnight, I think I'll do this the next time (without the nuts). Then just before baking, I'll sprinkle the nuts.

My topping got a bit burnt because my oven element was kind of low (it moves).

I served this with some rice and also some sauteed spinach and brown mushrooms. The salmon gets a little sweet-salty, with a nice crunch from the pecans.

I'd definitely make this one again.

It's Friday the 13th (eep!) hope you have a great weekend.

muffin style

Made a half batch of Ellie Krieger's Banana Pecan Bread with a little twist to it.

I made it in muffin papers and adapted the recipe a bit. The original recipe asks you to spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. I don't think we have cooking spray here in Japan.

Plus, I don't think I have a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. I also used olive oil instead of canola.

Anyway, instead of 4 servings (half of the original 8), I got 6.

Banana Pecan Bread Muffins adapted from Ellie Krieger's "Comfort Food Fix"
makes 6 muffins

1 handful of pecans, measured then chopped
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 small ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk
Add in the pecans and whisk
Put all the wet ingredients in with the mashed bananas and mix well.
Add the wet to the dry.
Bake in a 350F (180C) oven for about 25 minutes or until the top is brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

NOTES: I liked this, moist and sweet from the bananas, not much to clean up too...I'd definitely make this again...muffin style.

making my own sunshine

The weather on Saturday was awful. Rained all day, sometimes in sheets even.

Satoshi had to go to class, so we had a quick lunch at Mickey D's.

Then he went off to class and I stopped into buy some groceries then stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon.

I've been wanting to make cookies, but most times need to cut the recipe into half or fourths because a)I don't have a large oven and b)I don't need THAT many cookies lying around.

I tried this recipe and cut it into fourths.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from Food.com
makes 10 to 12 cookies (depending on your scoop)

56 grams butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 cup white sugar
1/2 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/8 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 handful dried cherries
1 handful 60% Ghiradelli chocolate chips
1 handful pecans, chopped

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
Add the egg, vanilla and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
Spoon onto parchment paper.
Bake at 325F (170C) for 13 minutes (I baked them for 18 minutes)
When done, let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to rack.

NOTES: these were good! just amount of chewiness. I ended up with 12 cookies. I'd make these again and it was nice way to brighten up a gloomy day.

pum-pe-app-choc muffins

Another addition to the array of muffins on this blog...I think there are 25 variations..

I had roasted some pumpkin and thought it would be nice in some muffins.

Using my new immersion blender, I whizzed the pumpkin with some apple to make a puree.

Added some spices (cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger & nutmeg), a handful of pecans and a handful of 60% chocolate chips.

These muffins are quite dense. I didn't put a lot of oil (1 teaspoon) using the apple as a way to keep things moist.

I also put in a little milk (1 tablespoon).

The amount of pumpkin turned out to be a little too much which probably added to the density.

Still, it was delicious though I think it could have used a little more spice, and I loved the orange color.

re-do

The first time I tried this recipe, I didn't know what I did wrong. But as I surfed around the web, I had a feeling that I may not have creamed the butter well.

So, this time around, I made sure that I creamed the butter well.

But when I added the flour...it was still really dry.

Not as crumbly as my first attempt but dry.

I followed some of your tips and added some milk working it in and the dough came together.

Then chilled the dough for awhile and baked them off.

They were looking kind of pale while baking, so I baked them for quite a while longer than the directions stated.

I think these came out better than my first attempt, though I probably wouldn't make these again.

At least I know that it probably was due to the creaming step, now I can move on to something else.

Have a good week, we're supposed to have warmer temps but rain and clouds!

salvaged

I had a recipe for pecan nib cookies bookmarked for some time now.

Since the weather was bad on Tuesday, I decided to stay indoors and tried it.

I cut the recipe back because I didn't need 48 cookies around. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what I did wrong, but the dough came out to crumbs, I tried to press it together into a log, but it just fell apart.

After letting it rest in the refridge (part of the directions), the dough was still crumbly, so I pressed everything into a round baking pan and baked it according to the directions.

When it came out of the oven, it was still REALLY soft.

I tried to take it out of the pan, but it just crumbled.

In the end, I used a butter knife and cut it into triangles (like scones), then let it cool in the pan...I managed to salvage about 8 pieces like this. The rest were crumbs, which was nice on ice cream.

I liked the crunch from the nibs and pecans and the cookie was really, REALLY flaky.

I'll definitely try this again, so I can at least figure out what I did wrong.

re-do

Earlier this week, I made the "apple pecan muffin" from Ellie Krieger's book, "The Food You Crave".

This was the second time making the muffins, this time around I used my grater to make some applesauce. I also added some yogurt in place of the buttermilk. The results...a really moist muffin. The top of the muffin even had a sheen to it.

You can kinda tell how moist it is from this photo. Oh, and I also added a handful of cacao nibs and some ground flax seed.

Delicious!