Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients:
Strawberries
1 block Cream Cheese
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar
Graham Cracker pulverized

Wash and trim off the green leaves from the strawberries. Make an "X" from the point, but don't cut all the way through. Beat together cream cheese, vanilla and confectioners sugar and fill in piping bag (use a decorative nozzle). Pry open strawberry and fill with cream cheese. Pulverize the graham cracker with food processor. Sprinkle graham cracker on top of strawberries. You can also use drizzled or shaved chocolate and or orange zest for more depth.

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Black Bean Sliders

So easy to make!

 Ingredients

1 can of black beans rinsed
1 chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 cup of fresh or frozen corn
1 tablespoon of sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 cups of Panko
1 egg
cumin
coriander
pepper and salt


Mash the beans and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Form into patties on a lined pan and freeze for half hour. Heat a cast iron skillet and pan sear both sides so that they are crispy with a bit of coconut (or olive) oil. Then throw the skillet with the burger patties in the oven at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Dress and serve with oven baked home fries or a fresh salad.

Macro Fun

My son's carnivorous plants. Up close and personal.

Pretty little ocean sound makers

Little treats and a little birdie

Crystalized

KALE CHIPS!

These are absolutely freakinably good! If you like seasoned dried seaweed/nori, then you'll love these! And so easy to make too!

Ingredients:
Kale, stems removed, torn into bite size pieces and washed.
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Just spin them dry in the salad spinner, put in a bowl, douse with olive oil and season with salt (1-2 tsp). Bake in parchment paper lined cookie sheet for 10 -12mins at 350 degrees. Make sure not to let them burn! They're ready when they're toasty on the edges!

They make a great healthy, low calorie snack and kids love em!

Headless Anne Boleyn

Sorry, this is a bit late... late is better than never! Here's a bit of history...

Anne Boleyn (pronounced /ˈbʊlɪn/ or /bʊˈlɪn/); (c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and 1st Marquess of Pembroke in her own right for herself and her descendants. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation. The daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and his wife, Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, Anne was educated in the Netherlands and France, largely as a maid of honour to Claude of France. She returned to England in early 1522, in order to marry her Irish cousin James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; however, the marriage plans ended in failure and she secured a post at court as maid of honour to Henry VIII's Queen consort, Catherine of Aragon.

In 1525, Henry VIII became enamoured of Anne and began pursuing her. She resisted all his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress as her sister, Mary Boleyn had. It soon became the one absorbing object of Henry's desires to annul his marriage to Queen Catherine, so he would be free to marry Anne. When it became clear that Pope Clement VII Catholic Church in England began. would not annul the marriage, the breaking of the power of the

The Archbishop of York, Thomas Wolsey, was dismissed to his diocese, allegedly at Anne Boleyn's instigation. (George Cavendish, Wolsey's chamberlain, records that the servants who waited on the king and Anne at dinner in 1529 in Grafton heard her say that the dishonour that Wolsey had brought upon the realm would have cost any other Englishman his head. Henry replied, "Why then I perceive...you are not the Cardinal's friend.") Later the Boleyn family's chaplain, Thomas Cranmer, was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry and Anne married on 25 January 1533. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine's marriage null and void; five days later, he declared Henry and Anne's marriage to be good and valid. Shortly afterwards, the Pope decreed sentences of excommunication against Henry and Cranmer. As a result of this marriage and these excommunications, the first break between the Church of England and Rome took place and the Church of England was brought under the King's control.

Anne was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533. On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Elizabeth I of England. To Henry's displeasure, however, she failed to produce a male heir. Henry was not totally discouraged, for he said that he loved Elizabeth and that a son would surely follow. Three miscarriages followed, however, and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In April–May 1536, Henry had Anne investigated for high treason. On 2 May, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury of peers and found guilty on 15 May. She was beheaded four days later on Tower Green. Modern historians view the charges against her, which included adultery and incest, as unconvincing. Following the coronation of her daughter, Elizabeth, as queen, Anne was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Over the centuries, she has inspired or been mentioned in numerous artistic and cultural works. As a result, she has retained her hold on the popular imagination. Anne has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had," since she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to divorce Catherine of Aragon, and declare his independence from Rome.

Here's my costume I made of Anne Boleyn beheaded for Halloween.

Guiness Stout & Gingerbread Cupcakes!

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup stout beer, such as Guinness
1/2 cup  mild-flavored molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp.ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. table salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely minced candied ginger

For the frosting
4 Tbs. (2 oz.) salted or unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2-1/2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste
1 Tbs. whole or soy milk

Strips of candied citrus peel or candied ginger, for garnish

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

To make the cupcakes, in a very large saucepan, bring the stout, molasses, and oil to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the baking soda until dissolved. (The mixture will foam up, then settle down.) Stir in the brown sugar, then let cool until tepid.

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

Whisk the eggs into the stout mixture, then whisk in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Don’t overmix. Gently stir in the minced candied ginger.

Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake until the cupcakes feel just set in the center, 22 to 24 minutes. Let cool completely.

Make the frosting:

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth, about 10 seconds. Decrease the speed to low and, with the mixer running, gradually add half of the confectioners' sugar. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure the ingredients are being incorporated. Add the lime juice, then add the remaining confectioners' sugar. Once the sugar is incorporated, add the milk. Beat the frosting on high speed until completely smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Taste, and add a few more drops of lime juice, if desired.

Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin. Pipe rosettes of frosting in the center of each cupcake. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can spoon a mound of frosting decoratively in the center.) Garnish each with strips of candied citrus peel or a piece of candied ginger.

This recipe was found at Finecooking.com 

Photo credit by Sage

Tofurky!!!! And yes, it is very GOOD!

So this year I decided to make my tofurky the hard way. Which in the end, was not hard at all!

Tofurky with the stuffing!

Ingredients:
4-5 packages of firm tofu
2 tsp chopped fresh sage, thyme and rosemary
1 tsp onion and garlic powder
1 tsp orange zest (optional)
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp or 1 cube of veggie bouillon
salt & pepper to taste

Stuffing:
1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped and toasted
3-4 slices of bread for the stuffing, cubed
1 onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (I forgot to use this, still worked out good)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp maple syrup (I ended up just eyeballing it, as I do all the time ;))
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup veggie broth

Marinade:
1/2 cup of soy sauce or tamari
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp orange juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 tsp sesame oil
(I eyeballed the entire marinade, worked fine!)

Tofurky (previous night)
Squeeze out excess water from tofu and puree in food processor so that the texture is smooth. Place in a large bowl and mix in the seasoning. Add more seasoning or flavor if needed for taste. Wet cheesecloth, wring it out and line it out smoothly in a colander with no wrinkles. Put the tofurky into the colander press into the sides and bottom of the colander. Place the colander onto a plate to catch the excess water drippings, cover the tofu with the rest of the cheese cloth and finally place a plate on top and something heavy to weigh it down. In the fridge it goes!

Stuffing (the day of)
Crisp the bread cubes in the preheated oven (350 degrees) for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a skillet. Add about 1 tbsp of butter and saute the onions for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add celery and saute for another 2 minutes. Stir in apples along with other seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes. Add maple syrup and the vinegar, remove from heat. Combine the bread cubes along with the apple mixture. Stir in almonds and dried cherries. Transfer to a greased baking sheet and pour broth over the top and mix. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the stuffing begins to brown on top. You can make a crisp filling by removing the foil and baking for 10 minutes more.

Marinade
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade until combined.

The making of the Tofurky
Remove weight and plate from colander. Scoop out some tofu from the centre, making sure to leave at least 1-2 inches on the sides and bottom.

Now fill this hollow with the stuffing.

 Add back the scooped out tofu and seal in the stuffing. Carefully place a cooking pan or baking dish (large enough for the opening of the colander and slowly invert the colander onto the baking dish so that the tofurky drops gently into dish. Remove the cheesecloth from the tofu. Use the marinade and start basting the tofurky.
Bake for about an hour (basting every 15 minutes) until a golden crispy brown tofurky has been achieved!

Slice tofurky and add some yummy mushroom veggie gravy and your Thanksgiving meal is set! Enjoy!