Pomegranate, Apple and Banana Salad

Serves 4
Each serving equals 1 cup of fruit or vegetables

2 pomegranates, chilled
4-6 apples of your choice, sliced and cubed
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 bananas sliced
2 limes (or 1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice)

Mix together the juice of the lime and the apples. Score and seed both pomegranates, freeing the seeds. Mix all ingredients together to evenly coat with yogurt. Chill until served.

***Kitchen Tip: How to Remove the Seeds from a Pomegranate: Cut off the pomegranate’s crown, then divide into sections. Place the sections in a bowl of water. Gently roll out the arils with your fingers. Discard everything else. Drain the water, and the seeds are ready to use. (from the Kraft website)

The Baker's Nook

I was in need of ideas for Birthday cupcakes for Vinnie and came across http://www.shopbakersnook.com/. I found some "Wall-E" themed items as well as matching sanding sugar and sprinkles I will use to make my cupcakes on the big day. The Baker's Nook is located in Michigan and they do wedding cakes and sell cake and candy making supplies. I found their website a few days ago, placed an order and have already received my package! I just thought I'd share because they have a lot of useful baking items such as interesting cake pans (check out their Ice Cream Cone cake pan!), cake kits, all sorts of cupcake wrappers/toppers/sprinkles, books on cake decorating, cookie cutters and even sell candies. If you ever need anything for your next Birthday or Holiday baking experience, check this site for ideas! The prices are reasonable and shipping wasn't too bad (abt $6.50 for 3-4 day delivery). Let me know what you find!

Bruschetta-Style Pasta

This is a nice light meal- serve it with a french baguette and green salad. It would be yummy with fresh tomatoes from the garden (Becky and Kim). This is another one of Vance's favorites!!!

1 pkg thin spaghetti*
2 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls minced garlic
3 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
2 Tbls balsamic vinegar (I double/triple this so it thoroughly coats pasta)
To taste: oregano and basil (fresh or dried), shredded Parmesan cheese, cracked pepper, salt


Cook pasta according to pkg directions. Heat a large saute pan over medium high with olive oil. Saute garlic until golden. Add tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and herbs. Heat until warmed (abt 2 minutes- don't overcook or it will give you soggy tomatoes). Combine pasta and tomato mixture and heat until warm (apprx 2-3 minutes). Place one serving on a plate and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.


Makes 4 servings.


*KITCHEN TIP: I love using whole grain pasta but Shane hates it so I mix half whole grain pasta with half of the regular white stuff. Tastes the same and Shane doesn't even notice!

Perfect Brown Rice

I have always had a problem cooking brown rice on the stove top because it dries out too fast and burns. So, I started cooking it in the oven and it comes out perfect with no mess. Here's how to do it:
Heat the water in microwave til really hot(2 min)
Pour rice and heated water in a casserol dish
Cover with aluminon foil
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour stirring half way through
When done fluff with a fork and enjoy.

Kitchen Tips

I thought it may be helpful and educational to add useful cooking, baking, and general kitchen tips to our blog to help us be more effective in our cooking pursuits! Make sure to label it as a "Kitchen Tip" so it will be easy to find. Here are a couple I thought may help:

*Storing Cake -- If you store half and apple in the container which you are storing a cake, the cake will retain its freshness.

*Brown sugar will not harden if stored in the freezer.

*This is from my last recipe but I wanted to make sure you didn't miss it! If you are baking an empty pie crust, to prevent it from bubbling up in the middle, lay parchment paper/aluminum foil lightly on top and up sides of your pie dough. Place dry beans on top of foil and bake. This will weigh down the center of the crust. Just lift the foil with the beans off of the crust right after baking!

Tarte aux Fraises (Pie with Strawberries)

My dear French friend, Elodie, taught me how to make this a couple of days ago and it is divine!!! The different parts of the recipe can be used for a variety of desserts- like the pie crust or the Crême Patissière (filling for cream puffs, side dish to cake, etc). The recipe is very detailed and isn't as complicated as you may think due to its length. I added a bunch of tips Elodie taught me along the way. Next time I make it I will take a photo and post it with the recipe- it looks beautiful!

Tarte aux Fraises (Pie with Strawberries)

Pie Crust (Can be used for any type of pie)
7 Tbls butter (softened)
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/3 to ½ cup sugar

Mix flour, butter, and salt with hands until crumbly.
Wisk sugar and egg until white (pale yellow).
Pour sugar/egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir with spoon until manageable and then mix with hands.
When it’s mixed (should be sticky), wrap up dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

While crust dough is in fridge:
Prepare the strawberries (you could also use raspberries, apricots, blackberries, or kiwi).
You will need about 1 or 2 cartons of strawberries. *KITCHEN TIP: Wash your berries by placing them in a large bowl of water to soak. Twist of tops but do not yet dig out the middle (this will prevent water from getting inside the strawberries). Remove berries and put them in a strainer. Completely dry berries with a towel. Cut out the center of the strawberries and then cut in half (be sure to cut in a way that will allow the berries to lay the flattest). Set aside.

Bake crust:
Take dough from fridge and spread into a French pie dish (if dish is flimsy, put dish on top of a cookie sheet). If you don't have a French pie dish use a larger shallow pie dish. Pull crust evenly up the sides close to the top of dish. Poke crust with fork prongs. This is an empty crust so to prevent it from bubbling up in the middle, lay parchment paper/aluminum foil lightly on top and up sides of dough. Place dry beans on top of foil. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are turning brown. Remove from oven and remove foil and beans to cool.

While crust is baking:
Make the filling- Crême Patissière. (This is custard-like. It can also be used for éclair or cream puff filling. The French also eat this on the side with cake or pie as American’s eat cake with ice cream.)

4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 1/3 cup milk
Optional: 1 tsp vanilla or strawberry extract (best to use the French Sucre Vanilliné but if you don’t have it, use non-alcohol vanilla or a little strawberry jam)
¼ cup cornstarch

Mix yolks, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixture until white (pale yellow).
Put a couple Tbls of milk with cornstarch to make it liquid and add to yolk mixture.
Boil milk over medium high heat. Once it starts to boil, remove and pour into yolk/cornstarch mixture. Mix just enough to blend all ingredients.
Return to stove. Once it barely starts to boil (just one bubble), turn heat to low and cook 3 minutes. (If you find your filling getting chunky real fast, remove from heat immediately and stir quickly until it smoothes out.)

Finish the pie:
Put filling in cooled crust and lay the strawberries decoratively on top. You can sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze the strawberries with strawberry jam (warm jam for 30 seconds in microwave and then use a brush to paint the berries).

Place pie in refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving.