Wow, day 4 of brunch week. I hope you have been following along with all the amazing brunch week recipes! Today, I’m sharing a granola recipe. Not just any granola… This is my coconut cherry granola that made its debut at the Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale this past weekend.
Granola is a great make-ahead food. I love to make granola every other week. I typically mix it in with my morning greek yogurt and fruit. If you were entertaining for brunch I would suggest making one or two varieties of granola and creating a granola bar. Chopped fresh fruit, plain or vanilla greek yogurt, granola…. you get the idea. Let your guest build yogurt parfaits! You also won’t have to stress over who likes to eat what… when you give your guest the option it takes the stress off the hostess-with-the-mostess… yah I totally just said that.
Like I mentioned above, I sold this coconut cherry granola at our annual food blogger bake sale. I happened to be the only granola recipes contributed this year. You know–I try to balance out all the unhealthy and fattening baked goods with a little healthy. A nice breakfast treat. While we are on the topic let’s talk about the Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale for a minute. This was my second year co-organizing the bake-sale with my good friend Julie from The Little Kitchen (and third year particiapting). I’m always amazed by the generosity of our fellow food blogging community.
This year we were at The Winter Garden Harvest Festival. With that being said all participants needed to attend the entire day. No one complained… even though it was raining, we all just enjoyed the presence of one another. We talked about food, and baking, blogging, and our personal lives. Despite our rainy weather we all had a great time. I’m sad to say we didn’t raise half the amount of money that we did last year (I know a big part was weather and the other part was that so many of us had pre-sales and other fundraisers outside of our one-day bake sale). However, even though we didn’t raise as much as we wanted I know that all of the money is going to a great cause. We all are fighting to end childhood hunger in America. 1 out of 5 kids in America struggle with childhood hunger! That’s over 16 million children! According to the No Kid Hungry site we helped feed 14 children for an entire year!
I must also give a big special shout-out to the amazing sponsors who donated to our raffle. Without them we wouldn’t have raised half the amount that we did!
KitchenAid donated a $300 Food Processor which our friend over at Droolius.com happened to win!
In a sauce pan on low heat, melt 1/4 cup of coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is melted (do not let it boil) add the coconut extract. Mix well and set to the side.
In a large bowl add quick cooking oats, brown sugar, and sliced almonds. Mix well, then pour the coconut oil on top. Mix some more until well incorporated. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, carefully mix and add 1-1/2 cups coconut flakes. Mix well and then place the pan back in the oven for 30 additional minutes. Remove from the oven, mix, and bake 20 minutes longer. Pour the baked granola back into the large bowl and add dried cherries. Mix and let the granola cool. Package in sealed containers and store for up to one week.
Are you ready for a super easy (and delicious) dessert that you can have on the table in 30 minutes time? Because your time has come… this is the holy grail of entertaining dessert recipes (in my opinion). Meet the Berry Dutch Baby. Everyone I served it to questioned the name, but once I explained it was pretty much like an oversized crepe everyone was sold. I have go-to dinners that I typically make when entertaining like my Feta and Herb Mashed Potatoes, my Greek Cucumber and Tomato Salad, my go-to grilled Pork Tenderloin (which I just realized I’ve yet to share with the world). But I never really had a go-to dessert, until now. After I took one bite I knew this was it.
This was my first time ever making a Dutch Baby (sigh… that sounds so bad if you didn’t realize it was food). I guess I didn’t realize that this would be more of a liquid batter and got a little freaked out. That is when I realized… this must be like a giant crepe.
I will also tell you that I would have never thought to cook the berries for a few minutes to soften them up. To speed up the recipe time you can always cook the fruit while the Dutch Baby is in the oven cooking–but then you will be dirtying up an extra pan. So its up to you and whomever is assigned to dishes to cook it separately.
As the Dutch Baby cooks in the oven it will begin to puff up. Random bubbles will appear, and I can tell you from cooking this that it’s totally normal. As you remove the Dutch Baby from the oven it will begin to slowly deflate. You’ll also want to keep an eye on the edges. You don’t want it to burn. In some areas my edges were a little darker than I would have preferred–thankfully it still tasted delicious.
So whether its for Easter next weekend or a spur-of-the-moment dinner party this Berry Dutch Baby will give the sweetest ending to your party.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until hot, but not brown. Add the berries, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Cook, until the berries are slightly softened (about 2 minutes). Transfer the berries to a bowl.
Wipe out the skillet and place it in the oven.
While the skillet is heating in the oven, using a stand mixer, whisk the eggs until pale and frothy, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, flour, salt 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute (the batter will be thin).
Remove the skillet from the oven and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan with the butter (until melted). Pour in the batter, return the skillet to the oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
While the Dutch Baby cooks, in a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
Remove the Dutch Baby from the oven, top with the berries and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately.
Happy first day of spring! I realize that this is an understatement for some as they shovel their way out of their homes. But for me… since I live in Florida, spring is really here. My garden is flourishing (you would know this if you follow me on Instagram since every other picture is of my garden, right now). So what better way to kickoff the first day of spring than to make a batch of my quick and easy Raspberry Lemonade Pops!
When the fine folks over at Zoku contacted me to do a giveaway I couldn’t pass it up! I’ve been eyeing this revolution quick pop maker for a while now. I also figured what better way to kick off spring than to show you how easy it really is to make ice pops with Zoku. The sky is the limit when it comes to ice pop flavors. I think my husband and I have made ice pops every night for the past two weeks. We experimented a little but mostly reached for prepared items already in our refrigerator. I love Simply Lemonade, so I used the Raspberry Lemonade to create these easy Raspberry Lemonade Pops. No need to mix and concoct my own flavor when I can make my favorite drink into an ice pop! (btw… Simply Lemonade has no clue who I am–its just a brand that I buy on a weekly basis!)
These pops are super refreshing and I can’t wait for summer to get here because I can see us indulging in these on hot summer nights. We also tried traditional lemonade (which was equally delicious). We tried thinning down Chobani yogurt and that was good (and a little tangy). We poured gatorade in the pop maker one night and those we felt would be perfect treat after the gym or when your sick!
So you might be wondering how to use the Zoku Quick Pop Maker? In just a few steps you get ice pops and there is no need to plug in this machine and make excess noise! Here is a quick video from Zoku on how to use the Zoku Quick Pop Maker.
Ok, enough about my easy Raspberry Lemonade Pops (or the infinite number of flavor options). Let’s get on with this fun Zoku giveaway.
Please fill out the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win (if the widget does not load please click on the link). Mandatory question must be entered to be eligible to win. *If your question does not appear right away it is because it needs to be approved–please be patient. Giveaway open to United States Residents. Giveaway ends April 1, 2013 at 12:00pm.
Disclosure:I received a Zoku Quick Pop Maker for review purposes and to keep. I was not compensated in any way. One lucky reader will win a Zoku Quick Pop Maker per giveaway guidelines. As always all opinions are my own.
Do green juices/smoothies freak you out? If you just answered “yes” don’t be freaked out. In my Pear, Mango, Spinach Juice the green coloring comes from the spinach; however, I promise you–you can’t taste any spinach what-so-ever. You just get the green coloring and of course all the nutritional benefits that come with this juice.
This is a naturally sweet juice thanks to the plump pears and juicy mangos. Its also thick like a smoothie, but technically a juice. I like to call it a smoothie but I know that some people will get all up in arms about juice vs smoothie terminology. Whatever you like to call this Pear, Mango, Spinach Juice is totally up to you. I simply call it delicious and so does my neighbor. The day I made these I brought my neighbor one of these over (which of course she loved it). If your into making your own naturally sweet juices/smoothies I highly recommend giving this fruit/vegetable combo a try.
Using a Magimix by Robot-Coupe Food Processor Juice Extractor & Smoothie Attachment (or blender) slowly add the pears to the machine followed by the mango and lastly the spinach. Extract the juice, and turn off machine. Remove the food processor bowl from the machine. Pour the juice into two small glasses or one large 10 oz. glass.
Who loves breakfast? ME!!! Two years ago I shared with you my favorite buttermilk waffle recipe. For years I had searched high in low for the holy grail of waffle recipes. This my friends is it. These are light and fluffy Belgium style waffles. And to make it even more decadent I top mine with a homemade blueberry syrup and freshly whipped cream. I mean come on… breakfast can’t get any better than this!
I can’t remember when I first started making waffles. It really feels like years ago and well, it was. I think I was in my early years of college living at home with my parents. I went to Kohls one day with my mom and decided to pick up a cheapy waffle maker. I want to say I spent $20 max. Both my boyfriend, now husband, and my mom thought I was crazy. They figured it was another countertop appliance that would maybe get used a handful of times. Boy were they wrong. I used that cheap waffle maker at least once a week and no one complained in my house at the tasty waffles I was producing. Although now thinking back, they were hard and dense. Nothing like my buttermilk waffle recipe I use now.
Living in the South, tea is a staple. Well, sweet tea that is. Being that I’ve lived in the South for almost half my life I consider myself a southerner. However, I’m totally ok with drinking unsweetened tea (gasp! I know). My husband on the other hand doens’t discriminate. He loves the sweet tea, and he loves flavored teas. So when Primula reached out to me and asked if I would do a product review and giveaway for the Flavor It Pitcher 3-in-1 Beverage System, because I knew that this was something my husband would love. And he might actually make a few brews of his own.
I promise this isn’t becoming a smoothie blog… it’s just I’m on a smoothie kick and wanted to share a few of my favorite smoothies I’ve been concocting lately. Today, I’m going to show you a great way to incorporate fresh and frozen berries and Chobani Blueberry Greek Yogurt to make one hell-of-a-smoothie! I love making smoothies and adding the Greek Yogurt to this smoothie gives it a full body flavor and of course utilizing a flavored yogurt makes it that much more berry-licious. Yes, I just used that word. Don’t judge. You know you want to get berry-licious.
Once again, I played in manual on my camera and am overall happy with my photos. Still a big learning game for me! So, now that I’m done with my week of smoothies I’d love to hear what your favorite smoothie is?
Using a Magimix by Robot-Coupe Food Processor Juice Extractor & Smoothie Attachment (or blender) slowly add 2-1/2 cups of berries to the machine. Extract the juice, and turn off machine. Remove the food processor bowl from the machine and add 4 oz blueberry greek yogurt plus one tablespoon of honey. Carefully mix until Greek yogurt and honey are well incorporated. Pour the smoothie into two small glasses or one large 10 oz. glass.
Notes
*always make sure you clean your berries very well and discard any stems that may be still attached to them.
I’ve been on a homemade smoothie kick lately. Not in an effort to eat better (although it does help), but just because… they taste good! It also helped that I recently got a Juice Extractor & Smoothie Attachment for my Magimix that is out of this world awesome. I also received a case (as in a dozen) packages of strawberries from Parkesdale Farm Market in Plant City, Florida shortly after receiving my attachment. The timing could not have been more perfect. After I juiced quite a few fresh strawberries, I then cleaned up the rest of the strawberries and froze them for future tasty smoothies.
Over Christmas break (well it was break for me, I had 12 days off from work) I decided to take some time to get to know my camera better and move into manual mode. This was my first recipe I shot in manual. Over all, I’m beyond pleased with how my photos came out. Sure, there are things I can do to improve, but its a start. A start toward one of the many goals I’ve set for myself in 2013!
Using a Magimix by Robot-Coupe Food Processor Juice Extractor & Smoothie Attachment (or blender) add the apple (peel on) through the smoothie attachment, then add the frozen banana, followed by the frozen strawberries. Carefully, remove the frozen juice from the food processor base. Mix the juice well and pour it into two glasses.
This recipe is brought to you by Katie Jasiewicz of Katies Cucina
Disclaimer:I have a working relationship with both Magimix and Parkesdale Farm Market. I was not paid to write this post. As always all opinions are my own.
Yesterday, I shared last week’s Google Hangout with Nicole. Her talk inspired me to make some more seafood from my box of seafood that was sent to me the other month! I’m going to be honest–I’ve never cooked with Halibut before. I’ve eaten it plenty of times out at restaurants but never cooked it. I decided to browse the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute website for recipe ideas. Since I did not want to experiment on this beautiful piece of fish–I wanted to use a tried and true recipe! All most all of the recipes on ASMI can be cooked either using frozen fish or thawed! You choose. I just so happened to have my fish thawed, so I went that route.
This recipe made my husband and I feel like we were dining in a five-star restaurant! Seriously, it was a super fancy dish for a weeknight meal! I suppose if I had planned better that I could have made the fruit salsa the night before. Note to those who try the dish: Make sure you rinse and de-seed your chipotle peppers. I have this horrible habit of not reading directions fully and as I was chopping my one chipotle pepper (not rinsed nor de-seed) I decided that it would be best if I only put in half the minced pepper. Wowzas! I’m glad I made that mental note to myself because this salsa had a good kick to it. Any more and I’m not sure if I could have eaten it! The fresh spinach gave a nice compliment to the dish. Oh and on a side note… this recipe for the pineapple salsa makes a rather large batch… so be prepared to have leftovers and indulge the next day with chips and spicy pineapple salsa!
Alaska Halibut with Pineapple, Chipotle & Raisin Salsa
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 2
Ingredients
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbsp Captain Morgan Private Stock
1 fresh pineapple, trimmed, cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick*
Vegetable oil, as needed
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, rinsed, seeded and finely diced
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 orange, zested and juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green onion, sliced
2 tbsp roasted red pepper, chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
salt
2 Alaska Halibut steaks or fillets (6 to 8 oz. each)
Lemon pepper seasoning, to taste
2 cups spinach
Directions
Soak raisins in Captain Morgan Private Stock (rum) for 30 minutes; drain. While the raisins are soaking: heat the grill to medium-high (400ºF). Brush pineapple with oil; grill until lightly caramelized on both sides (about 10 minutes). Cool slightly and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; place in mixing bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine chipotles, lime zest and juice, and orange zest and juice. Whisk in olive oil. Pour the liquid mixture over pineapple chunks, fold in green onions, red peppers, cilantro and raisins. Season with salt, to taste and set aside.
Brush halibut and grill surface with oil. Sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning on halibut. Grill for 8 minutes, turning once during cooking. Cook just until fish is opaque throughout. Place halibut on a bed of spinach and serve with salsa.
Notes
*You can cook the Halibut frozen. If cooking frozen be sure to rinse off any ice glaze. Cook for 13 minutes if frozen.
This recipe is brought to you by Katie Jasiewicz of Katies Cucina
Disclaimer: I received a box of seafood from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. I was not compensated nor required to blog about any of my experiences with their product. As always, all opinions are my own.
Ever since we got home from Europe it has slowly started to cool down in Florida. When I say “cool down” I mean a low in the 60′s in the evening. The cooler weather at night makes me feel like fall has finally arrived! I made this cake last month before we left for vacation when it was still very much hot, but now this cake is calling my name even more so. When I first spotted this recipe I love the idea of “layering” the apples in three ways: applesauce, fresh apple slices, and apple cider glaze!
This is also one of those ideal cakes that could be classified as dessert breakfast. Yes, I’ve created that new category in life. Last year I posted about a Coconut-Lime Berry Cake that fell into the same category. Whatever time of day you decide to eat this cake, I’m sure you’ll love it and make you fall in love with Fall all over again.
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp fine salt
1-3/4 cups packed light-brown sugar, divided
1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1-1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced crosswise
2-1/2 cups apple cider
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square metal baking pan and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set to the side. Using a stand mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs; beat until combined. Reduce speed to low then add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions applesauce. Beat until combined.
Transfer the batter to the greased pan and smooth top. Arrange apples in 3 rows on top of the batter, overlapping slightly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes.
While the cake is cool: in a medium pan, cook cider and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar over medium-high until thick and syrupy, 15 to 18 minutes. Using parchment, remove cake from pan. Brush glaze over top and sides and let sit until set, 1 hour.
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. {more}
As the Dutch Baby cooks in the oven it will begin to puff up. Random bubbles will appear, and I can tell you from cooking this that it’s totally normal. As you remove the Dutch Baby from the oven it will begin to slowly deflate. You’ll also want to keep an eye on the edges. You don’t want it to burn. In some areas my edges were a little darker than I would have preferred–thankfully it still tasted delicious.
Happy first day of spring! I realize that this is an understatement for some as they shovel their way out of their homes. But for me… since I live in Florida, spring is really here. My garden is flourishing (you would know this if you follow me on 
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. 
