orange

I'm not going to elaborate on this dessert. I didn't understand how coriander and orange could possibly go together, but I was very intrigued when I read the description on the display case. I should have just stayed intrigued. The icing, what I normally love, was grainy and not nicely flavored. The cupcake itself was odd and not satisfying. I would not recommend it at all. The walnut bars underneath the cupcakes weren't much better. (Dry and bland.) I won't be buying them again. In fact, if I were to base all desserts on these, I would stick with the rest of the meal and skip the dessert all together.

This is one of those times when I feel like my iPhone photo app doesn't do the product justice. Course, it could be that I was just in too big of a hurry to get the pic taken before it melted and I needed to go deal with a child who has an increasingly louder scream when it comes to sudden onset of hunger.

I'm still enjoying my stock-up on sale priced organic Stonyfield yogurt that I moved to the freezer for preservation. I wanted a thicker, ice cream-style frozen yogurt for lunch last week. I used frozen strawberry yogurt, half an orange, and four medium-large flash frozen strawberries. My treat came out thick enough to serve in a bowl and to be eaten with a spoon. I've already made this recipe twice, and I hope to use up the rest of my frozen yogurt this way. For people who aren't fans of yogurt at all, this one really did just taste like fruit-flavored ice cream.

Cost to Make Upgraded Frozen Yogurt

• $0.32 Strawberyy Yogurt (Publix)
• $0.50 Strawberries (Maitland Farmer's Market)
• $0.05 Orange (Holianna Groves)
• $0.87 Total

Recipe for Upgraded Frozen Yogurt

• 1 cup strawberry yogurt, preferably frozen
• 3-4 Whole flash frozen strawberries
• 1/2 juice orange, like Tangelo, juiced

Whirl all ingredients until strawberries are chopped. Makes one serving.

I love the fact that I was in the right place at the right time. I got a 4 32 oz. cartons of Stonyfield yogurt on sale with coupons and froze it. With the strawberry yogurt, I made myself a yummy smoothie with half a juice orange as my liquid, frozen strawberries, and a ripe banana. The fresh quality of the fruit adds all the sweetener I need, making this drink easy and healthy.

With the April weather making for lovely warm, but breezy afternoons, I am really enjoying these cold drinks that use the winter orange and the spring strawberry.

Cost to Make Strawberry Smoothie

• $0.16 Strawberyy Yogurt (Publix)
• $0.50 Strawberries (Maitland Farmer's Market)
• $0.05 Orange (Holianna Groves)
• $0.21 Banana (Costco)
• $0.92 Total

Recipe for Strawberry Smoothie

• 1/2 cup strawberry yogurt, preferably frozen
• 3-4 Whole flash frozen strawberries
• 1 medium-sized ripe banana
• 1/2 juice orange, like Tangelo, juiced

Whirl all ingredients in a blender until mixed and at desired consistency. Makes one serving.

Just like the issue with the strawberries over the weekend, I had excess strawberries that didn't taste so good fresh last Wednesday for Dinner Club. Again, my apologies to the guests, Janet, Stefanie, and Yvette; but this is proof that there are ways to make strawberries taste better. I loved that it even looked like I had slaved away and that it used only natural sweeteners for the filling. I have plans to use this recipe as my "go to" for many years to come.

This was a great way to eat up the last of my diced apples. I'm quite sad over that because they were so good, but I know I can fill up the freezer with more summer goodness.

Cost to Make Crumble

The fresh fruit is what raises the price, but I think peak flavor (which we at least had with the apples) is well worth it.

Recipe for Strawberry Apple Crumble

Filling

• 1 1/2 pints frest strawberries, quartered
• 1/2 gallon frozen diced apples (2 fresh)
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• Juice of one orange (This time of year, we actually have "juice oranges" that are extra juicy)

Topping-Source: AllRecipes.com

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put all filling ingredients into a 9 x 13 Pyrex. Mix and spread evenly. In separate bowl, mix together dry topping ingredients evenly. Pour melted butter over and mix together until clumps form. Pour topping evenly over apple and strawberry mixture. Bake in oven for 35 minutes or until crumble has browned and fruit bubbles. Serve warm, at room temp, or cold with vanilla ice cream.

I write this post with my humblest and sincerest apologies to cookbook author, Mary Sheehan. Paul won a copy of her cookbook quite some time ago, and there was always something keeping me from investigating it and cooking some of her recipes. Well, I dug out the book when I was rearranging the kitchen. (I've read you should create a door in your kitchen with unbreakables so a child can play without restriction. I'm getting ready!) And I came across a recipe to use quinoa. Remember how I said I needed to find new ways to use it? Well this is definitely one that will remain in the forefront of my mind. I served it for my parents, grandmother, and Paul for dinner just last night and had to immediately share. It was that good. In fact, I was afraid the patties would be all gone and leave us with no leftovers for today.

Still catching up on posts from two months ago. Here's a picture of some divine looking juice at a grocery store in Chelsea Market in Manhattan, New York. We almost picked some up, but it wasn't pasteurized, and I was a bit nervous drinking it during pregnancy. It really did look tempting. I would invite someone to try it and tell us what they think. Just watch out for the expiration date. Look for the freshest dates. Watch because the juice expires quicker without pasteurization.

Please excuse the dent in the can. My overly-packed-not-sure-what-I-will-be-hungry-for lunch box isn't the safest place to be sometimes.

We learned about these drinks at this year's PumpkinFest. (Sorry, no story, yet, but you can access pics on Paul's Flickr account.) Anyway, then another friend shared that they were available at Costco. I asked Paul if we wanted some and he said "Sure. I like anything made by Pellegrino." For about $14, I brought home 24 cans of flavored water--12 orange, 12 lemon. I took an orange for lunch.

My opinion: I thought aluminum foil over the top of the can was fancy, I also thought it might be a waste. However, the scientist in me wondered if it kept the top of the can cleaner, which I know can pick up dust and dirt so easily. At the moment I don't have the energy to take the study any further. The taste was nice, and I thought it wasn't as sweet as soft drinks, which I don't drink because I don't like sugar water. In fact, I wondered if people who need to wean themselves from soft drinks wouldn't benefit from the orange-flavored water. Again, I don't have the energy to do that research myself, especially since these will only be a luxury in our house. We just don't do soft drinks.

Honestly, I'm happiest with a bottle of straight Pellegrino.

Eat Like a Rabbit celebrated its ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY while we were in Seattle! We were so excited and as a reward to ourselves, we agreed to go on a shopping spree to Trader Joe's, an unusual grocery store that has locations where everyone else we know lives--except there's none in Orlando. We did a lot of testing with our product selections and hope to have a set grocery list for any future visits. Perhaps they will go faster in the future, but I doubt they will be as much fun. Thanks to Leann and Jeremy who shuttled us around and waited patiently while we filled up our basket. In fact, I don't know the last time I've ever made a grocery cart that full! But honestly, a good bit of it was purchased for gifts, and we ate a good bit of it while we were still in Seattle, too.

Possibly, this idea came from allrecipes.com. I won't take the credit for it, but I do recommend it. I'm not generally a fan of oatmeal cookies, but with the additional ingredients, I will eat them with no additional encouragement.

I love the ingredients in this recipe. It came complements of "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home." Naturally, I chose to make this recipe in the winter when oranges were at their peak. Local citrus is best when purchased from a trusted fruit stand as opposed to from a grocery store.