Category Archives: Uncategorized

Coconut Bread

Re-blog Monday and here is a most delicious Coconut Cake that I posted last April . If you love coconut and I love coconut I highly recommend it. Have a happy St. Patricks Day and enjoy the day, spring is coming–I promise.

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I love coconut and believe it or not had a whole big bag leftover from Passover holiday. What to do with it? Of course I had  I found this recipe on the Smitten DSCN0004DSCN0006DSCN0009DSCN0012Kitchen website and thought it sounded amazing. You’ll need a 9x5x3 loaf pan and if you’re loaf pan isn’t this size you can pour some of the batter into muffin tins, just don’t fill to the tippy top, it will be a mess, 2/3 to the top is perfect. I made 2 of them and will be freezing one for another time, it should stay in freezer for at least 2 months, cool down completely then wrap with a good plastic wrap and I then put it in a large Ziploc and mark what it is and the date. This bread is not super sweet at all despite the amount of sugar that went into it. I used sweetened coconut and sugar. I ate it plain, and…

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Kale Quinoa Bake

photo 1 (56)photo 1 (58) photo 4 (43) photo 2 (45) photo 1 (59)What a great time to play around with vegetarian recipes while our daughter Kerri is out here visiting in Colorado. This is a new recipe that I got from Jessica Seinfeld’s “Do it Delicious” Blog. My friend Cathy told me about it and she was right and once again Jessica Seinfeld hit it out of the ball park. I love this recipe and anyone looking for a new vegetarian side or main dish this one is just perfect. We ate it cold out of the fridge the next day after skiing and it was still delish! Big thumbs up here . Thanks Cathy and Jessica.

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups torn kale leaves, I bought the bag of chopped and cleaned at Whole Foods and it is perfect

1 3/4 cups water divided (1/4 cup + 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups Quinoa

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Chop the garlic , clean and rinse the tomatoes.

Place a large oven proof pot on the stove ( if you want to go from stove top to oven you’ll need an oven-proof pot) I cooked it in oven in a separate Pyrex dish.

Heat the olive oil until it shimmers ( app. 2 mins.) add the garlic and cook without burning, stirring with a wooden spoon, until lightly golden ( about a minute) Add the tomatoes and 1/4 cup of the water and cover the pot. You will now cook the tomatoes till they start to break down , it took me about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, if you haven’t bought cleaned and chopped Kale, tear the kale leaves from the tough stems into bite size pieces. ( app. 4 cups) discard the stems. Clean and dry the kale, a salad spinner works very well here.

Once the tomatoes are ready, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water, salt, black pepper and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in the kale and the quinoa. I transferred to an 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the parmesan and cover tightly with foil. As I said before you can leave it in the pot from stove and cover with a lid. Transfer to the oven and bake until the quinoa is tender , about 25 minutes,  I added a drop more water after 25 minutes and cooked in total about 35 minutes. You’ll have to play with it depending on your oven. Out here in Colorado with altitude it can be a little funky.

If you’d like sprinkle with extra Parmesan before serving.

Makes a wonderful healthy vegetarian dish and should serve 4 – 6 .

A taste of India and a taste of Greece: Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries with Easy Tzatziki Sauce

Monday Re-blog and here’s one from September ’11. A delicious variation on Sweet Potato Fries baked in the oven with a delightful Tzatziki Sauce served on the side. Looking for something new to do with Sweet Potatoes? this one is perfect and the Tzatziki Sauce is just wonderful . Enjoy!

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Today didn’t clear up until late and I decided to go on a hike. As I was hiking, it felt like fall in the air and I decided to roast a chicken (see recipe under Roast Chicken) and make my baked sweet potato fries with tzatziki sauce. This sauce is so fresh and flavorful on fries and is absolutely delish on chicken and lamb,as well. Lamb is a bit heavy for now, though, so that recipe will have to wait. Joel and I like our fries spicy so you should adjust the hot seasonings to your liking. I used hot curry powder but regular curry powder works just as well. These fries have a distinct, tasty Indian flavor, thanks to the curry, turmeric and cumin. I hope you enjoy this different take on a sweet potato. This is the second time I am posting this recipe because it sort of got lost in the vegetables last time and…

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Magical Raspberry Bars ( variation on Heaven in a Bar )

Here’s an easy to prepare recipe which is an alternative to my Heaven in a Bar recipe. If you love Raspberry this one is for you. Perfect for a party crowd and you can eat what you’d like and freeze the rest. Delicious and Decadent all in one bar. Enjoy this Saturday Recipe originally posted October ’11.

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This is a slight variation on the original Heaven in a Bar Recipe. Equally easy to prepare, ingredients are available, etc. So if your idea of Heaven has raspberry in it, here you go. Enjoy!!! They are magical!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients:

2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter or margarine (1/2 cup)

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 – 1 1/2  jars seedless raspberry preserves , small jars they are probably 12 oz. each.  I have found, if I use too much jam it’s super gooey, and doesn’t really hold together as well

1  cup coconut flaked ,sweetened (if it looks light on coconut, you can always sprinkle a little more) 1 – 1 1/2 cups, especially if you like a lot of coconut.

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (whichever you prefer)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar…

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Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Citrus Glaze

Let’s bring some fresh citrus flavor into Re-blog Monday with this delicious Pound Cake and Citrus Glaze. Looking for a fresh delicious pound cake to make? Brighten up this long cold winter with this cake. Original Post was September ’12 so for all of those who missed it the first time around here it comes again. From my kitchen to yours with love this Monday. Enjoy!

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Whenever I bake with cream cheese I never get a dry cake. It moistens the cake like nothing else.  I got this recipe out of Bon Appetit and it is nothing short of amazing. It is fairly simple , has a lot of citrus ingredients, lime, orange, and lemon but nothing exotic or difficult to obtain.  You’ll need a standard size loaf pan, I like the glass ones, but any kind will do just fine and you will need a zester that zests finely. (not a grater, a zester which you can buy at any kitchen supply store)  You can bake this cake a day ahead , and do the glaze before you’re about to serve. I cut the cake into 1/2 ” thick slices.

Ingredients:

parchment paper

nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cups sugar…

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Tomato Soup

This Tomato Soup doesn’t have a lot of ingredients and it’s rather simple to prepare. A few key ingredients add wonderful layers of flavor like the pancetta and lemon zest. Make it as spicy as you personally like . You can garnish with a dollop of Crème fraiche if you’re feeling like you need something creamy on top. To everyone on the East Coast this is perfect for that snow day coming up Monday. Alongside a grilled cheese sandwich what could be better? Enjoy!

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I have made many tomato soups and this one was very easy. I used one can of crushed plum tomatoes. If you don’t have crushed in the house, you can crush in your food processor. I almost always have parmesan cheese in the house and I loved using the rind, as they have many uses particularly in soups where they can soak and soften. This time I diced it up into small little pieces so the result was like little explosions of flavor. Don’t ever throw away those rinds, they are so perfect used in soups and sauces.  The saffron threads give it that warm wonderful flavor.

Ingredients:

1 small piece of rind (2×3) from either Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces pancetta, diced up (you can buy packages pre-chopped, keep in the freezer and just take out when you need them)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 large…

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What to make when you can’t think of anything else to make: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Garlic and Oil)

Re-blog Monday and this is the pasta I go to when I don’t know what else to make. I almost always can scare up these ingredients in my house and it’s good and comforting any time of the year. Original post was September ’11. Enjoy this heartwarming recipe.

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Pasta with Garlic and Olive Oil

 At this point i am so busy prepping for the holiday, shopping lists, etc. i don’t have so much time to think about tonight’s dinner,This is one of those meals that I go to when I haven’t prepared anything, have run out of ideas but have garlic, olive oil, spaghetti and parmesan cheese in the house. Even if you don’t have ingredients, you can always run out and pick up those few items and throw this dish together, it’s awesome. It works for company as well as a side dish or a main, with a beautiful, green salad. You can always add shrimp, which makes for a truly outstanding dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box spaghetti (16 oz.)

1/3 cup olive oil

8 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

Kosher salt

1 cup freshly grated parmesan…

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Orzo with Lemon Shrimp and Spinach

Here is a re-blog from July ’13. This is a delicious and light recipe using shrimp, lemons and spinach. If you like you can substitute arugula for spinach. Bring a little sunshine into your kitchen with this recipe during the cold winter. Delicious vinaigrette recipe included here is good for other uses as well. Enjoy!

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photo DSCN0367 DSCN0363 DSCN0372 DSCN0384 DSCN0390 By now you all know how very much we love shrimp. It comes in handy to have an ex-shrimp monger on hand to clean and devein my shrimp. I love cooking it but not so much cleaning and deveining it. Joel not only obtains the best shrimp around but he really does do a great job of cleaning and deveining. ( I think it’s in his DNA) In any event we make a pretty good team when it comes to shrimp dishes.
So now on to this delicious dish. I didn’t feel like grilling and this dish was calling out to me. I saw Giada de Laurentiis make a shrimp scampi on her show and she made it with arugula , it looked so awesome and light I figured I’d do it my way and make it with spinach even though I knew Joel wouldn’t eat the spinach. Our friend Drew was over…

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White Bean and Tomatoes with Veggies Soup- can be vegetarian

Re-blog Monday and this was originally posted on Feb. 24 ’13 for those of you who missed it or it slipped through the cracks. This soup is so heartwarming and perfect for this cold winter. Super healthy and delicious. I love having this soup in my freezer for when I don’t feel like cooking and can take it out and defrost for lunch or dinner. Stay warm and enjoy! New recipes coming soon.

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photo (2) photo (2) photo (2) photo (2) photo (5) I decided to take a little bit different spin on my usual vegetable soup. Went for a hike today and was just in the mood for a heartwarming vegetable soup. I did use chicken stock but you can certainly keep this completely vegetarian with vegetable stock. Play around with it and use whatever ingredients you like and whatever vegetables and stock suit your tastes best. This was delicious and heartwarming, I ate some and froze the rest for another time. This should stay frozen for about 3 months in freezer. When you defrost you’ll thin out with a little stock while heating it up. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic , chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 can yellow corn, drained ( 15 oz. can)

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 15 oz. cans of white beans, drained…

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Classic Soffritto with Spicy Italian Sausage in Tomato Sauce

Here is a last minute entry for Valentines Day. Have fun and enjoy the day.

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Winter cont'd 002 Winter cont'd 005 Winter cont'd 004 Winter cont'd 015 Winter cont'd 017 Soffritto is a mixture of seasonings and finely chopped vegetables, such as onions, garlic, celery and carrots that is sautéed in olive oil and used as a base for many Italian dishes. I added a little red pepper flakes and oregano. This soffritto takes an average sauce to a perfect sauce. I first learned how to use it many years ago on a trip to Italy. Plus what an awesome way to get Joel to eat some vegetables!

We came home from a beautiful ski day up on The Highlands out here in Aspen, Colorado. Very much in the mood for pasta. I had a pound of italian spicy sausage on hand and all of the other ingredients for this delicious sauce. A short tubular pasta is always best for this sauce, Rigatoni and Penne work really well. I happen to have a box of Tortiglioni noodles which work really well.

Ingredients:

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