Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

As I sit here and write about this favorite snack in our house- I am hiding my laptop from my daughter who is sitting right next to me reading her book. You wonder why? Well, she has been asking me to bake some duffins for her for a while now and I just haven’t done it. If she notices the huge picture- I will be in big trouble…

She asked for them again yesterday and I told her we can make them today. So, once I am done with my writing for the day and after I finish cooking dinner- we will be baking some duffins- at least that is what I plan.

These ones are a bit different- I took advantage of all the delicious fruit in the farmers market and stuffed the duffins with chopped nectarines. I placed the delicious fruit in a small bowl and topped it with some vanilla sugar. I let it sit for a while and get juicy.

I then proceeded to use the same recipe for duffins and added the delicious nectarines in the middle. I was a bit hesitant to serve them to my daughter and her friends. Well, actually, my daughter is used to having all kinds of fruit. A lot of her friends are not so keen. To my surprise, everyone loved them…

So, here is another version of duffins- try the nectarine ones- they are delicious…
Click here for the recipe… »

Here is another version of one of our favorite treats in our house. My daughter can’t get enough of these and asks me to make them all the time. Her favorite are the jelly filled ones but she will eat any kind I make.

For these particular ones, I decided to do a yummy filling in the middle with apples and oranges. It is amazing how well the two flavors complement each other. I zested and juiced a navel orange and used the zest for the actual batter and the juice for the filling. I cut up my favorite apples- pink lady into chunks and added some sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. I let the mixture sit for a while for the flavors to marinate.

I then made the usual batter and added just a bit of the filling in the middle of each duffin. Of course I coated them with the yummy sugar mixture and they were a hit. My daughter loved them.

Try the apple orange duffins- they are delicious.
Click here for the recipe… »

I made this for a dinner party we were having. I served a panna cotta that my cousin made for fourth of July- it was a vanilla coconut one with a mango sauce.

For this dinner I decided to experiment with a low fat version of a panna cotta. Usually this summer dessert calls for cream mixed in with gelatin. I used non-fat Greek yogurt and a bit of half and half. I heated the half and half and melted the gelatin and sugar before mixing it with the yogurt and the mango puree. That was it- I poured the mixture into containers and

I love making this dessert since it is so simple and quick to make. The low-fat version was an excellent try and a bit hit. It was a great combination of sweet and tangy. The mango puree brought it the delicious tanginess and the yogurt provided great creaminess without any of the fat.

Try this dessert for your next summer get together- it is delicious!
Click here for the recipe… »

This is a perfect summer cake. There are so many mangoes around and as I have mentioned many times before, we usually have quite a few on hand all the time. My daughter takes one cut up for camp everyday with a slice of cheddar cheese. She enjoys them for her morning snack right after a swim. I am quite happy giving her a healthy fruit and some low fat protein.

Anyway, since there were so many mangoes around, I decided to make a cake- well, it is more like a tea bread.

I blended enough mangoes to equal one cup and made a super fast and easy bread. I love making these kinds of treats that are relatively healthy. I usually pack a slice as dessert for my daughter and give some to my husband as a snack during the day with tea.

To give the cake an extra boost of flavor and a surprise, I added some cardamom. I love mango and floral cardamom together- it makes me want to drink masala tea, lounging in a comfortable chair on my deck…

Make the mango cardamom cake this season…
Click here for the recipe… »

I love, love this tea bread. We were invited to a friends house for a barbecue and I offered to bring dessert. I wanted to make a summer cake using a quintessential summer fruit and of course strawberries came to mind.

I did a bit of research and came up with this fabulous recipe.

I got all the ingredients together- which, by the way are all that you normally have on hand.

It didn’t take me very long to put together and baking in the oven. Once it came out, my daughter was hovering around it like a dog on a bone. I cut a slice for her and she immediately complained about taking this cake to someone’s house and not having any for us. I promised her I would make another one for her soon- and honestly I haven’t yet. As I write this, I have already decided to bake one this evening. She will be thrilled.

So, if you want to be equally thrilled, make this delicious strawberry bread this summer…
Click here for the recipe… »