Simple Eats

Blueberry Citrus Muffins

Posted on 04/07/2013 by Alexa

My mom always has and still does cook everything from scratch. Homemade tomato sauce, soup, fried chicken (yum)- you name it and she can cook it. When I was younger, she would often make muffins on the weekend. I would run down the stairs, awoken from the scent of orange peel, butter and sugar lingering around the house. I knew this scent from a mile away, she had just baked her orange blueberry muffins.

I would sit down at the breakfast bar, and she would place a big muffin, bursting with fresh blueberries onto a plate in front of me. Where I would no sooner face plant straight into the muffin and devour it, ignoring the accompanying bowl of fresh fruit she had placed next to it. What can I say, I have my priorities in line.

She said the secret was the sour cream, which kept the muffin soft, and fluffy and her crumb topping was out of this world. The sweet, crunchy combination of brown sugar, oats and butter was my favorite part, and the bright specks of orange zest was the perfect addition.

Years later (as in last year), I was visiting my parents this conversation occurred:

“Mom, I could really go for batch of your blueberry muffins…You know, the ones with the crumb topping?”

Mom: “Ooooh, I haven’t made those in years. *rummages around pantry* Sorry honey, I don’t have a box of the mix anywhere in the pantry.”

My jaw dropped. “Wait, what? Those aren’t your own recipe?!”

Mom: *laughing* “Nope! I just always doctored up a boxed mix. I did have you fooled though, huh?!”

My world was over. Not really, but I was surprised. Leave it to my mom to never truly use something that isn’t hers. When it doubt, make it your own.

I had a hankering for those very muffins this weekend, and I came up with something pretty close.

So mom, here’s a muffin for you. Thanks for all of those yummy breakfasts when I was little.

Blueberry Citrus Muffins

-adapted from The Teacher Cooks-

makes 1 dozen

Muffins:

2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 c sugar
1 c non-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 t vanilla
1/3 c canola oil
1 t freshly grated lemon rind
1 t freshly grated orange rind
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 T freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 c frozen blueberries tossed in 1 T all purpose flour

Crumb topping:

1/2 c. oats
1 T brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Stir in sugar.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, Greek yogurt, canola oil, lemon juice, lemon rind, orange juice and orange rind until combined.

4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture until combined and stir in blueberries just until combined.

5. Spoon into a lined muffin tin (I used a medium-sized cookie scoop and it worked well). Mix together crumb topping ingredients and sprinkle crumb topping on top of each muffin.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Posted in baking | 1 Comment

Stuffed Mushrooms and A New Approach

Posted on 03/12/2013 by Alexa

Hello all!

I wanted to finally say hello again and bring you a new recipe. Speaking of recipes, I wanted to share with you all the “new” direction this blog will be taking.

Since I’ve started grad school, I’ve been completely immersed in all things food, and surrounded by “foodies.” While it hasn’t been the easiest trying to balance working full time, classes and a social life, it has been wonderful to be surrounded by people who enjoy cooking, eating and writing about food just as much as I do. I’ve learned new things and while I’m still on the path to discovering my next career path, I’m soaking it all in. All the while, I’ve completely neglected my little corner of the blog world. I think of myself as a pretty consistent, punctual person, so my posting schedule is not something I feel great about.

At the same time, while I do like the idea of a healthy living blog and I love living healthfully myself, I don’t always see my own blog fitting into that niche. What this time away from Simple Eats has given me most is perspective. I realized that what I love doing most is cooking and writing about it. So, Simple Eats will be simply that. I will create and share recipes I think others will like and instead of slapping them on a page and calling it a day, I want to focus on my writing more, as well. Writing, especially about food, has always been one of my favorite hobbies, and I want to re-discover it!

Simple. Delicious. Fun. That is the premise of the blog anyways, it’s in the name! I might share tidbits of life here and there, but simplifying and streamlining are sometimes the best ways to go.

—

On that note, here’s a recipe!

Last year, I was at a friend’s for dinner and for a side dish, she made two massive portobello mushrooms stuffed with all kinds of yummy ingredients. This is my on that side dish.

The closest I usually ever get to stuffing is usually at Thanksgiving, with stuffing (dressing for some of you) being one of my favorite parts of the holiday meal. I always forget about stuffed mushrooms, though! Mushrooms are pretty substantial on their own, and once filled with other ingredients they can become a hearty side dish or the main course of a meal.

When I was stuffing these, I wanted to use a few ingredients that would enhance the smokiness and earthiness of the mushrooms, and I think the kale, turkey bacon and onions do just that. The feta adds a punch of tang and salt, which helps to cut through the rest of the flavors. They’re pretty messy, so they might not work for an appetizer stuffed mushroom, but let me tell you, the stuffing is good enough to eat with a fork.

…I wouldn’t know anything about that.

Stuffed Mushrooms

8 medium sized portobello mushrooms or 2-3 large portobellos
1/4 white onion, diced
1/2 c. organic kale, chopped
2 strips turkey bacon (you could use regular bacon, I just prefer turkey)
1/4 c. crumbled feta
2 T olive oil
1/2 t garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small skillet, heat 1 T of the olive oil on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for about 5 minutes, then add kale and cook for another 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent and kale is wilted. Right before the kale and onions are finished cooking, cook the turkey bacon until crisp and chop into equal-sized pieces as kale and onions. When the kale and onions are finished, add the turkey bacon, garlic powder and feta and stir until combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper if desired. Set aside. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems carefully; clean out any gills to allow more room for the stuffing. Pour the other tablespoon of olive oil on the mushrooms and massage them into the outside of the mushrooms. Stuff each mushroom with about a tablespoon of stuffing. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden and mushrooms are a deep shade of brown on the inside rim.

Posted in recipes | 1 Comment

frush

Posted on 10/09/2012 by Alexa

Hey there, strangers! I haven’t been here in awhile (I’m working on coming back!), but I just wanted to pop in and share a product with you I’m quite excited about.

And no, that post title was not a typo.

I’m a yogurt fan. Flavored, plain, in smoothies, with fruit (but NOT on the bottom), I love it all. So, when the wonderful Tamara at frush reached out to me about featuring the product on the ol’ blog, I jumped at the opportunity.

Let me start off by saying, these are not like GoGurt. Remember those? Gross. I was a little apprehensive to try these only since I think of eating my yogurt as opposed to drinking it, but after one sip I was pleasantly surprised…and hooked.

They’re not only delish, but each bottle delivers 50% of your daily value of calcium, a whopping 9 grams of protein, and 200 calories per serving. Plus, frush uses TruCal, which is a bioavailable milk calcium complex that is extracted from milk, which ultimately gives your body more calcium than regular yogurt smoothies, which contain calcium citrate.

Let’s get to the fun stuff, shall we?

The flavors!

First up- blueberry. This was the first one I tried, and it literally tastes like you’re munching on a pint of blueberries. Because we all know a pint of blueberries constitutes as a serving. It’s not too sweet, but perfectly creamy.

Next, strawberry. Again, tasted straight out of a berry patch. I think this would be great added to a smoothie with a little bit of cocoa powder. Yum.

Third, strawberry banana. I loved that this was wasn’t overpowered by banana, and didn’t have that fake berry-banana flavor. This one was the richest of the group, almost like a dessert!

Last, and my favorite of all, peach. This one is amazing. It straight up tastes like a bowl of peaches and cream. SO good.

The best part? They keep you full for HOURS. No lie, even though the protein count isn’t as high as Greek yogurt, I had one of these before work and I was full for four hours. That’s unheard of for me. They must put magic in these pretty little bottles.

Wanna try ‘em? frush is available at Hannaford, Price Chopper, Food Lion and Harris Teeter, among other retailers.

Posted in drinks, food | Leave a comment

Zucchini Muffins

Posted on 08/15/2012 by Alexa

Over the weekend, I bought reduced produce at the grocery store. Ever seen it? It’s usually all on a cart, wrapped in plastic tucked in the corner of the produce section. I’m not really a “coupon clipper” kinda gal, but after spending only .73 cents on three huge zucchini, I’m definitely going to start shopping in the sale section. Let’s be clear, I am not condoning avoiding the sale section in other stores. If something is not below $50 at the mall, I won’t buy it…most of the time.

Anyways, I’ve been stuffing myself with zucchini more than usual because it’s seasonal oh and because the three I have are fresh and about to go bad. This my friends, is the down side of reduced produce. You get a lot for a little but you have to shove your pie hole with said produce until it’s gone.

Unless you bake it into a muffin!

My mind tried to come up with other creative ways to use up my zucchini. Casserole? Nah. Frittata? Too fancy. Muffins? I always like muffins. And sweet things! We’ve been over this.

The thing I like best about these is they include a whole lot of one of my favorite things as of yet:

Everyone and their brother is in love with this stuff, and I can see why. It’s insane. It’s also $10.99. Why wouldn’t I check the price before I bought it?

When I first bought it, I tried to savor it and enjoy it in small amounts. Well, that went out the window quickly since almost half the jar went into these muffins.

It was worth it.

Zucchini Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 egg yolks + 1 egg white
1/2 c. nut butter (I used Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter)
1/4 c. honey
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 t pumpkin pie spice
1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Combined ingredients together in a bowl. Scoop into lined cupcake tins or a two mini loaf pans. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until center comes out clean.

Oh yea, and these are even better drizzled with honey. Do it.

Posted in baking, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Friday Favorites

Posted on 07/27/2012 by Alexa

Whoa. It’s been a long time since one of these, right?!

Instead of the normal Friday Faves, I wanted to share with you a few lovely blogs I’m enjoying right now.

Happy Friday and happy blog-stalking!

Minimalist Baker: I love everything Dana bakes and blogs about. Her other blog, My Little Celebration, is just as amazing. Click on anything and you will start drooling. Thai tacos? Honey and walnut spiced protein shake? Yum.

Cookies and Cups : This site should be illegal. It is like baking porn. Shelly is a genius when it comes to anything buttercream/cookie/cake related. I literally don’t think there’s one thing on this blog I don’t want to bake. Warning: you might lick the screen.

Ginger and Jam: Jen is actually in the gastronomy program with me! She always makes the most amazing food and brings it to class and I sigh when I look down at whatever I’ve thrown into a tupperware and called dinner. She makes delicious, fresh dishes, with a side of heart-felt and honest writing. You can definitely tell this girl is a true foodie!

We Are Not Martha: I love these two! First of all, what a clever title. Secondly, they’re both Bostonians, so that’s a plus. All of their recipes look amazing and I love that they take a casual, no-frills approach to cooking…it’s refreshing!

Posted in food, reads | 2 Comments

Salted Almond and Caramel Cookies

Posted on 07/26/2012 by Alexa

Happy almost weekend!

I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile. I attribute it to a) always craving cookies and b) becoming a Trader Joe’s junkie (I know I’m not alone in this one). Although I wish TJ’s had a wider selection of produce, I still love wandering the aisles and trying out new things. Case in point:

Have you guys tried these? Almonds, covered in turbinado sugar, sea salt and drenched in dark chocolate. I die.

The next insane thing I’ve tried?

Yep, tastes just as delectable as it sounds.

So my idea was, why not combine the two into a cookie? I mean, if I could eat the caramel by the spoonful and polish off the almonds in a day, there’s no way a cookie with these two gems couldn’t be good.

I was right.

The key to a good cookie is the flour. Believe me, I thought white flour was the tried and true, one and only, golden rule for cookies. Little did I know how much better the texture is once you use three different kinds of flour. Yep. Three.

I learned this when I made the New York Times best chocolate chip cookies. And seriously, they’re fantastic. A pain in the flippin’ butt, but fantastic.

When I created this recipe, I used my own chocolate chip recipe, switched up the flours and hoped for the best. I think Trader Joe’s, created the magic potion these cookies needed. Might I also add, Trader Joe’s ”Must put crack in their food, it’s that good.” Oh, and I didn’t say that, my nutrition professor did. Truth.

So…make these. Don’t be shy, salt sprinkled on top makes them even better.

Salted Almond and Caramel Cookies

1/3 c. cake flour
1/3 c. bread flour
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 t vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 c. Trader Joe’s Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce
1 c. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Almonds, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and vanilla, until just combined. In a separate bowl, sift together flours, salt and baking soda. With beaters on low, add in dry ingredients, until well-combined. Fold in chopped almonds and caramel. Using small cookie scoop (these cookies will spread!), scoop dough and place onto greased/line cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until done.

I wanted to just call these Trader Joe’s cookies, but then, maybe that wouldn’t sound as appealing?

No, it would. Everything in there has crack in it.

Posted in baking, food, recipes | 1 Comment

Piattini

Posted on 07/15/2012 by Alexa

Last night, Allie and I did something we haven’t done in awhile. A dinner date!

And it wasn’t a sub from Wegman’s, a home-cooked meal (the two of us could survive on cookies as dinner), or pizza. It was one of those “let’s sit here and order what we want when we want and linger until they close.” We did just that. Literally, they were cleaning the tables around us and the waitresses were folding napkins in preparation for the next day as we walked out, but we loved it!

We decided to make the trip into downtown Boston and try Piattini Wine Cafe and it was one of the best decisions we’ve made in a long time. The place was small but quaint and although there were tables outside, the cozy setting inside worked fine for us. First up was what else? Wine!

There were so many amazing wines to choose from on the menu, and although we’re both usually red wine drinkers, a refreshing glass of white called to us. The wine was refreshing, crisp and felt perfect for the hot summer night.

After reading a few reviews online, it seemed the best idea was to order a few of the smaller plates (piattini means small plate in Italian!) and share them. With the help of our sweet waitress Louisa, we decided on the antipasto platter, the pesto gnocchi and the eggplant with smoked mozzarella.

Good. Lord.

Allie and I agreed this was one of the best meals we have had in Boston, hands down.

All of the dishes were fantastic, but it was a toss up between the gnocchi and eggplant for best dish.

The gnocchi was perfectly done, and the sauce was creamy and filled with fresh basil.

And the eggplant?

Yep, only one bit remained once I got around to taking a picture. We even saved the plate to dip our bread into the leftover sauce…it was that good. The eggplant literally melts in your mouth and the smoked cheese is the perfect compliment.

Let me tell you, us two can tackle dessert like nobody’s business, but last night, we were stuffed beyond words!

Champagne dessert? Don’t mind if I do.

Honestly, if you live in the Boston area or are planning a visit you need to come here. The service is great, atmosphere is nice and the food is out of this world. I can’t wait to go back!

Posted in dinner, drinks | 1 Comment

Breakfast Muffins

Posted on 05/31/2012 by Alexa

I told you I’d be back! Now I’m back with something other than a sorry excuse for being gone.

I’ll be honest, I sort of/kind of/ definitely threw some things in a bowl and crossed my fingers (and toes…how does one do that?) that these would turn out alright. I added some brown sugar on top for good measure, in case they tasted gross; sugar always helps!

Anyways, these muffins are perfect for breakfast. Smeared with peanut butter, topped with ice cream, drizzled with hot fudge, ya know, the usual. This recipe only makes about 8-10 muffins, so if you want more, double the batch! See, I’m smart.

These get even better as they sit. Like a fine wine. But let’s be honest, I only drink Franzia. Kidding! Sort of.

Breakfast Muffins

1.5 c. whole wheat flour
1 egg
3/4 c. almond milk
6 oz. Greek yogurt
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 T molasses
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly add dry to wet and mix until just combined. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar. Spoon into muffin liners and bake for 8-1o minutes, or until tops are golden.

The beauty of these? You can do whatever you want with ‘em! Again, ice cream is an option, but feel free to add in banana, pumpkin, chocolate chips, or nuts.

Posted in baking, food, recipes | 4 Comments

Guess Who’s Back…Again!

Posted on 05/21/2012 by Alexa

Well hello there, everyone!

I’m back. After a long, long, long hiatus. I know I said multiple times I would be back with posts, but honestly, I completely let grad school get in the way. I let life get in the way.

BUT here’s what I’ve been doing since I’ve been gone:

Sight-seeing! I’ve seen NYC before, but don’t have any pictures of the touristy things.

Drinking beer!

Watching crazy people run 26.2 miles (Marathon Monday is the best).

Visiting friends I miss dearly.

Oh yea, and studying. Semester one of grad school is over, and summer session has officially begun!

Don’t think I haven’t had any fun in the kitchen along the way!

(Recipe to come!)

Anyways. Sometimes, we all need breaks. I’ve been stalking all of your blogs, but haven’t been doing much work on mine. It made me sad for awhile that I didn’t have time, but then it also made me appreciate the blog/healthy living world that much more. It’s nice to step back every once in a while and take some time to recharge.

So I’m definitely here to stay.

What have you all been up to? What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in the last 3 months!?

Posted in baking, food, misc, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Jacob Wirth

Posted on 03/15/2012 by Alexa

This past weekend, Chris and I went out to Jacob Wirth, a German-style restaurant in downtown Boston. I’ve been hearing good things about this place for awhile now, and when a Groupon for it popped up one day, we decided to go!

My descent is almost completely German, so I’m always down for any type of German food. Last time we went to Germany, I made it my personal mission to eat as many pretzels as possible. I lost count after 7…

As soon as we got there, I thought about how much it really reminded me of being at Oktoberfest in Munich!

To start, they sent out a basket of cornbread, which although random, I wasn’t sad about it.

So of course, we ordered more carbs. Pretzels with honey mustard dip!

And yes, if all carb diets were good for you, I would totally be on board. They were soft, salty and I could have eaten five more, easily.

Oh, and don’t forget the beers to wash it all down. They don’t mess around here!

Next up, the main dishes!

We both ordered a German mixed grill, which is a few different sausages with sauerkraut and cabbage. Yes, I’m aware sausages on a plate look awkward.

I loveeee sauerkraut. It’s a little weird, I know. But the side of spaetzle that I ordered was the best thing I ate. If you don’t know what it is, it’s pretty much a small noodle/dumpling sauteed in butter. So good!