ginger mango granola

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Amy

A fresh batch of granola for my upcoming road trip! This go around, I changed up Melissa Clarks’ recipe with some dried mango, candied ginger, and walnuts. Packed and ready: a tasty remedy for the munchies and a potentially queasy stomach, along with a hint of summertime flavor.

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (regular or gluten free)

1 1/2 cups raw walnuts

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup coconut

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup chopped (or torn) dried mangoes

1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Spread mixture in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.

2. Transfer granola to a large bowl and add mangoes and candied ginger, tossing to combine.

Much alone or atop yogurt.

cherries & chickpeas

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Amy

Those two! I cannot imagine my life without those women. Sometimes it’s funny to call them women, because we met right around the time we turned into teens. I am usually the one to bring up the fact that we are aging, but this time when we reunited, I felt completely opposite. Maybe it has something to do with happy and healthy futures? I am encouraged and just generally glad to have these special relationships.

So what do you snack on in the hot summer air? We had produce munchies and these totally addictive roasted chickpeas that Mary makes. I told her that I even prefer them to Chex Mix! Light summertime eating in the backyard is a fresh way to spend time chewing the fat without literally chewing the fat.

magnesium-rich cocoa peanut granola

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Amy

I have been making a concerted effort lately of packing magnesium-rich foods into my daily eating habits. Halibut and cooked spinach makes a tasty meal, but I cannot eat that every day. Also, munching on a variety of seeds can get boring pretty quickly. Then I realized, it doesn’t have to be that way: cocoa beans are a natural source of magnesium too!

Inspired by the Domestic Goddess herself, I modified this tasty crunchy snack. Goal: make in-taking more magnesium most enjoyable. Like Nigella says, the most difficult part of making granola is actually assembling the pantry ingredients (her granola recipes also appear in one of my favorite cookbooks, Feast). Almost every ingredient in my modified recipe is high in magnesium, and bonus points when added to yogurt, whole or soy milk. P.S. Also easily Vegan-friendly

1/4 cup natural cocoa
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon instant espresso
1/3 cup clover honey
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses*
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups cocktail peanuts (nut allergies – replace with more seeds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 300-degrees.

Mix everything together very well in a large mixing bowl (sometimes clean hands are the best and easiest tools for thorough mixing here). Half the mixture and spread in two baking tins (I had cookie sheets and lined them with parchment) and bake for 40 minutes, turning over half-way through baking. Allow to cool, break apart, and store in an airtight container.

*if you care for less of a molasses tang, use light molasses or substitute brown rice syrup/rice malt syrup like Nigella uses. I used blackstrap due to magnesium content and also because I happen to enjoy the molasses tang.

cloudy with a chance of pepperoni

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Amy

I love storm clouds, especially when they are topped with salty and sweet things and shared with my favorite people. Are you surprised to know that Barrett’s tale of the town of Chewandswallow was one of my favorite books (I am afraid to watch the movie – should I?), and perhaps one of the purchasing influences behind one of my favorite cookie cutters? I get a lot of use out of my Herriott Grace cloud cookie cutter for cookies (once I took pictures of the applesauce donut clouds I made with it), but this time I used it for snack pizzas! Pizzaclouds are a bit tedious but fun to individualize. During this round I made three varieties: chèvre/sweet onions (caramelized in olive oil, cinnamon & sugar)/sundried tomato-stuffed green olives, fresh mozzarella/basil pesto/tomato, smoked provolone/marinara/pepperoni. Wishing your stormy Spring days to be sweet and savory.

macarons in the midwest

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Amy

They do exist! Mind you, I have never been to Paris, but the macarons at Madeleines Bakehouse are worth my (and your) while. I have mainly had their fruit macaron selections (Apricot, Raspberry, Key Lime, Blackberry) up until this weekend. My mom and I stopped in the bakehouse for some French Pressed Coffee yesterday and took a few macarons to go. She chose Coconut, and said that “it is five times better than a Snoball!” I chose Crème Brûlée and Pumpkin. Pumpkin was yummy, with a fresh pumpkin butter center, but Crème Brûlée is my new favorite. The “trinity cream” dessert is in a sparkly, bite-sized sandwich poof of light, sweet indulgence. Airy flavor vibrance, AHOY.

snickers surprise popcorn balls

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Amy

You know surprise cupcakes; the ones where you bite down and find there’s more than just cake in there? I actually never make them myself (my sister does them so nicely with the chocolate cake, cream cheese, and chocolate chips), but I have been tasting out different popcorn ball recipes, and I thought, “these balls could stand a surprise inside.” Chocolate was my initial instict, but chocolate alone seemed much too boring. Something with extra gooeyness and more flavor dynamics… a Snickers, YES. If you eat one of these surprise balls within an hour of assembly, the chocolate is still melty. It’s like you have this great ballgame or movie snack compacted into one efficient junk food treat: mallow, popcorn, peanuts, nougat and caramel, all in the palm of your hand.

I made the less-traditional version of popcorn balls with marshmallows and butter. They are much simpler to make, softer, and there is extra “molding” time in which you can properly stow and hide the Snickers surprise.

Chop or unwrap surprise middles.
Melt 3 T unsalted butter over medium heat.
Stir in 1 C mini marshmallows until melted.
Add 4 C popped corn.
Mix until evenly coated with stickiness.

Scoop out popcorn mix into greased muffin tins or small bowl forms. Press popcorn down into the form and place candy bar bit in center. Cover with remaining popcorn mix and mold into a ball (leave no Snickers trace!). It may be necessary to coat your hands in oil or butter to keep excessive sticking away. Wrap balls in wax paper and store in airtight container until munchie time. Makes 3 baseball-sized treats or 6 mini-balls.

cupcakelibrarian at reading terminal market

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Amy

One week ago today, I experienced a full circle moment at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. In between conference sessions, a library colleague and I met THE CAKESPY for a sweet treat break (evidence: hot pink nails in the last photo). CakeSpy is an internet celeb. to me, and it is against the shy part of my nature to flat-out email someone that I do not know. But when I read from her website that she had relocated to Philadelphia for an artistic project, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I was going to be in her city for a professional library conference, and my first thought was, “book signing, maybe she will be doing a book signing at the conference, I have to ask!”

She wasn’t doing a signing at the conference, but I was thrilled to receive her response that we could meet at the Reading Terminal Market (do you see how awesome this place is: bakeries, barrel-cured kraut, breakfast diner, and oyster bar ALL under one roof?!). CakeSpy is the real deal: the kindest, most studious sweets seraph you will ever meet. She brought us gifts of baked goods, bookmarks and postcards. Conversation included her sincere interest in our experiences with sugar cream pie and other regional specialties (she’s working on her second book of that nature, and you can purchase her first book at her site or find it at your local library).

***
The thing is, CakeSpy has unknowingly been part of my entry into the library profession. When I was in library school, I was obsessed with the chockylit site, and at every stress-relieving moment I could, I would try and/or modify these creations and take down baking notes in my Hello Kitty notebook. It was around then that I discovered CakeSpy’s articles and artwork. Cupcakes and libraries were two main characters in my life at the time, and I envisioned an art library filled with sweet treats. Back then, her rainbow candy coated illustrations were available on etsy at an insanely modest price. Once I saved up enough money, I messaged her and asked if she could put Cuppie in an art library. She said YES and even asked me for fav. book titles to include.

Fast forward five years, the framed illustration is sitting on my desk, next to business cards with my name on them that say Gallery Librarian: Art, Music & Media. My library sends me to a professional conference in Philadelphia and I meet CakeSpy. Who knew. It’s fun to look back and think about my spiral-bound library school and cupcake notebooks. I just wanted to secure a job and bake treats in the off-time, because there’s not so much baking and painting time when you work 4 part-time jobs.

It occurs to me as I write that my first blog post was about an Amish-inspired hand pie, which is a version of the treat I picked out to eat that day at the market. Thank you, Jessie for the sweet inspiration through the years. It was truly a treat to meet you!

signs of spring in philly

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Amy

It seems as though the minute I landed in Philadelphia, it was Spring. The past few days have been unseasonably warm. I ate a Geno’s cheese steak in 70+ degree weather! The outdoor basketball courts and city playgrounds were packed. Fruit lined the narrow city streets of the Italian Market. On a conference break, I had Chocolate Peanut Butter Ripple ice cream in a pretzel cone. Pretzel cone, more on that later. Spring bulbs were in bloom by Independence Hall, Rocky and “The Thinker.” All pleasant Philadelphia Spring surprises.

red beet and ricotta lunch muffins

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Amy

I realize that homemade chocolate chunk fudge rounds are far more desired baked goods than muffins made from mashed up pickled beets. You probably either detest pickled beets or devour them (like I do). I am spoiled by the fact that every summer my grandma cans several batches of homemade pickled beets grown by local Amish farmers. She stores them in her cellar and will often give them as gifts to neighbors and relatives. My packed lunches often include a short stack of these beets alongside cottage cheese. The tangy pickled flavor is cut by the creamy curds, with a pinch of ground black pepper to round it out (I also think it is fun to watch the cottage cheese turn a glowing rosy scarlet color as the two mingle).

If you have made it this far, then you will probably be interested in the recipe that I came up with that was inspired by these flavors.

Red Beet and Ricotta Lunch Muffins
Makes 12

Preheat oven 350-degrees.

2 C self rising flour
1 t cloves
2 eggs @ room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 T unsalted butter, melted
1/2 C ricotta cheese + more for serving
1/2 C mashed beets*

Sift together flour and cloves (or cinnamon, depending on your taste). Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk eggs together and add the sugar in several steps. Whisk in melted butter. Add ricotta cheese and mashed beets alternately until combined.

Fold flour mixture into batter just until incorporated. Scoop out into muffin tins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick test comes out clean.

Serve with ricotta cheese.

*I used pickled beets. They were quite tangy! I imagine straight roasted beets to be more mild and probably more appropriate with cinnamon.

cozywalls

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