Uncategorized

CREAMY CHAI SPICED POPSICLES

September 22, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Fall in Texas is not like other places I’ve lived. We’re still hitting 90º temperatures on the regular which makes it hard for me to fully get in the swing of the season. But I’m beyond ready for the smells and flavors of fall. Growing up, my mom would simmer a pot of hot water with spices like cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. These beautiful scents would waft through the entire house and make everything seem just a bit cozier.

I’m ready for fall spices but I also want to keep cool in these crazy warm temperatures. Why not combine the two? My answer to this is a creamy chai popsicle. With just three ingredients, this recipe is one of my easiest to make. Oh yeah, and it tastes so good I’d be willing to be you can’t eat just one 😉

Tips:

After heating everything on the stovetop, I transferred the mixture to a 2-cup measuring cup for easier pouring into the popsicle molds

If the popsicles are sticking to the molds, briefly run them under COLD water, they should loosen right up without actually melting.

CREAMY CHAI SPICED POPSICLES

1 ¼ cup whole milk

2 chai tea bags (paper tags removed)

14oz can sweetened condensed milk

In a medium pot, over low heat, bring milk and tea bags to a simmer. Gently stir constantly for 5 minutes so that milk does not burn. Milk will turn darker in color as the tea steeps – (almost looking like chocolate milk). Remove tea bags from pot. Remove pot from heat and pour sweetened condensed milk. Stir until milks are fully combined. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight.

CREAMY CHAI SPICED POPSICLE

Save Print

Fall spices in a sweet dessert

: Slice Of Honey

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 6 Popsicles

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup whole milk
2 chai tea bags (paper tags removed)
14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

In a medium pot, over low heat, bring milk and tea bags to a simmer. Gently stir constantly for 5 minutes so that milk does not burn. Milk will turn darker in color as the tea steeps – (almost looking like chocolate milk). Remove tea bags from pot. Remove pot from heat and pour sweetened condensed milk. Stir until milks are fully combined. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight.

VEGAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

September 20, 2018 by Sarah Baade 12 Comments

Deep down, I’m a competitive person. Candy Land as a little kid, cheer competitions in high school, Scrabble in grad school. It doesn’t really matter the age or the activity, I don’t like to lose. As an adult though, I’ve learned how to internalize the competitive nature and focus on challenging myself rather than competing against others. The benefit of this is that the sky is the limit and I am always working to improve myself in some way or another.

Last month I was inspired by one of my favorite food bloggers and his recipe for a vegan lemon meringue pie. I have several friends who follow a vegan diet and making a delicious dessert that they can enjoy with everyone else is such a gift. Then came the opportunity to create my own vegan dessert recipe along with several other bloggers. Yes! Count me in! After contemplating several ideas, I decided to go with a classic shortbread cookie. Such an easy to make and easy to share treat that is made with easy to find ingredients.

Tips:

I used vegan butter for this recipe in order to give it a more traditional buttery flavor. However, you can sub out for an equal amount of coconut oil if you prefer.
As I developed this recipe, I noticed that the amount of flour needed varied slightly based on the amount of moisture in the air – a rainy day meant I needed more flour to reach that slightly crumbly state you want. If you don’t reach that crumbly state, the cookies will still taste delicious but the cookie consistency will be more like a soft sugar cookie.

VEGAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

For the cookies:

½ cup cold vegan butter, cut into 1” pieces

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup aquafaba (juice from canned chickpeas)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (add more as needed, see tip above)

Cookie Directions:

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until it starts to become fluffy. If mixture starts sticks to sides of bowl, scrape down with a spatula. Add aquafaba, salt and almond extract, mix until ingredients start to blend.

With mixer speed set to low and add flour a ½ cup at a time, beat until fully incorporated. Dough may be slightly crumbly.

Place dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and form dough into a log shape. Fold plastic wrap over dough then roll log on the counter to help smooth it out. Log should be approximately 2” in diameter. Place dough log in freezer for 30 minutes to slightly firm it up.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Remove dough log from freezer and peel off plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife, slice log into ¼” thick rounds. Place rounds on a parchment covered baking sheet, ½”-1” apart. (Cookies won’t spread much so you can fit more onto a sheet than you could with other cookies.) Bake cookies 10-12 minutes or until bottom edges just begin to turn golden brown. Let cookies cool completely before adding chocolate drizzle.

For the chocolate drizzle:

3oz vegan dark chocolate bar, broken into 1” pieces

½ teaspoon coconut oil

Chocolate Drizzle Directions:

Place chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until chocolate is completely melted and is smooth and shiny. Using a spoon or a small zip-lock bag with the tip of one corner cut off, drizzle chocolate over the cooled cookies.

VEGAN SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

Save Print

Easy to make vegan cookies that anyone will enjoy.

: Slice Of Honey

Cuisine: Dessert

Serves: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:
½ cup cold vegan butter, cut into 1” pieces
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup aquafaba (juice from canned chickpeas)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour (add more as needed, see tip above)
For the chocolate drizzle:
3oz vegan dark chocolate bar, broken into 1” pieces
½ teaspoon coconut oil

Instructions

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until it starts to become fluffy. If mixture starts sticks to sides of bowl, scrape down with a spatula. Add aquafaba, salt and almond extract, mix until ingredients start to blend.
With mixer speed set to low and add flour a ½ cup at a time, beat until fully incorporated. Dough may be slightly crumbly.
Place dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and form dough into a log shape. Fold plastic wrap over dough then roll log on the counter to help smooth it out. Log should be approximately 2” in diameter. Place dough log in freezer for 30 minutes to slightly firm it up.
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Remove dough log from freezer and peel off plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife, slice log into ¼” thick rounds. Place rounds on a parchment covered baking sheet, ½”-1” apart. (Cookies won’t spread much so you can fit more onto a sheet than you could with other cookies.) Bake cookies 10-12 minutes or until bottom edges just begin to turn golden brown. Let cookies cool completely before adding chocolate drizzle.
Place chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring at each interval, until chocolate is completely melted and is smooth and shiny. Using a spoon or a small zip-lock bag with the tip of one corner cut off, drizzle chocolate over the cooled cookies.

Notes

I used vegan butter for this recipe in order to give it a more traditional buttery flavor. However, you can sub out for an equal amount of coconut oil if you prefer.

As I developed this recipe, I noticed that the amount of flour needed varied slightly based on the amount of moisture in the air – a rainy day meant I needed more flour to reach that slightly crumbly state you want. If you don’t reach that crumbly state, the cookies will still taste delicious but the cookie consistency will be more like a soft sugar cookie.

As I mentioned above, this post was part of a collaboration with eleven other bloggers. Each of us created a unique vegan dessert. Please check them all out – there is quite a variety!

Coconut-Lime Vegan Tart

Vegan Chocolate Caramel Tart

Vegan Ginger Coconut Pear Cake

Beetroot Brownie

Vegan Lemon Coconut Frangipane Tart

Vegan Banoffee Pies

Blackberry Pie with Walnut Crumble Topping (Vegan)

Vegan Blackberry Pie with Walnut Cardamom Crumble

Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Berry & Brie Vegan Strudel

No Bake Vegan Chocolate Salami

Vegan Biscoff Tiffin

Save Print

Veggie Wrap With Homemade Jalapeño Hummus

September 9, 2018 by Sarah Baade 1 Comment

I have to say that I’m fortunate to have a cafeteria available to me at work. It really is convenient when I don’t have any leftovers to bring in for lunch. However, the meatless options in the cafeteria aren’t stellar. I often default to the veggie wrap but it seems like half of the filling options typically aren’t available for one reason or another. This can result in a lettuce and tomato wrap with a little bit of hummus and/or cheese. Not filling. Not flavorful.

With just a little bit of meal prep at the beginning of the week, I’m sure I can provide myself with a better wrap for lunch. My plan is to chop and slice all of the vegetables then place them into individual bags that I can quickly grab out of the fridge as I head out the door for work. By assembling the wraps at work, the wrap/tortilla won’t get soggy. This homemade jalapeño hummus provides so much flavor and can easily be used for dipping veggies, crackers, etc. as a side dish or snack.

Tips:

If you want to add more spice to your hummus, add more jalapeño. If you prefer a milder level of heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeño before chopping and adding it to the hummus.
To avoid getting the jalapeño oils on your hands (and potentially in your eyes if you rub them) wear plastic gloves while chopping it.

Veggie Wrap with Homemade Jalapeño Hummus

For the jalapeño hummus:

15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 Tablespoons tahini

1/3 cup Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons fresh jalapeño, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

Hummus Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the processor part way through in order to fully incorporate the ingredients.

For the wrap:

1 wrap or large tortilla

¼ cup jalapeño hummus

Handful of kale

Handful of red cabbage, chopped

4 slices cucumber

4 rings of sliced red onion

3 slices tomato

Handful of zucchini noodles

3 slices bell pepper

Wrap Directions:

Spread hummus on 1/3 – 1/2 of the wrap. On top of the hummus, layer the kale, cabbage, cucumber, onion, tomato, zucchini noodles and bell pepper. Fold the wrap around the vegetables and enjoy.

Rainbow Fruit Salad

August 28, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

My husband and I are pretty active in our church and this naturally leads to potluck meals a few times per year. My husband’s answer to bringing a dish is always “Let’s just pick something up from the store on the way to the party.” I, on the other hand, never even think of this as an option until he mentions it. Instead, I go through my mental rolodex of easy recipes and some sort of cookie usually wins out. I’m honestly not sure why I feel obligated to bring something homemade. I don’t expect it of others and I’m pretty confident others don’t expect it of me. Then again, homemade always tastes better than store bought, even with a simple recipe.

This weekend we attended a pool party and you guessed it, it was a potluck situation! I’ve been obsessed with fresh fruit lately so cookies didn’t even make the short list of ideas for once. Instead, I made my rainbow fruit salad. Guys, this is so easy and so delicious! I promise, the hardest part of this recipe is cutting some fruit and there isn’t even very much to cut. This fruit salad is so refreshing but it will also satisfy your sweet tooth – this counts as a win-win in my book!

Tips:

Don’t be afraid to swap out some of the fruits for whatever is seasonal. Ultimately, the goal is about 8-10 cups of FRESH fruit.
I always like to add a few berries to my fruit salad because they don’t require cutting. Just wash and toss them into the mix!

Rainbow Fruit Salad

1 large peach, rinsed and cut into bit sized pieces (I left the skin on)

3 kiwi, peeled and cut into bit sized pieces

1 mango, peeled cut into bit sized pieces

12oz raspberries, rinsed

11oz blueberries, rinsed

2 teaspoons agave syrup (or honey if you prefer)

1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

Toss all fruit into a large bowl. Drizzle with agave syrup then add mint and lime juice. Gently stir until fruit is evenly coated with the syrup and lime juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Rhubarb Bread

August 20, 2018 by Sarah Baade 6 Comments

Rhubarb. I feel like I need to admit that prior to this recipe, I had never eaten rhubarb. I’m not a big fan of celery and it just looks like giant pink celery so why would I want to eat it? What is particularly astonishing about this situation is that strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my dad’s favorite desserts. I grew up with this pie being made in my household somewhat regularly. Still, I never tried it. As I sifted through my grandma’s recipe box I knew I needed to get over myself and give this a go.

I feel like you need to know your fruits and vegetables in raw form before cooking with them. So, I did it. I took a bite of raw rhubarb – BITTER!!! Clearly sugar is needed to balance this out, no wonder I’ve only ever seen it in desserts. I also tasted the batter before pouring it into the loaf pans (I know, I was risking salmonella with the raw egg). I was expecting it to be sweet like a muffin or pumpkin bread but it was actually quite mild. My second confession for this recipe is that I was starting to think this might be my first fail of Grandma’s recipe box. I. Was. Wrong! The brown sugar crumbles on top added just the right amount of sweetness to make this bread completely delightful and the bitterness of the rhubarb subsided as it baked. Alright, rhubarb lovers of the world, I get it and I’m now a member of your club!

Tips:

Sometimes your hands are better tools than anything you can buy. I found it easiest to mix the topping ingredients together by hand.
You can grease your loaf pans if you don’t have parchment paper.

Rhubarb Bread

Bread:

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ cups diced rhubarb

½ cup walnut pieces

Topping:

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, slightly softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two loaf pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together all bread ingredients in order listed. Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan.

In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients. Sprinkle equal amounts of topping over each pan of batter.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until test until a test stick can be inserted and removed clean. Once loaves are baked, let cool 20 minutes before removing from pans. Slice and serve slightly warm or let loaves finish cooling on a wire rack.

Original recipe source unknown. Recipe has been modified from this version for the purpose of this blog.

Watermelon Salad

August 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade 3 Comments

I keep wondering if I’m getting wimpier with age or if this summer really has been excruciatingly hot. I’m leaning toward the latter but the honest answer is that it’s probably both. I’ve been thinking back on all those summers I spent working at YMCA camps (shout out to Camp Wood and Camp Cosby!) and wondering how I survived living in little cabins with no air conditioning. I’m confident that I survived by being preoccupied with lots of fun activities and friends. I mean, who has time to think about the heat when you’re guiding a group of kids through a mud hike?! Still, we’ve been hitting triple digit temperatures on a daily basis with not much relief in sight. I give a lot of credit to all the summer camp staffers out there who have pushed through this heat to give kids the best week(s) they could imagine.

When it’s this hot outside, I have no interest in turning on the oven. Simple fresh ingredients are the way to go and summer provides such delicious seasonal produce! Naturally, I had to use this to my advantage. My daughter has been on a watermelon kick lately so I opted to use that as my base. I’m all about use what you’ve already got at home when possible. With just five ingredients, the hardest part of this salad will simply be cutting the watermelon. Other than that, this is as easy as a recipe can get. Enjoy!

Tips:

Although more expensive, you can certainly buy pre-cut watermelon to make this recipe even easier to make.
You can certainly toss the salad together a day ahead. Just be sure to cover and store in the refrigerator and don’t add the salad dressing until you are ready to serve it.

Watermelon Salad

Salad:

8 cups watermelon, cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups blueberries

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled or cubed

1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

Dressing:

1 cup blueberries

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together all of the salad ingredients. In a blender, liquefy the dressing ingredients. Drizzle dressing over individual servings of salad, as desired.

Savory Spinach Turnovers

July 15, 2018 by Sarah Baade 5 Comments

Is there actually a better meal out there than brunch? The combination of savory and sweet breakfast items plus lunch is arguably perfect. It is also the only time adding a little booze to your diet before noon is not just acceptable but encouraged. Hello mimosas and bloody Marys! Next month I will be helping to host a baby shower with brunch so I’ve had all sorts of ideas running through my head. The hardest part of menu planning will be narrowing down our options.

I can’t quite decide what I like best about this recipe. It is incredibly easy to make with just 8 ingredients. But the bonus is that it would be great served at a brunch or as a grab and go option on a busy morning. I actually made these on a weeknight and then brought them to the office the next morning to share. My co-workers happily grabbed one to take back to their desks as a mid-morning pick me up.

Tips:

You can make the filling a day ahead and refrigerate it until ready to use.
If you have whole frozen spinach on hand, you can chop it yourself rather than buying the pre-chopped.

Savory Spinach Turnovers

Makes 8 turnovers

10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

½ cup ricotta cheese

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ teaspoon garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons shallot, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

2 sheets ready to bake puff pastry dough, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Drain spinach of any excess water. In a medium bowl, stir together spinach, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, garlic, shallot and salt.

Unfold sheets of puff pastry. Cut each sheet into four equal squares. Place 2 Tablespoons of spinach mixture into the center of each pastry square. Fold each pastry square diagonally over spinach. Pinch edges of dough together with a fork. Brush the tops and sides of each turnover with the beaten egg.

Place each turnover on the lined baking sheet. Bake 16-18 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

Strawberry Float

July 1, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Happy Independence Day!!! I have celebrated this holiday from all over the country – Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Alabama… I’ve watched fireworks lakeside, mountainside and from my own driveway. However, my favorite memories of this holiday are from my grandparents’ backyard. As a kid, we would drive down from Kansas to Texas to visit my grandparents. They would have what seemed like an endless supply of sparklers and popper for us to light up after it got dark. All of us kids would line up out in the yard, a few feet in front of Grandpa’s giant vegetable garden, and write our names in the night sky with the sparklers. Aside from summer camp, this has got to be one of my all-time favorite summer memories.

This year, I’m keeping the holiday low-key. My little one is too little to play with sparklers and I won’t be staying up late since I’ll need to be at work the next day. But I still want a festive treat. Making the ice cream ahead of time means all I have to do is scoop and pour some soda for this one. I opted for fresh strawberries since they are readily available this time of year. And in the continued effort to keep things simple, this is a no-churn ice cream. You’re welcome!

Tips:

Make sure the strawberry syrup has completely cooled before you add it to the cream mixture.
The homemade syrup is really delicious – it would also be fantastic poured over any vanilla ice cream for a sundae.

Strawberry Float

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

16oz fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and finely chopped

16oz heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

14oz sweetened condensed milk

Strawberry soda (I used a passion fruit & strawberry Italian soda)

Directions:

Place sugar, balsamic vinegar and half of the strawberries in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Set aside to let cool.

In a large, cold bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Stir in vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, cooled syrup and remaining fresh strawberries. Pour ice cream into a 9×5 loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Place 2 scoops of the strawberry ice cream into a glass. Fill glass with strawberry soda until ice cream is covered and starts to foam. Serve with a straw or spoon.

Cherry Limeade Popsicles

June 22, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

It is now officially SUMMER!!! And I am celebrating with popsicles. We have been reaching 90’s and even into triple digit temperatures for a few weeks already. I can’t even think about how hot it will be by mid-summer. Over Memorial Day weekend we were visiting family and the kids were all hanging out on the back porch sharing popsicles. Sticky hands and faces, bright red/purple/blue lips, and huge smiles all around. I love how such a simple treat can bring pure joy.

I’ve been trying out a few different popsicle recipes ever since my parents gifted me a nice set of molds. I think their goal was for me to recreate a sangria popsicle we had a while back at a restaurant. I’m sure I’ll get to that before too long but right now I’m focused on non-alcoholic popsicles so my little one can partake. This cherry-lime-aide is my favorite flavor so far. I’m sure this could easily incorporate some wine on the next go-round. (Mom, Dad – I’ve got you covered.)

Tips:

I’m going to be honest, I used frozen cherries for this one because they were already pitted – I’m all about less work when it can still create a delicious result!
If the popsicles are sticking to the molds, briefly run them under cold water, they should loosen right up without actually melting.

Cherry Limeade Popsicles

Makes 6 popsicles

1 cup sweet red cherries, pitted

1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

Directions:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, stir together all four ingredients. Continue stirring until all sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and pour fruit mixture into a blender. Blend on high until all ingredients are liquefied. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze overnight.

Portobello Lettuce Wraps

June 11, 2018 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Last month was full of traveling. My husband, daughter and I flew out to Oregon to visit family for a few days. Then I flew to Seattle, WA for a work training. The following week we drove to Kansas to visit more family. I am incredibly thankful for these opportunities but it also completely wore us out. I can’t help but think the exhaustion is partly due to a shift in diet. Whenever I travel I end up eating more junk food than I normally would – certainly more than I should. I’m not alone in this habit, right?!?

Now that I’m back home I’m craving healthy food. I always find the easiest way to eat healthy is to cook at home. When I’m coming up with recipes I typically start with what type of dish I want to make and then figure out the details and ingredients. However, this particular recipe started with the sauce. I actually tried it out on some peeled carrots and it tasted pretty great (give it a try if you need an easy salad) but it wasn’t quite what I wanted as a final product. After some brainstorming, I came up with these lettuce wraps. This is such an easy dish to make, it might just make it onto my regular dinner menu rotation.

Tips:

You can easily make the sauce the night before and then refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.
The easiest way to crumble the tofu is to do it by hand. Alternatively, you could put the tofu in a bowl and break it apart with a fork.

Portobello Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4

½ cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup + 1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons ginger, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

½ teaspoon salt

16oz firm tofu,

4 medium Portobello mushrooms, rinsed, stemmed & chopped

2/3 cup water chestnuts, chopped

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

2 heads of bib or butter lettuce

Optional additions: rice, crushed peanuts, sliced green onion.

Directions:

In a small saucepan, over low heat, whisk together balsamic vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, ginger, peanut butter and salt until ingredients are fully combined. Remove from heat.

Press tofu with a paper towel to absorb moisture. In a large pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Crumble tofu into pan and sauté until it starts to brown. Stir in mushrooms and continue to sauté until mushrooms are tender. Reduce heat to low, stir in water chestnuts, crushed red pepper and sauce.

Spoon rice and mushroom filling into lettuce leaves and garnish with peanuts and green onions.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin