Mother’s Day is about one month away. LuMu Toffee would be a perfect gift for any confectionary loving mom.
The owners of LuMu Candies are a married couple who started their relationship as a long distance couple. The would always sign off on e-mails with "Love You Miss You." When Joanne and Norman made the leap into marriage in 2004, they also made the leap into owning a business and LuMu (short for Love U Miss U) was born.
I have a lot of admiration for really good, buttery toffee with a bite that melts in your mouth because after many batches of burned, overly sticky toffee, I have yet to master toffee in my own kitchen. So I tip my hat to candy makers at LuMu for toffee well done!
LuMu toffee was also exceptionally good crushed and mixed into some high quality vanilla ice cream. Take that Heath Bar Crunch!
FMI info on LuMu Toffee or to order some for Mother’s Day, click here.
Need I say more? Take two of the Mayone’s most beloved treats (caramel and chocolate) then mix them together into an ice cream sauce. Absolute Nirvana! This post from Under the High Chair couldn’t have come at a better time because I have been searching for something yummy to bring along for Easter gifts.
This recipe originally published in the Joy of Cooking. Sugar is caramelized. Butter and cream are added to create a tawny ambrosia. Chocolate is the finishing touch.
We liked the sauce best warm, although it was pretty darn good cold off of a spoon. The caramel base gives this dessert sauce a more complex flavor than traditional hot fudge. While I am swooning, I might add that this sauce is outstanding stirred into coffee for a little mocha, caramel latte treat.
The original recipe suggested bringing the caramel almost to smoke point before adding the butter, I tend to like underdone caramel so I have written the instructions accordingly.
Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce via UTHC via Hippo Flambe
adapted slightly from The 1997 Joy of Cooking
Makes approximately 2 cups
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 Tbsp butter, cut into small squares
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
3 oz. high quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chocolate chips
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
Place sugar in a small heavy saucepan and pour water over the top. Place the pan over medium high heat. Gently stir the water and sugar together. Once the the sugar is dissolved, stop stirring. Do not let the syrup come to a boil until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Let the syrup boil. Once the sugar is beginning to become a golden hue, reduce the heat to medium-low. Depending on your pan and your heat source, this will not take more than a few minutes. Gently stir a the caramel only a few times.
Gently mix the butter into the caramel with a heatproof spatula or whisk. Be careful as it will bubble up. Once the butter is fully incorporated stir in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth.
If the sauce becomes lumpy, heat over very low heat while stirring until it is smooth and promptly turning off the heat when it is smooth again. Add the chocolate and stir until it is melted and incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
Ohhh, this soup is so good! It is the kind of good soup where you find yourself sopping up any remnants in the bowl with bread or simply wishing you had a piece of bread so that no soup would be wasted.
Yellow split peas and red lentils are the back bone of this soup.
It is perfectly seasoned with toasted curry powder as well as scallions and fresh ginger sauteed in a bit of butter. Tomato paste and coconut milk give the soup its body and its richness.
Yellow raisins are the finishing touch that will send your taste buds into overload. You cannot see the raisins because they are the same color as the soup but every few spoonfuls, a raisin will be included and its unexpected burst of sweetness is just plain deliciousness.
Be sure to add the full 2 tsp. of salt, without it the soup will not be balanced. If you would like to do a little palate training, set aside a few spoonfuls of soup before you add the salt. Then compare the salted and unsalted samples. It is a clear demonstration of the flavor power of just the right amount of salt.
Scallions and cilantro stirred in just before serving because Marco thinks that he doesn’t like cilantro. We served the soup over some cooked brown rice as suggested. It is not necessary but does offer a nice textural contrast.
Maybe you cannot book a retreat at Esalen but you can eat like you are there. Enjoy!
For the recipe posted on 101 Cookbooks, click here.
FMI on Meatless Monday, click here.
Craving something decadent? This recipe offers the ultimate flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter. And yes, they taste as good as they look.
Quite sturdy, these bars would be an excellent offering at a bake sale. A crisp, buttery, brown sugar shortbread crust is baked, then a peanut butter chocolate ganache forms the top layer. I was especially curious about this recipe because of the coffee used in the chocolate layer. It does not offer a distinctive coffee note but it does enhance the chocolate flavor.
Flavorista Mimi found this recipe in the December 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, it was a prize winning reader recipe in the Favorite Childhood Sweets Category. I tested the recipe in a 9×13-inch pan because it is a more common pan size than a 15×10. It worked just fine.
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (12-oz. pkg.) semisweet chocolate pieces
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup hot strong coffee
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan or line the pan with foil or parchment; set aside. For cookie base, in large mixing bowl beat the 3/4 cup butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar; beat until combined, occasionally scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg, vanilla, and salt until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Evenly spread dough in prepared pan.
2. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until edges are golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes 36 bars.
3. For frosting, in small saucepan combine chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Transfer chocolate mixture to a medium bowl. Whisk in coffee and peanut butter until combined. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread on cookie base. Let stand until frosting is set.
PS – NYC’s Flavorista Phebe – This one is for you!
The show was packed! The best spot to browse new trends is the basement where I was not disappointed. There was a bevy of wonderfully creative products made by intrepid entrepreneurs.
Ingredient trends include: Anything coconut from coconut ice cream, to non-dairy milk alternatives, to coconut sugar; Kombucha of all different flavors; Probiotics in all sorts of products and agave used as an ingredient in beverages, ice cream and as an alternative to honey.
Nature’s Agave offers 3 different types of agave: Clear, amber and raw. The flavors of each were unique and invite experimentation!
Oogave is an agave sweetened soda which launched in Colorado and is very tasty. I liked the watermelon flavor.
Here is a sampling of what other products await you at your favorite natural foods stores:
Rhythm Chips are super tasty kale chips and one of the more unique items I tried at the show.
Another "raw" product I liked is from Earthlings Organics – their Rawnolais are distinctive, nutritious and delicious.
Capsaicin spiced elixir by Prometheus Springs was incredibly interesting. They did a great job on the flavor. The chilies are a little hot but not so hot that you needed to eat some bread or rice right away. These would be really fun to pair with different types of food. A true flavor trip, especially as a cocktail mixer!
Boulder’s Good Belly has some fantastic new flavors and introduced one for kids, a large sized beverage called Splash, and a handy to go pack.
Activate Drinks have a unique cap that allows you to add your vitamins into the water.
Coconut anything is hot, hot, hot but my attention was drawn to coconut sugar. This is a low glycemic sugar which is similar in flavor to brown sugar but without the molasses. The sap is collected from the flowering buds of the coconut tree.
In the protein supplement arena there were two exciting new products: One family of protein drinks from Evolution Fresh are outstanding. With 3 flavors (chocolate, mocha, and chai) and 31 grams of protein, these are the best ready to drink protein drinks I have ever had. They won’t be launching until April and mostly in California, but keep you eyes out, they are on the move.
Another interesting protein product is Tera’s Whey, "chef inspired and functional flavors of whey protein" from organic cheese producers. They even offer goat whey. With flavors like yumberry, pomegranate, Bourbon Vanilla, blueberry and chocolate, whey is no longer boring.
Overall it was a great show. I was relieved to see that the economy hasn’t stifled creativity. There were many beautiful and tasty new products.
Warning: If you are a piece of fruit a bit past your prime you will be turned into a baked good. I do not like wasting food, it really bums me out so overripe bananas become muffins and apples on the counter a bit too long are turned into cake. Baking at home saves money and I’d rather my children eat cake made with butter than store-bought cake made with shortening.
This recipe is the most recent apple cake in my kitchen. My niece, Anna, is absolutely crazy for it. She left my house with the leftover cake and asked her mom if she could eat it for dessert and breakfast. I must say, I like the way the girl thinks.
A classic buttermilk batter is topped with apple slices that have been tossed with cinnamon and sugar. The hint of fresh nutmeg really makes this cake special.
The Mayone clan favors this cake as a snack or as a lunch box upgrade. This apple cake would be ideal as part of a brunch buffet or glammed up for dessert with some vanilla ice cream.
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp. wheat germ
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large tart apple, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
generous pinch of cinnamon
1 -2 Tbsp. pearl sugar or turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Grease and flour a 8-inch square baking pan. Whisk together flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with a mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beat until combined. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.
In a small bowl combine the apple slices with the brown sugar and extra cinnamon. Stir until apples are coated. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Place sliced apples evenly over top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan.
One of our regular readers picked up a Wrap-n-Mat this past fall for her daughter’s lunchbox. She is very happy with the wrap’s performance.
Here’s what she had to say "It has worked out great! I really like it, and will buy two more so each child has their own. I mostly use it for peanut butter sandwiches, bagels and cooled quesadillas (haven’t tried anything too messy). I just wipe clean with soap and water. It has lasted all school year with no rips and it has returned home each time. Wrap-n-Go is definitely worth the money. "
Check out Wrap-n-Mat’s website for its signature product and other re-usable food wrappings. Considering Wrap-n-Mat is good for the earth and good for the wallet, we give it a Flavorista thumbs up.
Many thanks to Flavorista Jen from Indiana for this product testing and reporting back. Jen’s daughter would also like to add "Once you unwrap the sandwich it’s like you have your own placemat."
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, for some Irish recipes for tonight’s dinner, click here.
Flavorista Scott turned me onto this book. WOW, what a find! Andrea Nguyen regularly contributes to Saveur. Her articles are engaging and informed. Typically, I want to run out to the market to try at least one of her featured recipes.
If dumplings happen to be your thing, this book is certainly for you. Flavorista Scott is cooking his way through this book with one or two different dumplings a week. This has been on-going for a while and he is yet to report a less than excellent batch of dumplings. I need to score an invite to dumpling night!
With 75 color photos and clear instructions, this book could inspire even a dumpling-hesitant cook. The family aspect of preparing dumplings together really makes the meal something special and I swear Lollie is a more adept dumpling maker than me, hands down.
Andrea has several "How To" videos on You Tube. Click on the video below to check it out.
For Andrea’s website/blog devoted to Vietnamese cooking, click here.
For the Asian Dumpling website/blog, click here.
Searching for culinary shortcuts that do not alter quality is one of my most delicious hobbies. This lasagna from the brilliant folks at Cook’s Illustrated has been passed on to countless friends and family members. I found this dandy back in 2002. They had me at hello with "really good lasagna on the table in under 90 minutes."
Typical feedback usually includes "It is the only lasagna I will make ever again." and "It is so easy and so good."
Before I continue gushing about my lasagna love, I will admit to my adoration of the traditional lasagna process: Make the sauce. Boil the noodles. Determine the fillings. To bechamel or not to bechamel? Mothers teaching their children the family recipe for lasagna.
But the Cook’s Illustrated recipe just appealed to my contemporary, time strapped self. I have always told Marco that lasagna is a labor of love (and Marco LOVES his lasagna). Should I let him in on my little lasagna secret? I am thinking that this may fall under the tofu clause of no harm, no foul.
So for the recipe: Make a meaty sauce enriched with heavy cream. The ricotta filling is classic, no frills. Use good quality tomatoes, mozzarella and Parmesan. My noodles of choice are Barilla, the recipe only uses 12, so you will have leftover. After 45 minutes in the oven and a bit of rest time, you are done. Seriously, could not be easier.
Make sauce: Over medium heat, warm the oil. When hot, add the onion and garlic, cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add meat, salt and pepper, cook until onions are soft and the meat is just cooked through. Add cream, simmer until all the liquid absorbed, 4 minutes. Add puree and tomatoes. Stir well. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt and pepper until evenly blended. (I often add the basil to the sauce because Marco is a purist about his ricotta filling). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Assemble lasagna: Grease a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce on bottom of the pan. Lay 3 noodles across pan (see pic above). Drop a 3 Tbsp. of ricotta mixture on each noodles and spread out. Top with 1 cup mozzarella, 1 1/2 cups sauce. Repeat this process two more times. Top with last 3 noodles, remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Spray foil with cooking spray and cover lasagna. Bake for 15 minutes covered. Take foil off and bake for more 25 until the lasagna is bubbling and cheese is nicely browned.
Remove from oven and let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.
I developed this recipe for Hannaford fresh many moons ago and it has been in our regular meal rotation ever since. I finally remembered to snap its photo for Meatless Monday.
I love the straightfoward simplicity of this recipe. Ingredient-wise, it is uncomplicated. Flavor-wise, it sings with the bright notes of Thai cuisine. Mellow yellow tofu is greatly enhanced by the sour lime and the heat of the chilies. Sweet bell pepper and onion slices mingle with fresh ginger and crunchy peanuts (or cashews). The whole dish is finished with a generous dose of aromatic, peppery basil. My mouth is watering, just writing about it. Quite frankly, this is the dish that made me embrace tofu.
Sweet and Sour Spicy Thai Stir Fry
Be sure to really press the water out of the tofu, this not only helps it to crisp up in the pan, but also helps it to absorb the flavors of the piquant sauce.
1 cup jasmine rice
1 2/3 cups water
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce (or soy sauce)
2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained, patted dry, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Tbsp.chili garlic sauce, more to taste
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
2/3 cup roasted peanuts (or cashews)
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Add rice to a medium saucepan, rinse, and drain, keeping rice in pan. Add water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Stir well. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for exactly 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Do not remove lid. Set aside.
While rice is cooking, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce in a small bowl. Set aside. In a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add tofu and cook until it’s lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer tofu to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
In same pan, add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. When hot, add chili garlic sauce and ginger. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add vegetables. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes.
Re-whisk sauce. Add sauce, peanuts and tofu to the vegetables. Bring sauce to a simmer and heat the tofu through, about 3 minutes. Add basil to the stir fry and stir well to combine. Remove lid from rice and fluff with a fork. Divide rice and tofu among four plates. Serve immediately.
Nature’s Agave offers 3 different types of agave: Clear, amber and raw. The flavors of each were unique and invite experimentation!
Boulder’s
Coconut anything is hot, hot, hot but my attention was drawn to 
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