Potato and pickled beet salad

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My husband was very anxious to kick off the barbecue season this year, partially due to a gradual change in my cooking habits in recent months which introduced vegetarian dishes to our dinner menu. Even though I enjoy a good steak once in a while, I love all the veggie-loaded side dishes. Potato and Beet salad is one of my family's and friend's favorites.




Ingredients:
1 can of Goya dark kidney beans
1 jar of Greenwood sweet & tangy sliced pickled beets
1 red onion
4-5 medium potatoes
Salt & pepper to taste
Mayonnaise

Recipe

Peel and dice the potatoes, place in a pot covering with water, add salt and cook on medium high until soft. Drain and let cool.

Drain the picked beets and cut into pieces.

Add diced red onion and drained red kidney beans.

Mix in mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper to taste.


Over the years, I have tried many brands of dark kidney beans and pickled beets, and learned that the ones I used in this recipe have the best flavour and texture. To make the salad a bit more sweet and tangy, I sometimes add a bit of liquid reserved from the pickled beets.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe, it truly is the perfect addition to an outdoor menu.


~ Mirela
Jantar Handcrafted Jewelry

Chocolate Chip Pear Bread

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I have a baking buddy. I think everyone should have one. Each of us adds something to the mix - and the result is usually really good - it's different every time!

My baking buddy, Lisa, & I came up with this recipe. We've been baking breads together since last summer and take bits and pieces from different recipes and put it all together.

I wanted to make a pear bread & my buddy added the key ingredient that I think makes this bread so good - ground cloves! It gives it a very light, almost minty flavor. Hope you like it as much as I do - it's my absolute favorite!

Combine:
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 TB unsalted butter or Ghee (softened)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Mix dry ingredients, add to above mixture & crack 2 large eggs into it:
2 cups flour
2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

Fold in:
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 large Asian pear or 2 smaller pears peeled & cut into chunks

Bake at 350 degrees in a loaf pan (9x5x3) for 1 hour. Let it cool & enjoy!





Nguyen/KnitKnit

Get Your Spring Bake On! Coconut Lime Chip Cookies

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Spring is in the air and Earth Day is just around the corner. I like to combine these two events with celebration cookies, although really I can use any event as an excuse for the baking of cookies!

How can sweets possibly relate to eco-friendliness, spring time and Earth Day all at once, you ask? Oh, but I will tell you.

All my recipes are vegan, which means using no animal-derived ingredients. A large part of my veganism comes from my concern for the environment and the impact that a plant based diet can have. If everyone in the United States ate even a vegetarian diet for seven days, the impact would be the same as removing all of the cars from the roads in the US. It is also important to bake often in the spring time, because soon it will be 110 degrees in your tiny NYC apartment with no air conditioning and the idea of turning on the oven is horrifying!

With that I give you:

Coconut Lime White Chip Cookies
1/3 c shredded coconut
1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c flour, unbleached all purpose
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda

1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c canola oil
2 T soymilk
2 T lime juice

zest of 1 lime

1/4 c or more vegan white chips

Mix the wet ingredients, maple syrup through lime juice in a medium bowl.
Mix the dry ingredients, coconut through baking soda in a large bowl.
Add the dry to the wet and mix, adding in the lime zest. Don't overmix.
Add the white chips and fold in.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Let cool 3-5 minutes before removing from pan.

Some {NewNew} selections to help you get your spring bake on!

A sweet Baking Betty Apron with Hawaiian Print from Meegun. Get out your mixing bowls! Whisk!
Serve those cookies up on an Brooklyn Chinoiserie Platter from MayLuk.

And finally, wow your guests with Recycled Cloth Napkins from cakehouse rather than the paper ones you collect from the deli.

--Lisa
pandawithcookie.etsy.com

Nutella Banana Crepes in under 5 minutes!

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In the spirit of February and loving yourself I wanna tell everyone about a sweet treat that you all will love! Nutella banana crepes. February is also the month of "World Nutella Day". This recipe is simple and will take less than five minutes to make. All you need is nutella, a banana, a tortilla, vanilla or hazelnut ice cream and confectioners sugar.

Dice banana into thin slices spread a thin layer of nutella to cover tortilla, spread diced bananas onto tortilla and fold then fold over once again.


Grill on George foreman grill, sandwich or panini maker or cook on stove top in a small pan for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until slightly brown and chocolate is warm and melted.

Next sprinkle w confectioners sugar and top w a scoop of ice cream.

Enjoy!!
Elena
Kokalakijewelry.etsy.com

Champagne Hearts

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Continue your celebrations of love well past February with this simple and delicious champagne cocktail. Perfect for a late night rendezvous or breakfast in bed, nothing keeps the heart aflutter like a few well placed bubbles in a little liquid love...


Pink Hearts Champagne Cocktail

There are two requirements for making this recipe. First, is a heart-shaped ice cube tray which you should be able to find fairly easily online. The second thing is a willingness to get a little tipsy.

1 oz of Ice Wine
1 oz of lychee juice
3 oz of dry champagne
2 pomegranate hearts

The night before, make a tray of pomegranate juice ice hearts. I like pomegranate cause the color is gorgeous and it's not too sweet. Alternatively, you could use any pink or red juice, or try mashed fruit -- raspberries and strawberries blended with a little sugar work especially well.

If you have a small shot glass handy, use that to measure out an ounce of Ice Wine. Ice Wine is a dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. It adds a nice depth of flavor to the champagne and is also perfumey. If your shot glass is bigger, fill it up 3/4 full to approximate an ounce.

Or you can skip measurements all together and go by taste. Fill your flute halfway with champagne, add juice/wine mixture till it tastes the way you want and leave enough room to drop in your two ice hearts.


The beauty of this recipe is that it's completely adaptable to your individual tastes. Love mimosas? Substitute 2 oz of OJ for the wine/juice mix and raspberry ice hearts for the pomegranate. Love the tropics? Use 2 oz of mango juice or a tropical blend instead.

For a little extra zip, skip the fruit juice all together and mix 1 oz of fruit-flavored liqueur or brandy and 1 oz of vodka with the champagne and float a single ice heart on top. Delish.

And the easiest version of all? Fill your flute with red hearts, pour the champagne over and let the magic unfold....

This recipe is so lovely, you can use it even if you don't drink. Substitute ginger ale for champagne, pop in your favorite red fruit ice hearts and voila!

Two important things to remember about this recipe:
1. Alcohol doesn't freeze, so don't try to make your ice hearts with alcohol.
2. You're only limited by your taste buds and imagination.

Enjoy!






-- Susan
persuede.etsy.com

Things I Love about NY

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As a Native New Yorker there are so many things I love about this city.

Living in 5 different countries as an ex-patriot made me miss the sights, sounds and most of all the food.

My favorite treasure is NY Cheesecake. At 4 inches high the rich, creamy and surprisingly low sugar (only 1 cup) desert is a hit every time.

Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter
38 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 eggs, 2 egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon & 1 orange
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream









Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly coat a 10 inch spring form pan with spray oil.
2. To make the crust: Combine 1 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup butter. Spread to the edges of the pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees F Allow to cool.
3. Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees F (In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 5 eggs and the yolks and mix thoroughly. Add cream and mix only enough to blend.
4. Pour filling over crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees F. Reduce temperature to 200 degrees F and continue to bake for one hour. Turn oven off, but leave cake in for another hour. Don't worry if it looks a little jiggly in the center.
5. Chill overnight. This is imperative! Top with your favorite fruit pie filling.

Here are some more things to love about NY: