If you’ve never used canned pumpkin as a lower fat/calorie baking swap, I’m about to rock your world. Applesauce, mashed bananas, and other fruit purees get all the love when it comes to healthier baking substitutions, but I find canned pumpkin to be the top swap for brownies, carrot cake, and spice cake.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through how to make amazing canned pumpkin brownie bites, plus the best ingredients/brands to use. Are you hungry yet? Check it out!
Cucumber Water
Life’s about simple pleasures, right? Whether you entertain a lot, or are looking for a new way to ‘spice’ up your daily H2O, I’ve got an idea for you: cucumber water. Inspired by my former roommate Gabi, adding a few thin cucumber slices to a pitcher or glass of water generates wonderful results. The water is not overwhelmingly cucumber flavored, the taste is more like an essence. Somewhat luxurious and spa-like, yet incredible simple, there’s a wow factor associated with cucumber water. Just ask my mom’s book club (hi mom!).
Have you ever tried cucumber water? If so, what did you think?
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Caribbean Succotash
The first hints of fall may be in the air, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for the changing of the seasons. Inspired by a Jamaican recipe in Bon Appétit’s January 2011 issue, I recently whipped up a scrumptious vegan-friendly Caribbean Succotash. Made with a mix of fresh and frozen vegetables, including lima beans, carrots, zucchini, corn and cucumber, this dish is incredibly quick and easy to prepare.
Though the ingredients are fairly simple, what makes this dish extra special is the wonderful combination of fresh thyme, unsweetened coconut milk, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Not sure about you, but I’m clearly not clever enough in the kitchen to dream up that recipe combination! I am, however, clever enough to test and share this recipe with my dear blog readers!
While I don’t want to post the recipe on my blog for copyright reasons, please view it here on Epicurious. I can, however, share a few tips that helped me prepare this recipe. I omitted the onion and red bell pepper due to heartburn issues (boo hoo). I also found it helpful to use frozen lima beans and corn, in addition to pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store to save time. I also opted for light, unsweetened coconut milk to lighten up the dish a bit. My last tip is to chop the cucumber and keep it in a separate tupperware container if you’re planning to enjoy warm leftovers of this dish, as I don’t like the idea of microwaving cucumber.
Tips and swaps aside, the end result was fantastic and I’m sure the original recipe is equally incredible. Creamy with a subtle sweetness from the light coconut milk, the hints of cayenne, nutmeg and fresh thyme really round this dish out. I also love dishes with a good amount of crunch to them and the coconut milk sauce does a nice job of dressing the veggies without rendering them mushy after a few days in the refrigerator. I’ll be making this recipe again the next time I need a tropical boost. Hear that old man winter?
Buon Appetito!
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I take no prisoners when it comes to donut muffins.
There’s a lot to love about Healdsburg, California. From great restaurants, to adorable shops and a variety of wine tasting rooms, it’s a great home base away from more touristy wine country towns. That’s lovely and all, but the real reason why I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Healdsburg is because it’s where the donut muffin and I were first introduced.
Located off Healdsburg’s quaint town center park, the donut muffin is made by the Downtown Bakery & Creamery. Not quite a donut and not quite a muffin, this treat is indulgent without being overly sweet. The flavor is inspired by that of a traditional cake donut with a cinnamon/sugar topping.
Donut muffin magic in progress.
After leaving Healdsburg, I had the brilliant thought to google the Downtown Bakery & Creamery’s donut muffin recipe. Through the magic that is internet search, I found the recipe online and quickly went to work in my tiny Boston kitchen.
The end result? Pretty darn good. I couldn’t figure out how to replicate the crisp outer crust to match the donut muffin from the Downtown Barkery & Creamery, but all of my taste testers seemed very pleased. While the recipe is a little labor intensive, mostly because I wanted to make them as mini muffins, versus large muffins, I found the process worthwhile.
The finished product: mini donut muffins!
Tip: Instead of dipping my mini muffins in melted butter, I used a pastry brush and brushed it on. I also gingerly sprinkled the cinnamon/sugar topping instead of rolling. I initially made them this way to make them lighter, but the end result still tasted indulgent, so I’ll continue to do this going forward.
To view the recipe for the Downtown Bakery & Creamery’s Donut Muffin, click here. Buon Appetito!
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Sesame Soba Noodle Salad by Jessica Gioglio
Fun fact: I’m a whiz at stir-frys and noodle salads. I love taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into a decadent, flavorful dish. This noodle salad recipe takes healthy whole wheat soba noodles and dresses them up with a mix of fresh, aromatic flavors including toasted sesame oil, white miso, mint and orange. The result – not your average noodle salad.