Author Archives: Jess

Banana Muffins

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A Friday morning, snow falling out your window, a steaming cup of coffee in front of you. What’s missing from this picture?

Muffins

These soft, comforting banana muffins!

Muffins make such a great breakfast, snack or dessert. These muffins are just the right amount of sweet and the crunchy top compliments that soft inside perfectly.

Bananas

It is hard to eat just one!

Muffin

Method

Preheat oven to 400*. Line and grease 12 muffin liners in a muffin pan.

Start with:

3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix together in a bowl.

Next:

2 ripe bananas
1/3 c. applesauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together and then add to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Scoop batter into muffin liners, about 3/4 full.

Crumb topping:

1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. oats (I used old fashioned)
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1 heaping Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2.5 Tbsp. butter, cubed

Combine ingredients in a bowl, and using the back of a fork or a pastry blender, mix the ingredients until “crumby.” Spoon crumb topping onto each muffin.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Fauxmartha 

Enjoy!

Caramelized Onion White Bean Dip

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What are the foods that you will just NOT eat?

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For me, it’s most meat (I know that’s a big one). That pink ginger that comes with sushi. And I recently discovered I won’t eat a certain brand of roasted garlic hummus. Oh, and a bag of dried papaya I just bought.

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More on the hummus I’m not eating: I really wanted to buy a dip just to have around to snack on. I bought the roasted garlic flavor and knew from the first bite that I just can’t eat it.

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Enter: caramelized onion white bean dip. So much better than store bought anyways, right?

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More proof that everything happens for a reason. I bought hummus I didn’t like so that I would be inspired to make this. 🙂
This dip is sooo good. It’s creamy and so full of flavor. I think you will really enjoy it.

Method

Start with:

1 head of garlic

Roast the garlic. I followed this method.

Next:

1 medium red onion, sliced thin
Olive oil
Salt
10 fresh sage leaves

Heat about 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until caramelized, 25-30 minutes. Once onions are caramelized, remove from pan and set aside. Add sage leaves to the pan to toast, about 5 minutes.

Then:

1-15 oz. can white beans (I used Great Northern beans)
Olive oil
4 cloves roasted garlic, from above
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
Fresh ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes (I used about 1 tsp. but add according to your taste)

Using a food processor, process beans and olive oil until smooth. Drizzle in enough oil to get a smooth consistency. Add roasted garlic, lemon juice, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Process again, lightly. Add caramelized onions and toasted sage. Process once more, until just combined.

Enjoy!

*Notes:

-Add as much olive oil as you need as you are processing the dip to keep a smooth consistency. If it’s difficult to process, drizzle  in some oil and try again.
-I left some larger chunks of onion and sage in my dip. If you want your dip completely smooth, process it longer, until it is how you like it.
-I served this with crackers and toasted bread.

Weekend in Photos: Philadelphia

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So, today I am going to introduce you to someone.

This is Greg. Everyone say hi Greg!

Greg

Hi Greg!

Just about every other weekend I make a four-and-and-half hour trek across the PA turnpike to visit him. He is one of my bestest friends and my boyfriend!

He is attending graduate school in Philadelphia, so that means that I get to hang out and explore a new (to me) city with free lodging! How cool is that?

Anyway, expect to hear me talk more about Greg and Philadelphia, and now you know him and why I’m there.

Once the weather gets nice, expect to see more Philly posts, with outdoor photos.

So, here’s my weekend in photos — Philly style!

{We love Scrabble.}

scrabble

{Pizza and beer.}

beerpizza

{Playing around for an assignment for my photography class. More on that later.}

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{Meet our buddy, Ivy.}

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{Hello, breakfast.}

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{I couldn’t resist. What a cutie!}

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Have you been to Philadelphia? What is your favorite thing to do there?

Have a good Wednesday!

Quinoa with Kale and Lemon

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Kale + lemon + quinoa = a trio just meant to be together.

Finish Quinoa

I started making this dish over my month-long winter break from school. It was inspired by a pasta dish from one of my favorite blogs, Bev Cooks. Bev’s recipe used spaghetti. I swapped in quinoa for spaghetti and made a few other changes as well.

Spilled Quinoa Pepper

This dish is quick and uses simple ingredients. It’s my favorite kind of recipe.

Lemon

I just know that once you make this, you will love it, and make it again, again and again!

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Method:

Start with:

1 c. quinoa
2 c. vegetable stock

Thoroughly rinse quinoa. Add quinoa and stock to a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy.

Meanwhile:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 of a lemon
2 c. chopped kale
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook to flavor the oil, about 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and squeeze the juice of 1/2 of a lemon into the pan. Add chopped kale and stir. Cook until the kale is slightly wilted and tender, about 3 minutes. Toss in sunflower seeds and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour lemon/kale mixture over quinoa and stir to incorporate.

*I like to serve this with a dollop of goat cheese and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

I hope that you enjoy!

Sweet Potato Risotto with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

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This creamy, dreamy meal is sure to turn around any winter blues.

Sprouts Shallots

That’s what it did for me.

Yes, it is true. I am not a lover of winter. I have the winter blues. I don’t dream about being knee-deep in snow during an invigorating winter hike, or swiftly skiing down a mountain of it. I don’t even want to be outside when it is lightly flurrying! I don’t love wearing scarves and boots and jackets. I’d choose to go jacket-less every day of the year if I could. I try my hardest to enjoy being inside, looking out at snow gently falling to the ground. But even that is a stretch for me.

Risotto

Escaping for a week to somewhere warm this time of the year is always an option of trying to cure the winter blues. But, when you can’t do that, eating a steaming bowl of sweet potato risotto will help. I promise.

The sweet potatoes and ricotta makes this extra creamy and the roasted brussel sprouts and sage are the perfect added flavors.

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Enjoy every bite, and for all others out there dreaming of warmer weather, spring is officially 16 days away!

Method

Preheat oven to 400*.

Start with:
1 medium sweet potato
1/2 lb. brussel sprouts
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Peel and cube the sweet potato. Slice brussel sprouts. Toss sweet potato and sprouts with olive oil and season with salt pepper. Roast in preheated oven, about 30 minutes, or until sweet potato is soft and brussel sprouts are crispy. Mash or process sweet potato until smooth, using a potato masher or food processor.

Next:
3 large shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. arborio rice
1 c. dry white wine
4 c. vegetable stock, heated
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Thinly slice shallots. Heat about 2 Tbs. olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.

Turn heat to medium-high and add arborio rice and cook about 2 minutes. Add wine, cooking until almost completely reduced. Add warm stock, 1/2 c. at a time, to rice, waiting until absorbed to add the next 1/2 c. Stir in between each addition. When done, rice should be full, creamy and tender. This process should take about 25 minutes.

Then:
1/2 c. + 4 tablespoons ricotta cheese
10 sage leaves

When rice is finished, gently stir in mashed sweet potato, crispy brussel sprouts and 1/2 c. ricotta cheese. Spoon into an oven-safe dish and top with 4 tablespoon-sized dollops of ricotta and sage leaves. Bake at 400* for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!