Spring, New Life, and Banana Muffins, Zucchini Muffins

Depending on where I live, I love different seasons. In the Great North, I LOOOOOVED Winter!! I miss Winter, and even when I lived up north I longed for Winter all year long. Years ago when I lived in California, I loved the Summer -- I mean seriously, 75 degrees most of the time, right on the beach in San Diego? You've gotta be crazy not to appreciate that!! And, in our current state, more than loving Spring, I need Spring. The Winter here is sooooo depressing and the sweet green buds and flowers awaken my heart.

I also love babies. It seems that there are more babies born in spring, which makes the season even more delightful =)  One of my dearest friends just had her second baby. We've been pregnant at the same time with each of our children, first girls, now boys. We both lost pregnancies in between children  born, and both of our boys were HUGE surprises, pretty much a month after loosing our pregnancies. I love identifying with someone's story so closely. I hate that we've both been through these things, but I love that we are able to understand each other, and she's one of two people who really truly understand what I mean when I say I'm still having a hard time accepting that this child's coming soon - at 6 months pregnant!

And so, I was more than happy to cook food for her family when she recently had her son. I made tamales... which they've never had... (I hope I don't ruin them on them!) And banana bread, which turns out to be her favorite! That just makes my heart jump when I make something for someone and it turns out to be something they love so much!!

Hopefully she loved this one... I don't know if it's my pregnancy hormones and taste buds or what, but even though my husband told me it was the very best banana ANYthing I've EVER made, I really didn't like them that much. For me, there was just an odd after-taste. Oh well, if you wanna make them, you be the judge =)

I got this recipe from two separate recipes and mixed them up, changing them up. Here's what I got in the end:

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Ghirardelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup Crisco

2/3 cup sugar

3 TBSP mayo

2 *rotten* bananas

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Makes 12 muffins. Bake 350 degrees, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan.

And then I actually found myself desperately craving more. Not so much the banana part, I think just the awesome mix of chocolate and walnuts. So today I tried the recipe again, a little different, and replaced the banana with zucchini (convincing myself that it's healthy if it's full of vegetable!) They still left a weird after-taste, but like I said, it might just be me... And here's what came out:

Chocolate Chip Walnut Zucchini Muffins

2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz. Ghirardelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup Crisco
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP brown sugar
3 TBSP mayo
3 small zucchinis, shredded
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Makes 23 muffins. Bake 350 degrees, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan.

These are FULL of chocolate chips, and I'm actually a little jittery writing this... Oops! The baby's doing a caffeine dance, too =)

Honestly, I want to learn how to make a really fabulous zucchini bread, especially one that's not loaded with sugar!! So, if you have a great recipe, feel free to send it to me =)

Fresas Con Crema, and the Passage of Time

It's amazing, the changes that can take place within a year's time. Since Easter last year we have decided to join a church, to leave a church. To have a baby, then lost the baby. To not have any more children, but got pregnant again. To never leave our wonderful city, and move away the next month. At times it scares me that I don't know my future. Not entirely, at least. I don't know what my life on earth looks like. But I do know that Christ Jesus has risen from the grave and I need not fear the things of this life. He's coming back to take me Home, someday. I hope it's sooner than later, but in the meantime I have children to raise, a husband to love, dreams to pursue, and food to cook =)

This year my husband's family had a big dinner the day before Easter, and my contribution was Fresas Con Crema. A great Mexican classic dessert. Even though I wasn't there for it. I was so exhausted and starting to get a horribly sore throat that I stayed home, eating Fig Newman's and some Fresas Con Crema I saved out for myself. It really was a great combination! ...but that could be pregnancy talking =)

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 pints Strawberries, sliced

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 (14 oz.) can La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 (7.6 oz.) can Nestle Media Crema

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

HOW TO:

Beat the 3 creams and vanilla together until fluffy and soft and wonderfully enticing.

Add sliced strawberries.

Refrigerate overnight, IF you can wait that long =)

COST:
$9 for about 8 cups = $1.13/serving

Cheater Crepes

Already feeling very shut-in, being pregnant and sick, living in a community that is far-removed from ...everything... we are also surrounded by hills that allow nothing other than three PBS stations to come in on our TV. (THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET OR WE'D BE CRAZY BY NOW!!!) At least one of our three magic stations is Create, a fun channel that is varied in topics and styles. One of the best shows on Create is Pati's Mexican Table. My husband and I look forward to Pati's show because she shows how to cook real Mexican food, the real Mexican way. I love watching primarily to reminisce about the times I had in Mexico, and of course, lust after real food.

Sometimes she does something really different. Last night she made Dedos Gitanos, "Gypsy Fingers". I don't know why they call them this, but pretty much anything named Gypsy sounds fun though =)  I was starving, so as soon as she showed how to make them, my husband ran to the grocery store to get eggs and bread to cook for me! (Isn't he the sweetest?!?!?!) And then today for lunch, I couldn't take it, I had to have more!!! So, I cooked them up, a little different yet, and took pictures for you.

These are basically rolled up French Toasts. My husband described them as "cheater crepes" - very accurate! They are thin and light, sweet and eggy. If you like breakfast anytime of day, you'll love these =)

Roll out 4 pieces of a great country white bread between layers of plastic wrap.

Mix 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, pinch of sea salt, and 1/2 cup heavy cream in baking dish.

My little "helper" sneaking some of the filling -- Chocolate Nougat from my last post =)

Roll bread up.

Roll in egg mixture...

...and leave in dish for baking.

Only 4 fit into my casserole, but if you have a larger baking dish and are making this for more people, just double or triple the recipe proportionately.

Top with small bits of butter; bake at 350 for 28 minutes. You might want to check on them after 20, depending on your oven.

I made whipped cream to top mine. I don't believe in adding sugar to whipped cream when it's topping something that's already sweet, so this is just cream and vanilla.

Whip until it forms waves in the bowl and sticks to the beaters.

It should be a golden brown when done.

As soon as it comes out of the oven, top with more Chocolate Nougat...

...it will melt into a creamy blissful goo =)

Decorate to your heart's content =)

If you want to see the original recipe:

http://www.patismexicantable.com/2012/10/mexican_french_toast_rolls/

The Versatile Chocolate ...Nougat?

Nougat's not really something you would think of making at home... or even ever really think of... The word Nougat makes me think of a 3 Musketeers candy bar, but I never think of it otherwise! And then an experiment in the kitchen produced just that - Nougat.

I am a Chocoholic. My drug of choice is caffeine. I'm not interested in ruining my body with drugs and chemicals, even though I loved Brazilian and Swiss cigarettes during my high school foreign exchange stint, but caffeine? Completely different story! I would trade real food for for chocolate, coffee, and tea if I was asked to choose. It wouldn't be a very long life, but I would die high and happy and jittery =)

So, you can imagine my dismay when I discovered that chocolate, coffee, and tea repulsed me the first 5 months of this pregnancy. I hated them all. Especially chocolate. And then in the past few weeks I started to like it again, little by little. And now I can't get enough. Apparently, my son in my womb feels the same way, and does a great big happy dance every time I feed him anything chocolate =)

A few days ago I was trying to make a chocolate mousse, and it went a bit awry. At first it was fluffy and creamy, but after refrigeration it ended up a bit harder and drier. It was still creamy, it just wasn't a mousse. But this has turned out to be one of the best things I've eaten in a long time, and it goes with everything! After a couple of days in the fridge it got a bit drier and drier, so I decided to heat it up and see what happened -- it turned out to be the best hot fudge sauce ever! My husband stuffed chocolate tamales with my chocolate nougat. And, I have my sneaking suspicions it would be the most glorious filling in a cake or topping on brownies... Hmmm... Now I want to make both just to try it out!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

8 oz Mascarpone

4 oz Cream Cheese

8 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 bags (15 oz) Ghirardelli 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

HOW TO:

Let mascarpone, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream warm to room temperature, about 20-30 minutes. Beat together in a mixing bowl. Mix in sugar.

Heat chocolate chips in bain-marie until well melted. Pour over cream/cheese mixture, and beat together immediately.

If you aren't going to use it right away, store in an air-tight container. 

IDEAS:

Form into balls or squares directly after making, refrigerate, and cover with melted chocolate to make candies. YUM!

Dip strawberries!!

Heat up later and pour over ice cream, brownies, or both, as a fudge sauce.

Use as a frosting or layer between cakes.

And if you're like me, you probably want to fill your bathtub and roll around in it. 

Leave me a comment and let me know how any of these ideas turn out for you ...except the bathtub one. I was just joking. That you can keep to yourself, thanks =)

Salsa Verde

I promised you Salsa Verde to go with your tamales =)

WHAT YOU NEED:
A blender, or food processer, because it's not a proper Mexican kitchen without one =)
1 Lime
2 Jalapeños
1 Serrano
1 bunch fresh Cilantro *Picking really good Cilantro is easy - smell the stems in the grocery store. If it brightens up your day, that's the one you want to buy*
5-7 Tomatillos (depending on size)

About 1/2 TBSP. Sea Salt

HOW TO:

Rinse tomatillos under warm water. Cover with water in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, only a couple of minutes, until las cáscaras (the peels) start to fluff a little, and the flesh of the tomatillo starts to change color. Seriously don't leave in the pot more than 3-5 minutes. They'll be gross and mushy.
In blender, squeeze juice from the lime.
Cap jalapeños and serrano.
Seed peppers, depending on how much/little spice you want in your salsa. Serranos are hotter than jalapeños, but I tend to seed the jalapeños and not the serrano. It's just my personal taste that I like the heat from the serrano seeds and not really the extra flavor and bite of the jalapeño seeds.
Blend peppers and lime juice.
Wash cilantro really well and cut the stems off. Blend into mixture. Add salt.
When tomatillos are done cooking, rinse under cold water for a couple of minutes. Pull off las cáscaras, and toss into blender as well. Blend to your heart's content. Some people like chunky salsa. I like it ... saucy =)

DISFRUTE!!!!