Maple-icious!

"We elves like to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup." My favorite quote from one of my favorite movies, "Elf."

I love the flavor of maple. Since I was a kid, one of my all-time favorite foods has been pancakes. Mostly because I can put maple syrup on them! I've been experimenting more with maple syrup and flavorings lately. I discovered a few years ago how wonderful maple is with cinnamon. I love to make pumpkin muffins or cookies and frost with a maple icing. I also love to add cinnamon to my pancakes because I just love the maple-cinnamon combo (pictured to the left are Whole Wheat, Oatmeal and Banana Pancakes, with cinnamon added).

Last week I modified one of my favorite banana muffin recipes to include maple flavor. Banana Crumb Muffins is the highest rated recipe on allrecipes right now. I decided to make it healthier and add a little different flavor. First up was replacing half the flour with whole wheat flour and using canola oil instead of butter. Next, I added more cinnamon. Finally, I added some maple flavoring. I love the results! Here is the recipe I came up with.

Dianne's Maple Wheat Banana Crumb Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon maple flavoring

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flours, 2 tsp. cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, canola oil and maple flavoring. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Next up was a new granola recipe. My favorite granola recipe is sweetened with honey, so I figured maple syrup would be a good substitute, it being a similar format. Pecans and cinnamon seemed natural accompaniments, so those went into the granola too. The granola doesn't clump together as nicely as the honey granola, but it tastes wonderful. I like to pour on some milk and heat it in the microwave for a warm and comforting breakfast. Here is the final recipe:

Dianne's Maple Pecan Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (I used organic grade A)
1 tsp. maple flavoring

1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, pecans, walnuts, flax seeds and cinnamon. In a 2 cup measure, mix the canola oil, maple syrup, maple flavor and salt. Add to oat mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread evenly over the prepared baking sheet, pressing down lightly with the back of a spoon.
3. Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before breaking the granola into chunks. Store in an air-tight container.

Why Blog?

That's the question I've been asking myself lately. I've been in a cooking and baking lull lately, what with working a lot and trying to cut back on my sugar consumption. So I haven't had much to blog about lately and it's given me time to ponder blogging. It's kind of a weird thing if you think about it. I actually typed "why blog" into google to see why other people blogged. I came across a good list here.

I started blogging on allrecipes a couple of years ago and was hooked. While I get excited to see that I have a new follower or a comment on one of my posts here at blogger, I was never completely comfortable blogging on allrecipes. It made me nervous that so many people would see my posts. I'm not planning on renewing my supporting membership at allrecipes, so I've been making my transition to blogging here. For some reason, I've been enjoying it more and have even posted some of my blogs that I've written here on allrecipes too. I guess I want followers, but not too many! If that makes any sense. I have a nice little cozy corner here on blogger and people can come visit if they want to.

So if I'm not interested in starting a business, making money or being famous from blogging, then why do I do it? I'm such an introvert, it seems kind of contrary to my nature. I guess my reasons are more intrinsic. Here's why I blog:

1. I like to write. I have so much going through my head all day, writing helps me sort it all out. I'm a thinker. I think a lot, almost too much. I'm constantly writing blogs in my head. Some of my "head blogs" actually make it to my "real blog" and I feel so much better after getting it out. I can stop thinking about it and do something else (or start writing the next blog in my head).

2. I like to share. I love recipes. When I find a great recipe I get excited and want to share it with other people. I also love coming up with my own recipes. What's the point of writing recipes if I don't have anyone to share them with? I also really love to take photos. When I take an awesome photo of a butterfly and flowers that I'm really proud of I want to share it.

3. I like to be creative. Food blogging is a very creative outlet for me. I love creating delicious food and taking photos of it. Food is my favorite subject to talk about and photograph, so this type of blog just comes naturally to me. I also had so much fun coming up with the layout and colors of this page that you are reading.

So there you have it. Why I blog. I like to write, share and be creative. It's kind of like a diary or journal, only I'm sharing it with you!
So how about you? Why do you blog? And are you a blogging addict like I'm becoming?

Carmelitas: Memories of College Food Service

I went to Iowa State University. Go Cyclones! I knew since tenth grade that I wanted to go to ISU. I fell in love with the campus after visiting on an orchestra trip. However, my parents wanted me to keep my options open, so I also applied to University of Nothern Iowa. I 'officially' visited both campuses as a senior and there was no contest, especially in the food service department. ISU won hands down. Nutrition has always been very important to me and I worked hard to lose 50 pounds in high school, I wasn't about to put it back on college! When you visit a college as a senior, you get a lunch included. The lunch at UNI was greasy pizza and hamburgers. ISU had a very nice selection of healthy foods, a 'deli line' where you could build your own sandwich, and (I still remember this) the most delicious lemon bars for dessert. I knew I was already going to ISU because of the beautiful campus and academic options (I was undecided, as I still am now), but the food service put it over the top!

I didn't allow myself to eat dessert at every meal. A lot of my classmates did, and oh how jealous I was of them and their metabolism. I only allowed myself dessert for my most favorite dishes, and carmelitas was one of them. Layers of oatmeal cookie, gooey caramel and chocolate chips. It was divine! I finally found a 'copycat' recipe on allrecipes.com a few years ago, called Becky's Oatmeal Carmelitas. It's not quite as good as ISU's, but it will do. I always make half a batch when I have leftover caramels from making Caramel Apple Pie. The only change I make is that I sprinkle the chocolate chips on after drizzling the caramel. I hope you give them a try and enjoy them as much we do!

It's Been a Cold, Slow, Tired Week

An arctic air mass enveloped the state of Minnesota this week. Thursday's low was around -15°. Right now in Saint Cloud it is -5°. A lot of Minnesotans thrive on this frigid weather, going ice fishing, snow mobiling and skiing. My husband and I think these people are insane. This type of weather just makes me want to curl up in a ball in bed under a pile of blankets. Except for walking to the car from work and taking the dogs out on quick jaunts, we try to not go outside at all (with the exception of my husband shoveling the driveway when absolutely necessary). We much prefer to sit in front of the fireplace with mugs of hot cocoa.

Needless to say, I was feeling very tired and lethargic this week. Mid-January is always hard for me. It seems there is no sign of warm weather in sight. It's also needless to say that I combat this by cooking and baking warm and comforting foods. This week it was Lemon Chicken Soup and Golden Sweet Cornbread drizzled with maple syrup. It doesn't get more comforting than that! This weekend and next week I plan on cooking casseroles and more soups. I think some cookies are also in order since we finally threw away all of the old, stale Christmas cookies that were cluttering up the kitchen counter.

Here's how Stanley and MooMoo stay warm. How do you keep warm when the weather is too cold to bear?

How to Make Classic Pot Roast

Sometimes the best things in life are free. This time it was a free cooking magazine I recieved in the mail. Cuisine at Home magazine. I was very impressed by the recipes in this free magazine and several of them caught my eye. The first one I wanted to try was the Classic Pot Roast recipe. I recieved a new slow-cooker for the holidays and was dying to try it out. I've only made a few pot roasts over the years and haven't been impressed with them, mostly because they only cook for a few hours in the oven. I've found out that to have a truly tender pot roast, it should be slow-cooked all day. So on Sunday morning, I got busy cooking!

First, chop up the vegetables: carrots, celery, onions, garlic, red potatoes. Just chop into big pieces and prepare enough for how much you think your family will eat.

Get the gravy ingredients ready: tomato paste, white wine, low sodium beef broth and Worcestershire sauce.

Heat 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet and sear a 3 - 4 lb. chuck roast (trimmed of excess fat and liberally salt and peppered) on both sides. This adds a nice crust and a complexity to the flavor. Then place the roast in the slow cooker.

Add 1/4 cup flour to the oil and stir.

Add 2 Tbsp. tomato paste.

Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup dry white wine. Then whisk 12 oz. low sodium beef broth and 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce. Pour this gravy over the roast in the slow cooker.


Place the vegetables and a few sprigs of thyme and a couple of bay leaves in the slow-cooker on top of the roast and gravy. Take an artsy-fartsy photo of the veggies and herbs if you feel so inclined.

Cover the slow cooker, set to low, then let it cook all day (8 - 9 hours). Relax or bake some Crusty French Rolls to go with your pot roast.

Then you have a classic Sunday pot roast dinner. Enjoy!

The leftovers make a great sandwich the next day! Warm up some roast beef, put on a roll and drizzle with ketchup. Yum!

My Darling Clementines

It's clementine season! I love clementines. They are sweet and juicy, and the best part is that they peel so easily. And the pith (the white part of the peel, which I detest) comes off really easy. At only 35 calories each, they are the perfect snack. Recently the store had a special - a whole crate for only 5 bucks. I had to pick a couple up. They are great to eat by themselves, but I was getting a little bored eating them plain, so I came up with a very refreshing salad. I made up some orange vinaigrette dressing from allrecipes and winged the rest with ingredients I had in the fridge.

Dianne's Clementine Salad

(makes 4 servings)

Dressing (adapted from allrecipes.com):

1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Salad:

3 cups hearts of romaine lettuce, torn

3 cups baby spinach leaves, torn

4 clementines, peeled and sectioned

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine dressing ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Toss all ingredients and dressing together in a large bowl and serve.

How easy, healthy and delicious is that?

Chocolate + Bananas = Baking Bliss

My husband eats a banana just about every day, so we buy a bunch every week and every week we inevitably get over-ripe bananas that don’t get eaten. (I personally don’t really like plain bananas and can’t digest them very well, but love and tolerate them in baked goods.) This week I had four bananas to bake with! I decided to go with the chocolate-banana flavor combination. Chocolate and bananas go so well together. I remember as kids we used to dip bananas in melted chocolate, then freeze them for an easy, healthy treat. I think you can even buy them in the freezer section of the grocery store now, already made. Up until the past few years I had never baked anything banana-chocolate before. My sister and bother-in-law raved about these banana chocolate chip muffins that they would buy from a bakery, so I decided to try it myself and was hooked. I really like to make these banana muffins and add chocolate chips to them.

I was set to try some new recipes this week and chose Aunt Mary’s Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread from allrecipes. I have an Aunt Mary, but I don’t think this is her recipe. My Aunt Mary lives in Arizona and is also a wonderful cook. The other recipe I tried was Banana Chocolate Cupcakes from Joy of Baking (one of my new favorite baking sites). The bread turned out great and the cupcakes were FANTASTIC! My husband took the majority of them to work with him and they got outstanding reviews from his coworkers. I didn’t have the ingredients to make the ganache frosting, so I chose another recipe from allrecipes called Creamy Chocolate Frosting. The cupcakes are so moist and tender and the frosting so creamy. If you have any over-ripe bananas and are wondering what to do with them, I highly recommend trying the cupcake recipe!

I give Aunt Mary’s Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread 4 stars and the Chocolate Banana Cupcakes and Frosting 5 stars (on a scale where 1 star = “What a waste of ingredients!” and 5 stars = “Yummy, yummy, joy, joy!”)

Check out Sweet Sundays at MySweetCreations' blog!

What is the one small thing that always makes you happy?

This was the question posed in the January 2011 issue of "Real Simple" magazine. I immediately knew what my answer was: Coffee. More specifically, that very first sip of the very first cup of hot coffee in the morning. I don't know what it is, but I just adore that moment. Whether it's after a tough morning workout, or a short respite before heading to work, it's just pure bliss. The aroma, the warmth hitting my stomach, and the caffeine starting to run through my veins. It always makes me happy. Coming in a close second is that moment my head hits the pillow and I settle in with a book to read before going to sleep.

It's taken me a while to even be able to identify these moments of happiness in my life, since I've wrestled with depression for most of my life. I've found that getting older, going through lots of struggles and finding out who I am has really helped. Happiness is not in success or achievement. It's in creating a life that is true to yourself, giving to others and being full of those small moments to cherish.

What is the one small thing that always makes YOU happy?

Quinoa and Pine Nuts

I love quinoa and I love pine nuts. I really love a recipe that combines the two. Lemony Quinoa is exactly that recipe. I like to prepare quinoa for my lunches when I'm at home. A lot of the time I don't like to eat meat at lunch. I'm usually not a finicky eater, but I can really get sick of turkey sandwiches, so right now I'm "off sandwiches." This is where quinoa is perfect since it is a great source of protein. Quinoa is pronounced "keen-wa." I always get a chuckle when people come into our department (natural foods) asking for "quin-oh-ah." Of course it was only a few years ago that I had never even heard of quinoa, let alone know how to pronounce it!

Quinoa is a whole grain grown in South America. It has a slightly nutty flavor and is cooked very similarily to rice. It has a very high protein content and has a balanced set of amino acids, making it a complete protein. The flavor may take some getting used to since it's not as neutral tasting as rice. I really think it goes well with spicy mexican seasons, but it is also good as a breakfast porridge with cinnamon and brown sugar. We recently started carrying quinoa flakes at the store. The flakes are steam-rolled quinoa and only takes minutes to cook, compared to the 15 minutes it usually takes regular quinoa to cook. I like to make a easy microwave hot cereal with a combination of oats, quinoa flakes and ground flax seed. It's a great way to start the day.

Pine nuts are another one of my favorite ingredients. Pine nuts are edible seeds of pines. Pine nuts have protein and fiber, but more importantly they taste awesome. To really enjoy their flavor fully, you have to toast them. I just put them in a dry non-stick pan on the stove and stir over low heat until browned. It's important to keep an eye on them so they don't burn, because once they start to brown, they brown fast! I love them in quinoa and salads. They are also one of the most important ingredients in my Spinach Basil Pesto recipe.

Here is my recipe for Quinoa Porridge, adapted and greatly improved from a recipe found on allrecipes.com.

Dianne's Quinoa Porridge

1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries, if desired.

1. Combine the quinoa, cinnamon and almond milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until most of liquid has been absorbed.

2. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Pour into bowls and top with more brown sugar and dried fruit, if desired. Serves two.

My Birthday Dinner, Part 1

Part 1 of my birthday dinner I made myself. Part 2 will be next weekend when my husband takes me out to my favorite restaurant. We really don't eat out too much. I love to cook so much, I don't even mind making my own birthday dinner. We love to stay in, have cocktails, cook a meal and eat it with some nice wine. We don't even have to worry about driving home! Thanks to Kathleen's blog, I found this recipe for Champagne Shrimp and Pasta. It looked just easy and decadent enough for my birthday. We were not disappointed! It was divine. I gave the recipe 5 stars.

This is a picture of the free birthday cookie I recieved from the bakery of the store I work at. I'm not particulary fond of Hello Kitty, but I chose this one because it had the most frosting (and just to be a stinker and irritate my hubby a little because he HATES Hello Kitty with a passion).

For My Birthday? Red Velvet, If You Please

Wednesday was my birthday. I am now closer to 40, than I was to 30. That's ok though, I don't mind getting older. When you've been through all the health problems that we have, being here yet another year is a fantastic thing. My birthday has become pretty low-key since it is so soon after Christmas. My parents always did a good job when I was growing up of keeping them separate affairs. I never associated my birthday with Christmas when I was a kid and that was a good thing, it made me feel special. :)

This year I just decided to make a nice dinner at home and bake some cupcakes. I have to work this weekend, so my husband is planning on taking me out next weekend to my favorite restaurant. I was excited to make cupcakes because I got some great cupcake items from my parents for Christmas this year. Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, an Oneida cupcake carrier and a cupcake scoop. The cupcake carrier is nice because the bottom is a standard cupcake/muffin pan that you can bake in. It has a second tier that is plastic and just holds cupcakes. It then has a lid that securely snaps on. The scoop also worked wonderfully. I usually would use a 1/4 cup measure, and then spoon it into the pans to get uniform cupcakes. This just streamlines the process.

















If you can't tell already, my favorite color is red. So I decided to make something I've never made before, red velvet cake. A recipe from McCormick caught my eye and so I decided my birthday would be the perfect time to try out my new cupcake stuff. The Red Velvet Cupcakes turned out pretty good, although I was a little disappointed because they were a little dry (I give the recipe 4 stars). If you make the recipe, I would recommend reducing the flour by 1/4 cup. The frosting was amazing though. My husband took the leftovers to work with him (the main reason I wanted a cupcake carrier) and one of his coworkers said something about the frosting being like "heroin." He has weird coworkers.

The whole time I was baking the cupcakes I had the song "Black Velvet" in my head. You know, that song from the early 90's by Alannah Myles. Only I would sing (in my head) "Red Velvet, and that little boy's smile......Red velvet, if you please....." Just a little insight into how my brain works.

Last weekend I came across a bottle of wine called Red Velvet by Cupcake. We have had Cupcake wine before and really liked it, so I thought, in keeping with the red velvet theme, we should buy it. We haven't tried it yet, I'm saving it for a nice red meat meal, like pot roast. Tomorrow I will blog about the birthday dinner I made for myself.

What I'm Cooking: Roast Chicken

This weekend I wanted to cook something easy, warm and good. Roast chicken came to mind and I had a whole chicken in the freezer calling out to me, "Hey Dianne, it's freezing in here, you wanna get me out and eat me?" Or maybe it was in my head. Do frozen chickens ever talk to you?

We love roast chicken. I'm normally not very impressed with chicken breasts, but end up fixing them all the time since they are a good source of lean protein. Roast chicken is a different story. It's always so juicy and tasty, we just devour it. The recipe I chose this time did not disappoint either.

Ina Garten is my favorite "celebrity chef." She has such an easy, relaxed and carefree attitude. Most of her recipes are non-fussy, simple and have few ingredients. Oh, and they are also absolutely delicious. I love The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and watching her on the Food Network. I chose her Perfect Roast Chicken recipe, which she says is so good she serves it to her husband every Friday night. Well, it turned out so good I think I will have to fix it at least once a month (which is a lot for me since I like to try so many new recipes). Wow! Excellent recipe. I served it with mashed potatoes and wished later that I had just tossed the potatoes in with the rest of the vegetables to roast. Next time I will. And there will be a next time!

I give this recipe 5 stars (on a scale where 1 star = "Yuck!" and 5 stars = "Wow!")

New Year's Tradition: Completely Unconventional but Absolutely Awesome

My husband and I are pretty boring people. We find ourselves interesting to each other, but most on the outside would not call us very exciting people. For example, we have never gone out for New Year's. We love to stay at home. We are homebodies. On New Year's Eve, we love nothing more than to make a nice dinner, drink some champagne and chill in front of the TV. We don't even stay up until midnight. I don't know, I guess the "ball dropping" in Times Square has never impressed us.

A few years ago I decided to "liven things up" a bit and make something totally outrageous for our dinner - all appetizers! I know, right? Totally outrageous. Woo-hoo, Bryan and Dianne are livin' it up! Anyways........

Since I am apparently addicted to trying new recipes, I made a couple new ones this year. The Best Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms. The meatballs were a featured recipe last week on AR and I thought they looked really easy, yummy and used ingredients I had on hand. I used ground chicken instead of beef. They turned out wonderful and I think I will be making them for an easy meal some night. Just add some frozen veggies and serve over rice. The stuffed mushrooms I've been wanting to make forever, I just needed the right occasion. They were as awesome as I imagined. I love both artichokes and mushrooms and they were just fabulous. And then of course we had to have our shrimp cocktail and champagne. Plain champagne is wonderful, but we really liked a drink I fixed last year called Poinsettias. I added a splash of triple sec last year and this year I added peach schnapps. You can add any sort of schnapps to champagne! Fizzy goodness.

Do you have any New Year's Eve traditions? Do you go out and party or stay at home?