Category Archives: Recipes

Gluten-Free Berry Cobbler

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Ever since Mother’s Day Brunch at AQ, I’ve had this thing for Berry Cobblers.

At AQ they had a $20 3-course prix fixe (yes you read that right, $20 for 3 courses in San Francisco at a James Beard award nominee… if you aren’t already open-table-ing a reservation right now I would get on it) and course numero tres was the world’s best Berry Cobbler… in cute little individual sized cast iron pans no less.

That is not from AQ. That is from my kitchen. But you get the idea.

I proceeded to eat half of boyfriends and half of my moms. And could have gone for more.

A couple of weeks later as I was perusing the hard-hitting news (People Magazine on the iPad) and came across a seemingly simple recipe for berry cobbler from the executive chef at New Orleans’ Gautreau restaurant, Sue Zemanick. I virtually dog-eared it (took a picture of the page) and completely forgot about it.

Then on Monday, boyfriend and I went to my parents house for dinner and my mom had homemade apple crisp for dessert. Fruity, cobblery craving: satisfied.

Yesterday I was at my parents house for the afternoon sun-bathing and lunching with my mom when lo-and-behold she produced the same berry cobbler recipe she had torn out of People Magazine (no folks, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree around here).

FATE!

“Mom, we’re utilizing your 7-times-bigger-than-my-own-tiny apartment-kitchen and we’re making cobbler. Grab the ramekins!”

We followed the recipe exactly, subbing in gluten-free flour and soymilk. Oh also we halved it since my dad and boyfriend aren’t big on the sweets. More for us! :)

Gluten Free Berry Cobbler

2 pints strawberries (hulled and halved)

1 pint blueberries

1 c sugar (divided)

1 T cornstarch

3/4 c gluten-free flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 egg

1/4 c soy milk

1/2 t vanilla

6 T butter (melted)

Preheat over to 375*. In a bowl, combine all berries, 1/3 c plus 2 tsp sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. In a third bowl stir egg, milk, vanilla and butter. Add dry ingredients. Stir well.

Place six 6-oz ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide fruit evenly and top each with a few spoonfuls of batter. Bake 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Cool 5 minutes then serve.

Since I’m physically (or mentally) incapable of halving a recipe in my head, mom took over the measurements, I took over preparation work. And only made one mistake of pouring the milk right into the “dry” bowl of ingredients when apparently you’re supposed to pour it into the “wet bowl” first, then mix together all at once.

What started as this:

Quickly turned into this:

SO DELICIOUS. 

I naturally had to dig in while it was fresh from the oven and it was unreal. Never would have been able to tell it was gluten-free either.

These would be perfect for a dinner-party or BBQ dessert. So easy to make, beyond flavorful, and full of fresh summer berries. You can use any berries in it – we didn’t have strawberries on hand so instead we used raspberries and blueberries.

Top with some vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream and you’ve got yourself one heck of a dessert! Enjoy! :)

A (healthy) Cinco de Mayo Treat

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hope you’re enjoying the sunshine, and partaking in a refreshing beverage!

Margaritas are one of my favorite cocktails… When done right. I love the fresh flavors, the sweet agave, the tangy like, and the kick of tequila.

One thing I’m not a fan of? Sugary margarita mix and syrups that are loaded with calories and things I can’t even begin to pronounce.

Enter the most refreshing, delicious and HEALTHY homemade margarita! (Mamacita, consider this a challenge.)

1 part tequila
2 parts fresh squeezed lime juice
Squeeze of raw agave nectar
Himalayan Salt Crystals

Fill a shaker with ice

Add ingredients

Shake it like a salt shaker, shake it like a salt shaker…

Pour into glass

Garnish with fresh lime and Himalayan salt crystals

Enjoy!

(Tequila entirely optional… It’s just as refreshing without! Only a little less fun if you’re me.)

Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles

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To set the scene it’s been a rainy, gloomy, cloudy and gray couple of days in San Francisco this week. When those adjectives combine, there are few things I’d rather do than snuggle up under a blanket on the couch in cozy clothes and watch hours upon hours of TV.

Something that ranks just above that extreme level of laziness (barely) is baking.

I got home from Pilates yesterday, amped up by the delivery of my new stainless steel Cuisinart hand-mixer (we have zero extra counter space for a Kitchen-Aid mixer but believe you me… when we do, the stainless steel version will be ours) and brand-spanking new Silpat and knew I wanted to bake. I also knew I needed to use whatever ingredients we had on hand as venturing out in the horrific weather wasn’t about to happen. (You think people are bad drivers in fill-in-the-blank-city normally? Try adding in pouring rain to the equation. Recipe for disaster.)

I have always had quite the love affair with Snickerdoodles. They are my all-time favorite cookie which may or may not have something to do with the copious amount of cinnamon involved. I will do just about anything for cinnamon.

So naturally when I saw a recipe for Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles on Skinnytaste, one of my favorite food blogs, I knew I had to try them out.

Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles


Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour (I used Whole Wheat Flour)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tbsp agave
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbsp sugar*
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon*
  • cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line two baking sheets with Silpat mats.

Combine flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine 1 cup of sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.  Add the agave, vanilla and egg; beat well.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating just until combined.

 

Cover and chill for 10 minutes.

 

In a medium bowl, combine 3 tbsp sugar with cinnamon, stirring with a whisk to combine.  With moist hands, shape dough into 42 (1-inch) balls.  Roll balls in sugar/cinnamon mixture.

 

Place balls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets (I slightly flattened them).   

Bake 375°F for 5-7 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft). 

 

Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.  Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.  Enjoy!

These cookies are incredible – I’m guessing because I used all whole-wheat flour mine came out a bit darker and a bit denser, but just as delicious. I actually prefer a fluffier cookie, so these were right up my alley! For a more traditional snickerdoodle, just follow the recipe exactly.

Have a great Wednesday!

 

The 3-Day

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Hope you all had a lovely 3-day weekend! I for one would like to know why every weekend can’t be a 3-day weekend. I feel about 100 times more refreshed than I do after a normal weekend.

Our long weekend was a perfect mix of all the good things – running, pilates, food, wine, friends and relaxing. I honestly could have used a few more days!

After a late night Friday, I managed to drag myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7am on Saturday (after a few Grey Goose and sodas and a 2:30am bedtime the night before- ouch) to fit in a 4-mile run before Pilates Teacher Training at 9. I actually found out on Friday night that through work, boyfriend and I will be headed to Hawaii in 15 (!!!!) days, so the run was mainly fueled by thoughts of being on a warm, tropical, beach in juuust over 2 weeks. I gotta say though, I cannot wait for our vacation, fresh Hawaiian fruit and fish, macadamia nut banana waffles, and lots of cocktails on the beach! November to May also just happens to be when the Humpback whales take up residence off the coast of Hawaii bringing me thismuch closer to my lifelong goal of seeing a whale in the wild. It will happen.

A highlight of the long weekend? Heading down the coast to Santa Cruz (after stopping at our favorite Italian deli in Pacifica) for a double date night!  When we arrived, Keith and April (amazing host and hostess!) had an amazing spread of farmer’s market appetizers (cheese, pita chips, hummus, fresh fruit), and a refreshing Hanna Chardonnay. In lieu of going out for dinner, Keith broke out his Paella pan, we hit Whole Foods for ingredients, and he got to cooking! Hello homemade Paella, and about 6 more bottles of delicious Mazocco and Rosenblum Zinfandels.

I mean just look at it. Nice work Keith!

Saffron Rice, Haricot Verts, Fresh Clams, Fresh Mussels, Fresh Shrimp, Chicken, Roasted Red Peppers

We woke up Sunday morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and ready for a big homemade breakfast and a day at the beach.

A lovely weekend indeed.

We headed back on Sunday night after some beach-side appetizers and yours truly was in a coma on the couch by 9:58pm. I really am the life of the party.

Yesterday, after a refreshing 10-hours of sleep, we woke up ready to get back in the groove. I headed out for what was meant to be a 5-mile run… that magically turned into 10.5 miles, and boyfriend hit the gym.

When I got to my 2.5 mile turn-around for the 5-mile loop, I felt great, my legs were solid and it was perfect running weather (overcast, 60′s). Had it not been for the abundance of holiday weekend tourists riding extremely precariously on their Blazing Saddles bicycles, it would have been the most perfect run ever. 10 miles is the perfect long-run distance for me.

Pre-Pilates Teacher Training (I promise I’ll work on an update for that – we’ve completed the mat module and moved on to the reformer in our lecture series!) we settled in for a relaxing afternoon of Hollow Chicken Round 2, and to watch the movie 50/50. Have you seen it? Parts were an absolute sob-fest, but I really enjoyed it, thought it was very-well done, and it made me hate Anna Kendrick a lot less. (Seriously, was she not the most obnoxious type-A person in “Up In the Air”?) Dare I say I even like her now? Yes I do judge actors/actresses on the characters they play in movies, even if it couldn’t be further from the truth.

A lovely 3-day weekend indeed! What was the best part of yours?

Cold Weather = Hot Food

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So the past couple of weeks or so, I’ve been on a cooking tear in the kitchen. (As opposed to cooking another room of the apartment, yes.)

I’m not much when it comes to creating recipes out of thin air (or ingredients), but darnit I can follow a recipe like you wouldn’t believe.

Whenever I’m looking for a new recipe or dinner idea, I will always check my favorite food blogs first. I want firsthand reviews, a healthy and easy recipe, and lots and lots of pictures.

It’s been really cold and chilly out lately, and we’ve been in the mood for comfort-y foods… only without all of the heaviness. We usually eat dinner late, so the last thing we want is to go to bed stuffed to the brim.

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When the temperatures dipped into the arctic zone (low 50′s, sorry everywhere but California, we’re spoiled wimps here) it was time to take action.

I had bookmarked this delicious looking Sweet and Spicy Chili from Iowa Girl Eats (and if you don’t already follow her blog, I highly recommend you start – her recipes are easy, very healthy, and delicious, and taste amazing!)

She of course found a way to make chili (probably the ugliest food known to man) look amazing by serving it in mason jars and topping it with cornbread (best idea ever).

I served it in bowls, but don’t fret – we didn’t miss out on any of the flavor.

Just a lot all of the style.

Seriously, the girl has talent.

Sweet & Spicy Cornbread Topped Chili

Ingredients:

1/2 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1lb 90/10 ground beef

Salt and pepper

1-29oz can tomato sauce

1-15oz can black beans, drained & rinsed

1-16oz can baked Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans

Chili powder

Cayenne pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Cumin

Brown sugar (optional)

1 recipe cornbread batter (boxed or homemade)

Directions:

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and ground beef to the pot, season with salt & pepper, then cook, breaking up the ground beef, until no longer pink. Drain well and return to the pan.

2. Turn the heat down to medium low and add in tomato sauce, black beans and baked beans. Season with chili powder and cayenne pepper to your tastes, then add in dashes of onion powder, garlic powder and cumin. Let the chili simmer for 5-10 minutes, then taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Ladle chili into mason jars, then top with cornbread batter, leaving at least 2″ clear at the top of the jar. Bake on a cookie sheet for 17-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Since I was low on fresh out of Mason Jars, I let the chili simmer for a bit longer than 5-10 minutes, and it came out absolutely perfectly. (Which, if you know me, absolutely does not happen every time I set foot in a kitchen.)

My goal is not to burn your eyes with my ridiculously talented photography skills, so I’m going to spare you pictures of how my bowl of chili looked and recommend you just look at  hers instead.

I can’t recommend this recipe enough – it’s simple, it’s easy, it’s delicious, and it’s healthy! Plus it makes a LOT so you’ll have leftovers for the better part of the week. And save money. To go Christmas shopping with. Win-Win as far as I’m concerned.

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I’ve been eating this chili for the better part of a week now and I can’t get enough. Kristin you’re a culinary genius!