Lemon Meltaways

4 Feb

Image

Ahhh, Spring is in the air.

….

Okay, maybe not. It’s only February, it’s under 50 degrees, but I can *sense* the flowers wanting to pop up and the birds chirping. Regardless, lemon isn’t a seasonal flavor for me, so happy February. Here’s a new (healthy…shhh!) treat.

I should note that as long as they are made the way that i’ve posted them, these little babies are raw AND vegan. Weird, right? Considering I’m not a vegan, vegetarian, or raw food advocate…but seriously, how can you turn down something so sweet, tart, and tasty?

I’ll make this one super easy for you:

lemon meltaways via cupcakesandcardigans

First do all of that (pay no attention to the dog behind the lemon..nothing to see here).

lemon meltaways via cupcakesandcardigans

Then do this…and stick them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. AND be sure to store them in the freezer.

These are called meltaways for a reason, kids.

Raw, Vegan Lemon Meltaways
Adapted from Detoxinista

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
  • 3 tbsp. melted coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp. raw honey
  • 3 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Directions
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Drop by the tablespoon into a lined mini muffin pan and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to eating. Store in the freezer.

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Elderberry Syrup

16 Jan

syrup

Let’s chat a bit about this lovely time of year. Everyone is sleep deprived from all of the post-holiday travel, kids are sick, coworkers are coughing within an arms reach, and catching a miserable cold in the New Year seems inevitable.

Ew.

I’ve never been a huge fan of over the counter cough syrups that are loaded with chemicals that may temporarily relieve symptoms, but give me that weird, lightheaded feeling all day. When I approached a natural remedies booth at a local craft fair before the holiday season, I was super excited to see what was in store. I discovered this delightful concoction said to strengthen the immune system to prevent colds, and also shorten the duration of the bugs that happen to make their way into the body. Woo hoo! Two things stuck out to me when making this initial purchase:

1) Awesome! A natural health product that tastes good and won’t affect my productivity by making my head spin!

2) Ooo…$10.00 for 4 oz?

I did a little research and found that elderberry syrup is commonly sold in health food stores, but the price tag can be even more steep. ($10-15 for 4 oz.) Since the vendor at the local craft fair noted that there were only 3 ingredients in her syrup, I ventured out to find a recipe online (have I sung the praises of pinterest?).

Elderberries weren’t readily available, but a simple amazon search, a click of that little “Buy Now with One-Click” button (dangerous, I tell you), and I had the dried berries in less than a week. I found mine here. In addition to this, I needed a few other supplies which were easily found at the local grocery store.

Cost for 24 oz. of homemade elderberry syrup:
Elderberries: $6.00 ($14.99+$4.99 shipping)
Raw honey: $4.50 ($8.99 for 16 oz.)
Mason Jar with lid: $2.49
Cheesecloth: $2.99

Total for 24 oz=$15.98

To compare, 4 oz. retails for typically between $10-15. 4 oz of homemade elderberry syrup costs less than $3.

I think I win. :)

The whole process of making homemade elderberry syrup is far less intimidating than you may think.

berriesPut the dry berries in a pot.

berries with waterCover the dry berries with water.

boilingBring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for awhile.

honeyMeasure out the raw honey.

honey2Throw the raw honey into a bowl or jar (I did it all in the jar so I didn’t have to transfer the syrup later).

cheeseclothLine your colander with cheesecloth. This might not be necessary if you have a fine mesh colander.

smashingPour the liquid through, smash the berries to extract all of the juices, and if you’re feeling like purple hands will work for you, give the cheesecloth a little squeeze to get the last bit of liquid out.

stirringPour into your jar, give it a good stir, and stick it in the fridge to cool the rest of the way.

DIY Elderberry Syrup for Immune Support
Adapted from Stitch and Boots

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dried elderberries
  • 1 cup raw honey
  • 3 cups filtered water

Directions
Place dried elderberries into a pot and cover with filtered water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat simmer on low for 30-40 minutes. In the meantime, measure out 1 cup of raw honey and place into a quart sized mason jar. Line a colander with cheesecloth or muslin, and to avoid messes, place a funnel under the colander to catch any liquid. Place colander (and funnel if using) over the mason jar. Once done simmering berries, turn off heat to allow to cool slightly. Once cooled, pour liquid and berries into the lined colander, smashing berries with a wooden spoon to extract juices. If necessary, remove cheesecloth containing berries to squeeze out excess liquid by hand. Stir to combine honey and elderberry juices. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Adult dosage:
2 tbsp. daily for immune support. Repeat this throughout the day if ill.

Child dosage:
1 tbsp. daily for immune support. Do not use for infants or children under 1 year old.

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DIY Organic Carpet Freshener

15 Sep

Show of hands:

Who has pets?

Who trudges through their house with shoes on?

Who has lingering food smells from their kitchen?

My hand is sky high.

I’ve always been a fan of carpet freshener, but the stuff from the store with a crazy strong and unnatural smell gives me a headache and has an obnoxious, fake “fresh” scent that lingers around for days. Personally, due to the impending autumn season, I’d much rather be able to control the scent of my house and have the carpet freshener not only deodorize but enhance the ambiance when guests enter.

Two ingredients. Seriously. Two. Baking soda + organic essential oil.

Measure out 1 cup of baking soda and place it into a small bowl.

Use an essential oil to add the scent to the powder. I found my organic Aura Cacia essential oil at Whole Foods, and chose cinnamon leaf for a welcoming fall scent.

Drop approximately 15-18 drops of essential oil into the baking soda and stir it with a metal spoon until it is all combined.

DIY Organic Carpet Freshener
Adapted from Organic Authority

Ingredients

  • 1 cup baking soda
  • organic essential oil

Directions
Place 1 cup of baking soda into a small bowl. Add approximately 15-18 drops of organic essential oil and stir together to with a metal spoon to combine. Let sit for at least 24 hours to allow essential oil to meld with baking soda. Sprinkle liberally on carpeting, allow to rest for 20 minutes, then vacuum.

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Brown Butter and Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

12 Sep

Few things are more comforting than a warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven. Like a favorite sweatshirt, they are comforting, warm, and always there for you when you need them. Delectable as a dough (more on this at a later date) as well as a final baked good, the chocolate chip cookie is a reliable old friend that I fail to get sick of due to the countless variations on such a classic dessert.

Softened, melted, and browned butter.

Semi-sweet, milk, or white chocolate chips.

Walnuts, oatmeal, or plain.

So many combinations…and all…so…good.

For this recipe, we’ll start by browning the butter.

Begin by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and start swirling to melt.

Melty.

The butter will begin to froth and bubble.

Then the froth disappears. Watch carefully at this point, ensuring that you don’t brown the butter too much.

Continue to swirl in the saucepan until the butter reaches a light brown caramel color and smells…nutty? Let it cool off for a few minutes.

Combine the sugars in a large bowl.

Use a mixer to slowly integrate the browned butter and sugars, followed by the eggs and vanilla.

Mix the rest of the dry ingredients in slowly, then add the chocolate chips. You should be able to see teeny dark brown flecks from your brown butter in the dough.

Use a small cookie scoop and place on parchment paper, topping each mound of dough with a pinch of sea salt or fleur de sel if you are wearing your fancy pants. Bake, cool on a rack for as long as you can wait, and enjoy.

Brown Butter and Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Picky Palate
Yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt plus additional for sprinkling
  • 10 oz. bag of chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan to melt.  Once melted, watch carefully.  Butter will foam, boil, then little brown bits will start to form around sides and bottom of pan.  Once butter turns a golden brown and has a nutty aroma, remove from heat.  Transfer to a bowl to stop the cooking process. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Place brown sugar and granulated sugar into a bowl.  Add cooled brown butter and mix with a stand or hand mixer until well combined.  Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined.  Place flour, baking soda and sea salt into a large bowl.  Slowly add to wet ingredients then add in chocolate chips, mixing until just combined.  Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet with a cookie scoop and sprinkle tops with additional sea salt.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cooked through.  Let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

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Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Blondies

10 Sep

Let me start out by saying I’m sorry. I’m sorry to you if you have been circling back day after day hoping for another recipe. I’m sorry to me for letting my life overwhelm me and take me away from what I love to do: bake, cook, and blog.

Now that the air is clear, I’m glad to be back. I’m forcing myself to make time for ME, whether that involves cooking up a new meal, venturing to the farmers market, or going for a run (ew). I suggest that all of you take a step back and try to do the same. You’ll find yourselves happier, healthier, and ready to take on the world (or at least take on tomorrow…morning).

I first fell in love with blondies (read: brownie, sans chocolate, with same delightful, chewy texture) at Applebee’s. Don’t pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about. I mean the white chocolate and walnut blondie with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream and warm maple butter sauce. *drool*

While I didn’t do a restaurant replica for my first blondie, I found an equally satisfying and tasty treat on pinterest made with semi-sweet chocolate and graham cracker crumbs. YUM.

Like any good recipe, this one starts with butter. Melted. And don’t you dare try to substitute it for applesauce.

Combine the melted butter with brown sugar, then add in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the salt, baking powder, and flour.

Use a stand or hand mixer to combine everything, then stir in any mix-ins (chocolate chips, nuts, graham cracker crumbs).

Spread the mixture into a parchment lined pan.

Use a spatula to smooth it all out.

Bake. Cool. Cut. Nom.

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Blondies
Adapted from What’s Baking in the BarberShop
Yields 12-16 blondies

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • dash salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, white…whatever you please!)
  • 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a 9″x13″ pan with parchment paper. Melt butter, combine with brown sugar, and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the salt, and stir in the flour and baking powder. Mix in your additions (chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs, nuts). Pour into lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting.

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Blueberry Muffins

26 Feb

I apologize for my absence as of late. Between taking care of the puppy, the new job, and trying to plan our 2012 Italian Vacation (and hitting the gym for said vacation and an upcoming wedding), I find myself with less and less free time. I promise to try to remedy that.

Have you ever woken up in the morning with an inexplicable craving for a certain food? Being a saccharine  fiend, my cravings are rarely for eggs and bacon. I tend to lean toward the sweeter breakfast foods like crepes, pancakes, pastries, and sugary lattes.

I’m not a huge blueberry fan, but I happened to have a few pints in my fridge (as well as some frozen for smoothies in my freezer) and the blissful combination of lemon and berry called to me.

Best part: most of these items you’ll already have on hand. Hooray! No special trips to the store!

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine oil…

eggs…

and milk into a small bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Measure out blueberrues. I used a combination of fresh and frozen. If using frozen, you may want to use a little less than recommended as they tend to shrink with freezing.

Stir blueberries into batter.

For the lemon sugar topping, zest 2-3 large lemons.

Using a large knife, finely chop the zest.

Combine zest with sugar and allow the flavors to meld for a few minutes.

Fill lined muffin pan wells close to the top with blueberry muffin batter, and sprinkle a generous heap of lemon sugar on top.

Allow muffins to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Sugar Topping
Adapted from Allrecipes
Yield 24 large muffins

Muffin Ingredients

  • 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • chopped zest of 3 lemons

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in blueberries. Zest 3 lemons and finely chop the zest. Stir into a small bowl with sugar, allowing the flavors to meld for a few minutes. Fill each lined muffin well near the top with batter, sprinkling a generous amount of lemon sugar on each. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the muffin tops are golden in color. Allow to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing and serving.

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Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup

23 Jan

Allow me to begin by saying I’m mad. I’m so angry at my phone because I had some lovely little hipster photos of the vanilla bean, the bean caviar, the initial combining of the ingredients…..

And for some strange reason, my phone decided “Hey Miranda, you’ve had an awesome day, so I’m going to throw a teeny wrench in it and send you the same picture 5 times instead of 5 different photos.”

Fine. You win this time, phone.

My inspiration for this post: a super awesome purple travel mug that I received today. Why?

NEW CAREER!

Yes, yes, it is very exciting. I’ve broken free of the insurance claims world that I was in for four years. Don’t get me wrong, I love insurance. I loved claims. After awhile, I got into the point in my career where I thought:

“Is this really what I want?”

“Did I really spend 4 years in higher education to be a claims adjuster?”

The answer was definitely no.

I’m in a new position now and my first day could be described as ideal. I was busy! I had things to do, people to meet, meetings to attend. It felt great to be thrown into the thick of everything, despite being unfamiliar with the products and position.

Needless to say, I’m going to need some caffeine to keep me going, and this vanilla bean simple syrup is an excellent addition to any latte or morning coffee.

Since I don’t have photos of the vanilla bean scraping process, allow me to direct you here:

Once you’ve removed the “caviar” (vanilla bean seeds) from the pod, place them into a small sauce pan with sugar and water.

Stir everything together and watch as the sugar melts. Bring to a boil, and to really let the vanilla bean flavor seep into the syrup, allow it to boil for about three minutes. Your syrup will be clear with little vanilla bean flecks. I used cane sugar, so mine was a caramel color.

While it is cooling, set up a glass bottle with funnel. Allow the syrup to cool for a few minutes before pouring into a bottle.

Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup
adapted from Going Home to Roost
yields approximately 8 ounces

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 vanilla bean, scraped

Directions
Scrape the inside of one vanilla bean. Place into a small saucepan with sugar and water. Stir to combine. Heat over medium-high heat. Once it has reached a boil, boil for 2-3 minutes to allow the vanilla flavor to penetrate into the syrup. Allow to cool before transferring to an air tight container.

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