Tag: walnuts
Baked Nectarines with Vanilla Creme Fraiche
The nectarine lovefest continues with this delicious dessert. I don’t know how to begin- first of all, it is delicious. Simple, yet it includes layers of amazing flavors.
I started with fresh nectarines, cut in half and ready to be stuffed with a mixture of oats, walnuts and brown sugar. I laced the topping with ground cardamom and cinnamon. To me, the cardamom was the key ingredient. It was simply amazing with the walnuts, oats and the baked nectarines- floral and sweet.
It is a great dessert to make in advance. I popped it in the oven as we sat down to eat dinner. Ten to fifteen minutes later, the nectarines were ready to be taken out.
I served them with some creme fraiche. I love using this French style soured cream instead of ice cream- although ice cream would be amazing as well. I added a bit of vanilla sugar into the cream and added a dollop on top of the baked nectarines. The combination was delicious. The cream cut through the sweetness of topping and the soft fruit. All in all- it was a very successful try. I will be making this with other fruits as well in the future- sky is the limit…
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Nectarine Salad with Walnut Dressing
This is a simple salad I served for a little get together we were having the other day. I like to keep things simple when people are coming over. I don’t go over board and cook lots of dishes- my philosophy is to focus on a few dishes and make them absolutely delicious.
For this dinner my plan was to make a lasagna and garlic bread. I decided to make a nectarine salad and baked nectarine dessert. If you didn’t guess- I love nectarines.
This salad is super simple- I used mixed greens. I added some walnuts and cut up a nectarine. I had recently purchased a bottle of walnut oil. I used it to make a delicious vinaigrette. I looked in my fridge and found a bottle of mango apricot nectar. I used that in addition to some white wine vinegar. Some salt and pepper and I had a yummy dressing. It was a great start to the meal. It had a great crunch from the walnuts and a burst of sweetness from the nectarines. The walnut oil flavor came through loud and clear and tied all the flavors together.
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Spinach and Strawberry Salad
This salad epitomizes summer according to me. It looks bright and colorful with the baby spinach and strawberries. It is super healthy and includes walnuts- which, just like spinach is a super food.
We were having one of our Friday pizza parties and I was grilling pizzas outside. I wanted to make a light, easy salad that will be delicious with the dinner.
I had lots of strawberries and always keep baby spinach in the fridge. I paired them together and added the walnuts to the mix. I came up with a simple balsamic dressing. Since strawberries were the main ingredient, I added some strawberry jam to the dressing. It added a great delicious tang to the vinaigrette.
Overall the salad was delicious. It went perfectly well with the grilled pizzas, in fact I think it will go well with any entree. I served a chilled white wine and the meal was great.
Try this salad this summer, you will love it.
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Healthy Snack: Fruit and Yogurt Parfait
This is a great snack and I am still eating it. I posted this back in September and thought I needed to repost it since it so healthy and delicious. If you missed it last time- here it is again. I changed it a bit in keeping with the seasonal fruits,etc.
I am sharing my new, healthy snack. I eat it everyday. Sometimes even for a meal.
If it’s a snack, then I don’t use as many fruits- but if it’s a meal- I make sure to add at least five to fulfill my daily fruit requirements. It is a delicious way to incorporate a bunch of healthy things I need to eat through the day.
I use the non-fat greek yogurt– it’s creamy like whipped cream and has a good amount of protein. I like to use wild blueberries– they are a super food, even better than the regular ones. I put them in frozen to achieve a nice crunch- and they are delicious. Besides the other fruits, I add walnuts– the best kind of nut to have. Fills you up and is good for you. Raw honey is very good for you as well. I add a tablespoon of it on top- it tastes like I am eating a big bowl of dessert. I also add flaxseed mixed with dried blueberries. I buy it from Trader Joes and love the taste of it. I sprinkle it right on top- it gives the snack a nice crunch.
I am absolutely loving this concoction. I look forward to it everyday and I am thrilled with how healthy it is. Definitely give it a try- I am sure you will enjoy it as well!
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Banana Coconut Bread
This is another version of the banana bread I usually make. I had a few very ripe bananas and wanted to change up my usual bread recipe. I typically put shaved chocolate in this bread but this time I felt like adding a different flavor.
I thought of dried shredded coconut and went with the idea. I used the same recipe but substituted coconut for the chocolate. As I write this- I am thinking of maybe next time adding coconut milk in the bread as well. I think it will give it a stronger coconut taste and make it rich and creamy- yum!
This one was really good and moist as well. I really love the banana and coconut flavors together- reminds me of the tropics. My daughter who typically doesn’t care for anything with coconut really enjoyed it. I guess the fact I didn’t really tell her the ingredients, probably helped my cause.
This is a different recipe for those who are tired of making the regular run of the mill banana bread– not that there is anything wrong with that… but it is nice to change things around once in a while. Speaking of which, my daughter has been asking me to make the blueberry muffins again and I keep delaying it since I have not yet figured out a different recipe for them.. I am sure it will come to me soon.
- 1¼ cups unbleached white whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup extra light olive oil, plus more for preparing the pan
- 1 cup evaporated sugarcane juice (sugar)
- 3 very ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed with a fork (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup toasted walnut pieces
- ½ cup sweetened grated coconut
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl, set aside. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup with a spout, set aside. Lightly brush a 9X5X3 inches loaf pan with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the oil and sugar while mixing until incorporated. Add the bananas (the mixture will appear to be curdled), and remove the bowl from the mixer.
With a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and coconut and transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 5 minutes before taking it out. Cool completely before serving.
Walnut Saffron Gelato
I feel I am on a roll with these cornstarch gelato recipes. I have figured out that the recipes with nuts have the best consistency.
The other day I started thinking of another gelato recipe. I was envisioning one with hazelnuts and saffron. I was very excited all day and when I finally got home, I took the milk out and the hazelnuts which are stored in the freezer (nuts should be kept in the freezer to achieve a long shelf life). I placed them in a small cookie sheet and proceeded to roast them in the oven. Once they were cooled off, something in my head urged me to taste one- I had this strange feeling the hazelnuts had been sitting in the freezer for a while. Well, what do you know- they tasted awful! What was I going to do now??? The milk was already thickened with the cornstarch and the saffron was steeping in there.
I opened my freezer again to pick another nut- walnuts screamed out at me. Well, I am very glad this little mishap occurred- the walnuts went fabulously well with the saffron. The taste reminded me of kulfi, which is essentially an Indian ice cream.
The flavor was nutty and sweet; the texture was smooth and creamy. What makes me really happy is that it’s made out of whole milk- so eat as much as you like. Try this one- it’s truly a winner.
Summer Dessert Recipe: Peach and Blueberry Crumble
This is my first time making a crumble. I have always liked this easy and delicious dessert but somehow I have never made it- don’t know why. I was recently at a friends house helping her make a blueberry crumble. It didn’t take very long and was quite delicious with vanilla ice cream. I was having our usual Friday evening get together and decided to give it a try- but of course I wanted to change it up a bit. I looked through several recipes and fruit combinations and finally came up with my own- fresh peaches and blueberries. I love the blueberry taste but the peaches add another level of sweetness and unique flavor to the dish. After looking at all the recipes, I also came up with the crumble topping. The one I made at my friend’s house had flour and oats mixed with sugar and butter. I also added walnuts to the mix- first of all, walnuts are my favorite nut and second of all, they are the healthiest to eat- a super food. Speaking of super foods, blueberries and cinnamon are in that category as well- I also used white whole wheat flour and turbinado sugar. I love combining all these healthy ingredients that are so good for us in one dish- I don’t feel as guilty eating it then…
The fruit combination was great- I added pinneapple juice and almond extract to the mix- it gave the dish great flavor- something different- plus almonds always come to mind when I see peaches. The topping was yum as well- the flour and oats gave it a very nice texture and the walnuts gave it a great crunch. The powdered cinnamon and ginger played their parts really well also. Overall it was a big success. I am definitely going to make it more often with different combinations- maybe a mango raspberry crumble or a cherry almond one- hmm- I am getting hungry as I write this…I will go help myself to some more right now!