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Oven-Roasted Chickpeas
Ok, I promise this is the last “roasted” anything post for a little while, but these roasted chickpeas did not disappoint and I have to share how good they were! I like chickpeas in salads and I’ve tried the dried snack versions you can buy at the grocery store, but I wanted to roast them at home where I could control the flavors and ingredients. I started out with 2 cans of cooked chickpeas. I drained and rinsed the chickpeas before laying them out on a paper-towel covered sheet pan to dry. I used another towel to gently pat them dry. The dryer they are, the easier they will crisp…
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Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
I may have started the new year off on a roasted veggie kick. Check out my previous post for how to make a medley of roasted veggies. These maple roasted sweet potatoes were inspired by Yiayia’s Thanksgiving sweet potatoes that lean towards being more like candy than a side dish, but I cut the sugar way back by only using a drizzle of maple syrup when we’re pretty sure Yiayia uses a sauce pan of simple syrup (she won’t say for sure haha). For these sweet potatoes, I peeled and chopped 3-4 large sweet potatoes. I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread out the cubed potatoes, and drizzled…
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Roasted Veggies
I’m always looking for new ways to cook vegetables that make them something I want to eat. We all know we should eat them, but it’s an entirely different feeling to look forward to eating them. For me, my dislike of certain vegetables has little to do with their flavor and everything to do with their texture. So growing up in a household where veggies were usually boiled and a little mushy (sorry mom and dad lol), I decided to give roasted vegetables a try–and I’m glad I did. Best eaten fresh out of the oven when they are still crispy, these oven roasted vegetables held up pretty well all…
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Homemade Applesauce
Finally gave homemade applesauce a try and now I know it wasn’t apple sauce I didn’t like all these years, it was the over-processed, runny texture of store bought applesauce. This recipe is simple and easy to change to your personal taste. Plus, it’s a great recipe if you find yourself with an abundance of apples in the house this fall. Ingredients: 4 gala apples 1/4 cup water 1 tbsp. cinnamon approximately 2 tbsp. brown sugar Dash of nutmeg Instructions: 1.) First wash, peel, and chop all 4 apples. You don’t have to chop them up too fine since we’ll be mashing them together anyway. 2.) Add the chopped apples…
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Farm Fresh: 2nd Delivery
It’s my second week of receiving Lancaster CSA deliveries and guess what?! More rhubarb haha. The herbs delivery was delayed by one week, but the CSA is great about communicating all changes and adjustments to the schedule so I should have some herbs to talk about next week. This week was 1 bunch of rhubarb, 1 pint of blueberries, and 1 bunch of flowers. I love having flowers at home or at my desk at work so I was definitely excited for the first flower delivery. Since I have more than enough jam for now, the rhubarb is going to a friend. You can also freeze rhubarb. Just thoroughly wash…
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Farm Fresh: 1st Delivery
I hope you read all about my introduction to the Lancaster CSA. Below is the yummy Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam recipe I tried out using my fresh ingredients. Ingredients: 2 1/4 cup sugar (I think next time I will try just 2 cups) 3 large stalks of rhubarb 2 cups halved strawberries Fresh lemon juice Instructions: Carefully, and thoroughly, wash the strawberries. Farm fresh strawberries need a little more attention than the store bought “picture perfect” berries. There will be more bumps and bruises on these berries and more dirt too! But be gentle! Then wash the rhubarb stalks under cold water. Again, making sure to thoroughly clean off any dirt. Cut…
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Farm Fresh Adventure: An Introduction
I first heard about the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative last year at work. All I knew at the time was that some co-workers were signing up to receive fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers each week throughout the summer. It seemed like a nice idea, but since I only became aware of it after the season started, I decided to hold off until next year to see what it was all about. Fast forward to this year, and I’ve signed up for the fruits, herbs, and flower deliveries. There’s so much information to read about on the LFFC (which is why I linked to it above), but the thing I like…
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Taco Dip
Need an easy, no-bake appetizer? This taco dip is full of flavor and very festive! The ingredients are simple, but they all come together for the perfect savory snack. Ingredients: 2 blocks (8 oz. each) of Philly Cream Cheese, softened (1) 16 oz. container of sour cream 1 packet of taco seasoning mix 1 diced medium/large tomato 3/4 cup shredded lettuce 3.8 oz. black olives Kraft® shredded Mexican style four cheese Instructions: Shred lettuce, dice tomatoes, and rinse/strain black olives before starting so all of your ingredients are ready to go. In a mixing bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese and the sour cream. Sometimes I just mix with…
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Cinnamon-Streusel Coffee Cake
Finally a gluten-free cake that tastes as delicious as it looks with all the same great textures and flavors of a traditional coffee cake. My favorite part is the cinnamon streusel topping, and this recipe adds an extra layer of strudel in the middle for even more cinnamon-sugar goodness. I looked for recipes to try online and found a good variety of gluten-free adaptations. When I came across a coffee cake recipe on the back of the King Arthur Baking Mix box, it was like it was meant to be! You can find the recipe here or follow the instructions below for the easy modifications I made to the recipe.…
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Savory Scones
Proud gluten-free baking moment! For anyone who has tried baking with gluten-free flour, you know that some recipes work out great, and some make you want to give up baking all together. Thankfully, this recipe from the King Arthur Flour site turned out perfectly! I specifically used the gluten-free version of the flour mentioned in order to make this recipe. Other than switching out the type of flour, I didn’t have to make any other adjustments to get the right consistency–which is a huge plus when working with alternative flours. Some tips and tricks I discovered along the way: 1.) If you want to make different types of scones with…
