Afternoon Snack.......

I had a gnawing sensation in my stomach this afternoon.  A kind of peckish gnawing that grew more bothersome as the resounding rumbling grew louder.   A few of these ingredients were featured at my local healthy grocer a few weeks back and I knew this quick and easy snack would quiet the growing roar in my stomach. 
A crisp buttery waffle cookie, tangy goat cheese, sweet native strawberries and sticky, slow flowing cranberry honey.  It was a simple, it was easy and it filled the emptiness in my stomach before supper.

Victoria Sponge...

There is something about the name of this English cake that fascinates me.   It could be that I have had a slight fascination with anything British since the late Princess Diana.  Anyway, it makes me very happy to bake and eat something so quintessentially British. The cake is delicious and fit for a queen.

Inspired once again by Dom @ Belleau Kitchen the cake was a breeze to make. Butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla were the simple ingredients for the sponge.   I used my home made strawberry jam from last year.  Actually it was more like strawberry syrup, so I re-boiled it, added instant pectin and threw it in the fridge to get cold.  Sliced up fresh strawberries and then whipped up some cream.  Dom might notice that I put the top layer of the cake on up side down.  By the time I noticed my mistake it was too late.  So pardon the lopsidedness of the top layer.
Pop on over to Dom's blog for the recipe.  You'll be very happy you did.  Thanks again Dom, I loved everything about this cake.

Giada Knock Off

This dessert was an unexpected success.  I was watching Giada one day and she made this delicious strawberry parfait.  Her recipe called for a cup of heavy cream, whipped,  mashed up strawberries with sugar and vanilla meringue cookies.  I loved the look of Giada's dessert, but knew whipped cream was not going to be an ingredients in my reduced calorie version.
Here is my recipe.

• 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries ( I didn't add sugar to mine)
• 6 oz. non fat vanilla bean yogurt (Trader Joe's) you can see the vanilla beans in it!
• 1 tsp.Mascarpone cheese
• 2 fat free vanilla meringue cookies

 Mix the Mascarpone into the vanilla bean yogurt, crumble one meringue cookie into the yogurt as well. Spoon half of the strawberries in a glass, top with yogurt , more strawberries  and so on.  Crumble the last cookie on top.  Soooo good!

Happy Independence Day...

God Bless The Red, White and Blue.

Strawberry Fruit Salsa a la Jeanne.....

Strawberries are in an abundance right now at our house.  Saturday afternoon we made a visit to the local strawberry farm. The fields were filled with families picking basket after basket of berries that were so sweet and juicy,  we went back for seconds on Sunday.   Here is a delicious strawberry recipe that my sister-in-law Jeanne gave me many years ago. 

• 2 Kiwi peeled and diced
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 8 oz. raspberries 
• 1 lb. strawberries diced
• 1 cup blueberries
• 3 Tbsp. strawberry preserves
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 pkg. flour tortillas, cut into triangles
• butter cooking spray
• cinnamon sugar

The first thing I do is dice the apples then squirt lemon juice over them. Then I  gently mix in the remaining fruit.  Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes while the cinnamon tortillas are baking.  Here is how I do that.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lay tortillas in a single row on a sheet pan.  Spray generously with the butter spray, sprinkle all over with cinnamon sugar then spray again.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Serve with the Strawberry and Mixed Fruit salsa.

Celebrate Strawberries With Strawberry Scones

Did you know the first strawberry festival was held in my home state of Massachusetts in the year 1858.  Now a days strawberry season is celebrated all over America.  Here is a delicious strawberry scone recipe that I'm sure would be delicious in any century.

• 2  cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp. cold butter, cut unto small pieces
• grated lemon rind from one medium lemon
• 1 cup native fresh strawberries
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp. milk or cream
• 1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 to 4 tbsp. confectionery sugar

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. In the bowl of a food processor, put in the dry ingredients. Whirl until combined.  Next cut in butter and process until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in strawberries, yogurt, and lemon rind.
4. Turn onto a floured board and knead until just combined.  Do not over work or the scones will be tough.
5. Press into a circle about 1 inch thick.  Cut with a biscuit cutter.  Makes about 10 good size  scones.
6. Place on a greased sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Mix glaze and brush on the warm scones.

 

 So Good!

Simple Pleasures, Simply Delicious...

What a delicious afternoon snack.  No fussy ingredients needed for this simple pleasure. Just fresh mango and strawberries.  Fruit, one of Mother Nature's best gifts.

Early Supper...

This is what I had for my supper tonight.  The only problem being it was about three hours before my actual dinner hour. YIKES!!!  Once I thought about making this I just couldn't wait.  That means around nine o'clock tonight I am going to be starving. Anyway, here's what I did.

Drizzled Extra Virgin Oil on Tuscan bread.  Grilled the bread until it was crisp and brown.  Spread with Mascarpone Cheese that was whipped with fresh strawberries, honey and light cream.  I then spread it on the grilled bread added a little more honey on top along with some diced walnuts.  Sooo delicious.