The Year of Living Audaciously

Former food blog, now travel blog - following my year as a Fulbright ETA in Indonesia

Pumpkin Pie Dip

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This dip is REALLY good! And it’s healthy too! I whipped this up last night in our suite (so easy too because it doesn’t require any cooking and so I can do the whole thing in my room!) and now it is going to be a great little treat to have in the fridge all week. Eat it with apples, pita bread, carrots, crackers… anything!

Pumpkin Pie Dip
Recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff
Makes about 6 cups (12 servings). Mine made two of the tupperwares in the picture above.

Ingredients:

15 oz can pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
6 oz. fat free Greek yogurt
8 oz. Cool Whip (fat-free)
apples, bananas, crackers, cookies…

Mix pumpkin with brown sugar, vanilla and spices, blend well. Mix in yogurt. Fold in coolwhip and chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

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I’ve made several batches of ice cream this summer with my new Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker 🙂 And it’s been awesome! Molly Moon’s Ice Cream is my favorite ice creamery in the Seattle area and they came out with a cookbook this year. It’s got some fantastic recipes in it and I have love recreating them! I’m not going to give out the recipes in the book because I want to support this local business and make you buy the book!

However, I tried a frozen yogurt recipe from pinterest last week and it was great! So here it is!
Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt 
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes
Makes about 1 quart
 
Ingredients: 
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used fresh)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your blueberries are, and how sweet you want the result to be) – I did 3/4 cups because my blueberries were fresh and sweet!
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups full fat plain yogurt (full fat yogurt is preferred, if you are use low-fat or non-fat yogurt, substitute 1/4 cup of it with heavy whipping cream – which is what I did)
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions: 
1. Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the blueberries. When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the yogurt and milk until completely incorporated. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold.
3. Process the blueberry yogurt mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions (usually about 25 minutes). In the last 5 minutes, add the chocolate chips. Let firm up a bit by freezing it for several hours.

Corn, Zucchini, Green Chilies and Lime Salad

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A couple of weeks ago, Tom made his delicous chicken tacos (recipe to come at a future date!) and put me in charge of a side dish. I found this recipe via pinterest and it looked good so we went for it!

And boy was it a success! The flavors were a fantastic mix – sweet summer corn, citrus from the lime, and intensity from the garlic and cilantro… It definitely has a kick to it though so beware of how much of the jalapeno you put in 🙂
 Corn, Zucchini, Green Chili and Lime Salad
Corn, Zucchini, Green Chili and Lime Salad
Recipe adapted from gluten-free goddess recipes
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 smallish zucchini squash, sliced into half moons
3 ears of fresh corn, kernels sliced off
3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, diced
1/2 cup roasted mild green chile, chopped
4 oz. chopped jalapenos
4-5 cloves fresh peeled garlic, chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Lemon pepper, to taste
2-3 good pinches of ground cumin
A drizzle of raw agave sweetener
Juice from 1 fresh large lime (more juice or water, if needed)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges for serving
Directions:
  1. Prepare all ingredients (chop, slice, etc). Do it now, because it all comes together fast and you need to be ready!
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the squash for three to four minutes, until it starts to turn a bit golden. Add the corn, tomatoes, green chile, jalapenos, garlic, sea salt, lemon pepper, cumin, a drizzle of raw agave, and lime juice; stir to combine.
  3. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add more liquid if needed. To serve, stir in the fresh cilantro. Top with lime wedges.

Lentil Quinoa Salad

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To go along with our Hearty Whole Grain Basil Bread and Brown Butter Parmesan Chicken Penne we made a lentil quinoa salad.

Lime zest in the dressing gave the vinaigrette a bold flavor along with the fresh cilantro. It was a delicious, refreshing, summer salad!

Lentil Quinoa Salad
(Recipe from foodnetwork.com)
Serves 4

1/2 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups
1/2 cup lentils
1 tsp. Dijon mustgrard
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 lime, zested
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup. chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a large microwave-proof bowl with a cover, add the rinsed quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water. Cover and microwave on high for 9 minutes. Let it sit for 2 minutes then stir. Quinoa should be tender enough to eat, but with a little “pop” upon biting.

Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a saucepan, simmer the lentils in 2 cups water unitl the lentils are tender, but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.

In a small bowl, whisk the mustard and vinegar together, and drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion. Add the garlic powder, lime zest, and salt and paper – to taste.

To assemble the salad: in a medium salad bowl, mix the quinoa, lentils, green oninos and cilantro. Top the salad with the dressing, toss to coat and serve. (If you have the time, let is sit – mixed together – in the fridge for 30 minutes so that the lentils and quinoa absorb the dressing).

Summertime Salad

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After cleaning out our pantry the other day, I found several ingredients that I didn’t know we had, but will definitely be using in the near future!

On the simpler side, I found some cranberries, sunflower seeds and almonds and thought it would make for a yummy summer salad!

Summertime Salad

2 handfuls of mixed greens
1/2 apple, chopped
cranberries
almonds
sunflower seeds
Feta
Poppyseed dressing (I used a storebought)
Mix it all together – use as much of the toppings as you like!


Strawberry Shortcakes with Lemon Cream

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Made these for our first BBQ of the summer! They were delicious! A perfect summer dessert!



Strawberry Shortcakes with Lemon Cream
(Recipe from Food and Wine Magazine)


Recipe says it makes 6 – but it made 8 for me. Granted mine were probably smaller than the recipe called for. 

BISCUITS

  1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  2. 3/4 cup cake flour
  3. 3 tablespoons sugar
  4. 2 teaspoons baking powder
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  6. 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
  7. 1 cup heavy cream
  8. 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (buy it – it’s totally worth it! Makes them really good!)

LEMON CREAM

  1. Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  2. 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, preferably from Meyer lemons
  3. 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  4. 1 large egg
  5. 1 large egg yolk
  6. Pinch of salt
  7. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  8. 1 cup heavy cream

STRAWBERRIES

  1. 2 pints strawberries, quartered
  2. 2 tablespoons sugar
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose and cake flours with the sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the cold butter until it is the size of small peas. Stir in the cream until a shaggy dough forms.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Roll the dough into a 7-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 2 3/4-inch or 3-inch biscuit cutter (or a cup!), stamp out 5 biscuits. Gently gather the scraps and reroll them; cut out 1 more round so you have a total of 6 biscuits.
  3. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet and brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Let cool.
  4. Set a strainer over a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine half of the lemon zest with the lemon juice, sugar, egg, egg yolk, salt and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Immediately strain the curd into the bowl. Whisk in the remaining lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of butter. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
  5. In a medium bowl, softly whip the cream. Fold the lemon curd into the whipped cream and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
  6. In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes.
  7. Split the biscuits in half and arrange the bottom halves on plates. Mound the lemon cream on the biscuits, top with the strawberries and their juices and replace the tops. Serve right away.
MAKE AHEAD The biscuits can be stored in an airtight container overnight. Recrisp them in a warm oven and let cool before serving. The lemon curd can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. The lemon cream can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.

A Look Back

This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website and the views and opinions expressed here are entirely my own, and do not represent the U.S. Department of State or the Fulbright Program.