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Perfect Snack for the Royal Wedding: Apricot Banana White Chocolate Scones
The Royal wedding is tomorrow and a friend suggested I repost this old scone recipe for the occasion. I love eating scones but certainly don’t like all the calories… This is my healthy version. You can slather a huge amount of clotted cream and not feel too guilty. Enjoy these with a cup of English tea and enjoy the wedding. Speaking of the wedding, will you be up early morning or will you dvr it??
When it comes to eating out- one of my all time favorite things to do is- afternoon tea. I love the tradition and of course the food! I love the idea of sitting in a very adult and pleasant place; drinking tea and eating all the finger sandwiches and scones. When we were in London and Scotland, I made sure to go a few times for high tea. I usually get the darjeeling tea; all the sandwiches I can eat and of course – my favorite – currant scones. The subtle flavor is just enough to enjoy them with lots of jam and clotted cream. Oh- how I love the clotted cream- if it wasn’t so bad for me- I would eat it all the time. There is a place in Chester, NJ that serves great afternoon tea- I have not been in a very long time- now that I am writing this piece- I will be going very soon!
Typically scones are made with all purpose flour and lots of butter. The texture is crumbly and a bit dry- perfect combination for jam and cream. I do have a recipe I have been meaning to try for a long time- it is for traditional English scones given by my English Aunt. For whatever reason- I have never made them at home. Recently, I had a friend ask me if I could post a scone recipe on the blog. I remembered the one I have from my Aunt and thought about using the recipe- but I realized it has a lot of butter … and somehow it didn’t appeal to me. I started looking for other recipes but nothing stood out. Then, one day I had an overripe banana and I didn’t want to make my usual banana bread – so I thought- maybe I can bake some scones with it. Bananas are sweet and I wanted to pair a tangy ingredient to make the scones eatable without jam or cream- more like a snack- actually I was trying to save myself the clotted cream calories!- so I came up with dried apricots. I switched the all purpose flour for white whole wheat flour and decided to cut back on the butter a bit- this recipe does not have that much at all. I also decided to add some white chocolate chips- somehow using apricots made me think of white chocolate- they added a nice burst of sweetness to the scones.
Overall the scones were good- moist and not overly sweet- the bananas helped with the soft texture. I think next time I bake them- I might add an egg glaze on top with some extra sugar. They would be a bit more aesthetically pleasing. In terms of taste, they were delicious- Sia loved them and I gave them to my husband for breakfast- which he loved!
Jamie Oliver- Food Revolution- Second Episode…
A big hug and kiss for Jamie Oliver for what he is doing for our kids. As I watched the show last night, I couldn’t believe all the hoops he had to go through to get into the Los Angeles school cafeteria. Obviously they have something to hide- why else would they create so many hurdles. Bottom line- we as parents have more power than we think. Our kids should be eating healthy, good food and we should know where the food is coming from. It is important to teach our kids to eat healthy and hopefully keep far away from diseases like diabetes. It was heart breaking to hear that girl’s story about her family being sick all the time.
I love what Jamie did with the healthy burgers. It is amazing how good food can be especially when it is healthy. It is important to bump up the flavor with lots of spices and herbs. I couldn’t believe the owner claimed his customers are not looking for quality- just quantity!! Really??? Maybe that is the problem- we don’t demand good, real food. Well, we should ask for good, reasonably priced food. It doesn’t help matters when places like McDonalds and Burger King are always full and doing better business every year. If we can’t afford to go out to places serving healthier food- we need to cook at home and serve our families good food.
I agree with Jamie- we do deserve better.
Beautiful & Delicious Quebec City…
We just got back from a short vacation to Quebec city. It was my first time. We were in Montreal a few years ago but never had a chance to go North before now. My daughter had spring break and we wanted to get away but not for too long- so Quebec it was. We decided to fly and save a lot of time. It takes all of over an hour to get there but it feels like one has traveled thousands of miles- the French signage and language helped with that aspect. We are used to taking long flights but nothing like a short hop to your destination. We were sitting in our hotel in a matter of hours.
The weather in Quebec was unseasonably cold- not a surprise to us as we had checked the weather and were prepared with our winter coats, hats, scarves and boots- not really what I had in mind for spring break- but then I was really looking forward to the food. All in all- we had super cold weather with rain and snow mixed into the three days we were there. In spite of the weather, we managed to walk around and explore some very nice restaurants.
Two eateries stood out- the first was a place called Paillard. We were walking around in the cold and as we looked in, I noticed big, communal wooden tables with extremely high ceilings- pictures of bread and cappuccino definitely helped. It was a bakery, cafe, dessert place, all rolled into one. We walked in for some coffee and something sweet. The French macaroons were delicious and the atmosphere was wonderful. We decided to return for breakfast the next day, especially since we saw pictures of their award winning croissants. Breakfast consisted of yummy cappuccino and a croissant sandwich with egg, bacon and cheese- yum! I was definitely indulging and had absolutely no qualms about it. The day after that, breakfast consisted of a nut roll with delicious jam and big cup of cappuccino…
As we walked around the old town, we ran into a small restaurant called L’Echaude. The menu looked very French and somewhat eclectic. The prices were reasonable and the decor was inviting- great choice for dinner.
A few hours later, we were welcomed by the owner. We ordered a bottle of red wine and studied the menu. I decided on the duck comfit with frites and salad. It was hands down the best comfit ever- it melted in my mouth. It was a very satisfying, high in fat meal- best of all, it was a very memorable one. We sat with friends over an amazing array of dishes, drank delicious red wine and finished the evening with yummy desserts.
It was a wonderful trip. Although it was short and laden with bad weather, we still managed to have a great time. I guess all you need is good company and great food- come to think of it, that is all you need even when you are home and not on vacation….
Kale Fried Rice
This simple dish can be served with the Asian stew I made yesterday. I love making fried rice- like quesadillas, you can add anything to the mix and it comes out delicious. I love emptying out my fridge and coming up with a delicious fried rice. Sometimes when I am really lazy, I take out a box of frozen brown rice which I always have on hand, and use it for the fried rice.
I had kale in my fridge which needed to be cooked. I had eggs in the fridge and of course the brown rice. I find the brown variety an ideal choice for fried rice. My daughter doesn’t seem to be able to tell the difference especially since fried rice has a honey color from the soy sauce- so using brown rice is ideal. I kept it very simple- garlic, ginger, shallots, tamari and some oyster sauce.
It was done before I knew it.. It can also be served as a meal since it has a vegetable and protein from the egg and whole grain from the brown rice. It is a well balanced meal and a great thing to pack for a school lunch the next day!
read more …
Chinese Style Beef Stew with Chinese Broccoli
This dish is delicious. I had some lovely stew beef pieces in my freezer which I bought from Eataly in NYC. If you haven’t been to this huge space filled with delicious food- you must go. I admit, it is overpriced but there is a certain thrill about being in a place surrounded with amazing cooked food and ingredients to cook delicious foods. I love spending a few hours in there and buy fresh pasta, meat and cheese from there. A while ago I bought Prosecco jelly to be served with cheese. I was very curious to try it and it was delicious…
Anyway, I wanted to make a stew and decided on an Asian style dish. I started thinking of the spices and came up with Chinese five spice powder, a cinnamon stick and tamari for the savory component. I also chose shitake mushrooms, green onions and ginger- and also mirin. It is used in Japanese cuisine and is a sweet rice wine- it has a very distinct flavor- perfect for what I was looking for. Well, the stew was amazing. I decided to serve it with some soba noodles and sauteed Chinese broccoli.
Try this different kind of stew- you may never make your old one…
read more …
Jamie Oliver- Food Revolution- First Episode…
I am so happy to see Jamie Oliver back on television. Don’t get me wrong- I watch him all the time- cooking with the kind of passion that generates huge amounts of pleasure. His passion is contagious. Last year when he started the Food revolution, I was thrilled and grateful.. someone is doing something and getting people aware of what we are feeding our kids and ourselves. I try my best to feed my family healthy food but unfortunately the stuff served in schools is a different story. Right now, my daughter takes lunch from home- thank God.. but I know as she gets older, she is going to want to eat at school- and that thought is super scary, especially knowing what is being served.
It scared me watching the show last night- what was that food they showed??? There is no cooking going on- my rule is – if food given to me that does not have an expiration date- I will not eat it. There is something wrong when our kids are given this crap.
It is so important to know where our food comes from. When Jamie showed what parts of the cow is being used at our schools- I was not shocked. We have the lowest standards for food in our schools- imagine.. that is what our kids are eating. I was sick to my stomach… and at the same time wanted to give Jamie a big kiss for putting this in front of all of us and making us aware.
We need to stop eating fast food and giving it to our kids- to me the big fast food places are the biggest culprits. There is nothing wrong with a burger- but I want good quality ingredients in my food, which most fast food joints don’t use. Good for Jamie to try to revamp the menu in that restaurant… at the end of the day- we need to demand where our food comes from.
Watch this show with your kids- it was amazing to see my daughter’s face last year while watching Jamie’s show. I will be watching it again with her this weekend as we do tv turn off through the week…
Sign the petition for serving plain milk in schools.
Pulled Chicken Mexican Soup
So, what do you do with leftover pulled chicken?? Well, you make pulled chicken Mexican soup, of course! I admit this idea did not come to me right away. All I wanted was to come up with a completely new dish to make with my leftover chicken. I thought about it quite a bit and finally decided on a soup. I am not a big soup person- not sure why. It is an ideal one pot meal that can be very healthy and easy to make.
This one in particular was extremely good- I think because I had a great starting point- the pulled chicken. If you want to make this recipe and don’t want to go through the hassle of making the chicken- I have a suggestion for you. I would buy a rotisserie chicken, pull the meat off the legs and the thighs and sprinkle with smoked paprika and some lemon juice. Let the chicken marinate for an hour and then follow the recipe. The result won’t be the same as what I made but it will be very close and definitely very tasty.
It was very quick, I started with some olive oil and added some corn flour (maize flour)- to thicken the soup. I was going to use regular flour but then I though corn flour will give the soup a more authentic taste. I added a can of pinto beans, salsa and some roasted corn. The soup came out delicious. All the ingredients complemented each other really well. I made a little more guacamole and served a big dollop right on top. Everyone was very happy and satisfied…
- 1 to 2 cups leftover pulled chicken
- 1 can pinto beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
- 2 tablespoons corn flour (corn meal)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup leftover or bottled salsa
- 2 cups frozen, roasted corn
- 3 cups chicken broth
- Salt
Heat a heavy saucepan and add the olive oil. Add the mashed beans and corn flour. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salsa and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken, roasted corn and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer half covered for at least an hour. Check for seasonings and serve with cheese quesadillas.