Dipped Strawberries + My Cooking Challenge Continues

It seems as if I am constantly searching for something sweet after dinner and this recipe from The Forest Feast is the perfect substitute for rich brownies and ice cream and tastes fresh and rich! It was easy to assemble and no baking or waiting involved!

: INGREDIENTS :

1 small carton of fresh strawberries

3/4 cup greek vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 graham cracker

1. Use a food processor or mort and pestle to make the graham crackers crumbly, then combine it in a bowl with the brown sugar.

2. Dip the strawberries first in the greek yogurt.

3. Dip it lightly and roll it into the brown sugar and graham cracker mix.

* Make these right before you plan on eating them because they will get soggy after a while. 

Potato - Asparagus Salad + My Cooking Challenge

My cooking challenge is coming along very well. I am becoming more confident when I cook and I love how I am even surprising myself with my skills! The Forest Feast by Erin Gleason has been such a great help and has even let me get a little creative in the way create and display the dishes. Her recipes are easy to follow and are never over complicated, perfect for someone who is just getting her bearings in the kitchen. 

Originally the recipe was a Potato and Green Bean Salad and while I didn't have any green beans in the kitchen, they also aren't my first choice vegetable, so I opted to use asparagus which I can't get enough of! 

The dressing can either be a simple rice vinegar and olive oil combo OR you can be a little more adventurous and mix it with her Greek Caesar Dressing that I could drink like soup it's so good!

:INGREDIENTS:

25 Mini Potatoes(I used fingerling)

6 Garlic Cloves

1 TBSP Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

10-15 stalks of Asparagus

3/4 cup Olive Oil

2 whole Garlic Cloves

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Dijon Mustard

:DIRECTIONS:

1. Turn the oven on to 425 degrees and place the potatoes and garlic on a tray and sprinkle the olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Let them roast for about 25 minutes. 

2. While they cook, lightly cook the asparagus in a skillet with some olive oil for about 5 minutes. 

3. For the dressing, combine all the ingredients into a jar and shake until well combined.

4. Once both are cooled toss them together and combine with the dressing! Then try and stop yourself from eating the entire thing!

This dish has so far been one of my favorites and I can't wait to make more of it this summer!

Raspberry Chocolate Ricotta Mousse Cups + My Loyalty to Parisien Yogurt

So continue my cooking and baking attempts found in the beautiful Forest Feast cookbook. I thought I'd try a dessert today since my sweet tooth is above average, and I had the perfect jars to display the finished products in! 

The jars I used were from my time spent living in Paris. They were actually old yogurt containers that I had saved and lugged back with me. Paris obviously takes its yogurt game pretty seriously, and Danone puts its yogurts into ceramic clay jars that you can reuse. Let's just say that I was such a die hard yogurt fan there that my apartment probably could have been a designated redistribution center for those jars, and now I am always finding different ways to reuse them.  

In each recipe I recreate I am always searching for ways to somehow make it my own or simply use what I have in the kitchen and adapt the recipe. The original recipe didn't call for any raspberries but I think they add a nice balance and tartness to the dish. 

The chocolate shavings I used were actually from chocolate my parents and I had brought back with us from South Africa from our day of vineyard hopping across the countryside of Capetown. 

:INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. chocolate (any kind)- usually 1 bar

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1 TBSP brown sugar

2 cups ricotta

1 container of whipped cream

:DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiling water. 

Since the bar of chocolate I used wasn't exactly 4 oz. I tossed in a handful or so of chocolate chips as well. 

2. Blend everything together in a food processor for no more than a minute.

After I blended it for 30 seconds I stopped to taste it to see if there was anything else it was missing. It still tasted very ricotta-y so I added a little more brown sugar. Then blended it for about 10 seconds. 

3. Spoon the mixture into 3-4 small ramekins or small containers then let them chill for about an hour. 

I used ramekins as well as old clay yogurt containers that I had carried home with me from my time living in Paris. 

4. Once they have chilled, remove them from the fridge and garnish them with whipped cream and whatever toppings you like. 

I always love how raspberries taste with chocolate so I added some to the top of my desserts.

Purple Mashed Potatoes + My Cooking Challenge

Cooking has never come naturally to me. Cooking to me can sometimes seem intimidating and overwhelming so I typically will stick with making things I know and can't mess up like pasta or my lunch go to of turkey bacon and eggs with tortillas. I want to start being a little more adventurous with my cooking skills and learn to be more confident with the dishes I serve. So I have decided to try cooking every dish in The Forest Feast by Erin Gleason. Consider her my Julia Child...

My boyfriend gave me her book for Christmas and I have made just one thing so far (Rosemary Roasted Nuts) and it came out really well, I think! As I am deathly allergic to nuts, I left him to be the judge! The book is AMAZING! It is so colorful and beautifully photographed, I could look at it every day. The book has great fresh recipes that are simple to make and great for someone that is trying to develop their cooking abilities. So here goes my attempt at cooking...

:INGREDIENTS:

6 purple potatoes*

1/2 C greek yogurt 

2 TBSP olive oil

1/2 tspn garlic powder

salt and pepper

* I couldn't find regular sized purple potatoes and as I was leaving Mariano's I found a display with a variety of fingerling potatoes. So I stood there rummaging through the basket and picking out just the purple ones. Just a tip incase you can't find larger ones!

:RECIPE:

1. Boil 6 purple potatoes for 15-20 minutes(until tender).

2. Peel the potatoes. 

3. Combine in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mash until smooth.

4. Garnish with greek yogurt and chopped scallions and ENJOY! 

The recipe was incredibly easy to follow an they came out beautifully! 

Baked Garlic Nuts + Living on the Edge with My Nut Allergy

I would never say I'm naturally gifted at cooking but I like to try and I don't even mind when I make mistakes. I was gifted this book The Forest Feast for christmas and I absolutely love it. It's a vegetarian book and while I do now eat poultry and fish, I haven't eaten red meat since 2005, except for a small slip up of a cube of bbq pork in Hong Kong and that was so that I wouldn't appear rude! The author created these incredible recipes and even more beautiful photos that fill every page with color and amazing composition.

My first attempt from The Forest Feast is the Baked Garlic Nuts. I should also point out that I am deathly allergic to nuts but I wanted to try the recipe out for my boyfriend who loves them so I kept my epi pen nearby just incase a freak accident occurred, which would happen to me seeing as I took a nasty fall two days ago and sent my phone slow motion flying through the air. I saw hit the ground hard and I still had time to look up and watch my phone doing summersaults and finally bounce a few times before landing under a car. We both survived though. 

I've NEVER seen or peeled this much garlic in my entire life, I thought the 20 garlic cloves might have been a misprint but that's what the recipe called for. However I will say you could easily get away with half and it would still taste just as delicious and leave you with half the potent breath!

RECIPE

20 peeled cloves of garlic *

1 T finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 t olive oil

1/4 t truffle salt**

1 cup unsalted raw mixed nuts 

First: Mix and roast the everything BUT the nuts on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until garlic is soft and golden.

Second: Mix the nuts into the garlic mixture on the baking sheet and roast another 5-7 minutes. Then transfer to a bowl and add kosher salt to taste!

* Like I said before 20 cloves is a little intense so I would do maybe 10, but hey if you love garlic then go crazy!

** I didn't have truffle salt nor did I find it at the supermarket so I used regular kosher salt.

Then thats it and your kitchen smells super delicious afterwards! This is a super easy snack to make for everyday life or dinner parties, or if your like me a "lethal" snack to make and handle for your boyfriend. So if your allergic like me and like to live on the edge try making this great snack. Thank you Erin Gleason for this BEAUTIFUL book!