Recently I took a trip to Chelan, Washington where there was an abundance of fresh blueberries. I purchased ten pounds of berries for $5 – what a deal! Well, yes, it was a deal, but now I am faced with what on earth to do with a gizillion blueberries. There is only so much blueberry muffins, smoothies and syrup a family can take after all…enter my heavenly Blueberry Crisp Marshmallows.
I decided to get creative and make my favorite recipe for homemade marshmallows, but with a twist. Rather than dust them with confectioner’s sugar, I decided to dust them with a topping of graham cracker crumbs and swirl some fresh blueberry sauce in the marshmallows once completed.
The final result was fabulous and a great way to use up a bit of those blueberries. I fused several recipes together – Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for homemade marshmallows along with a Blueberry Sauce from All Recipes.
Blueberry Crisp Marshmallows
Ingredients
1 package unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (crushed from about 7 squares)
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. sugar
3 T. blueberry sauce (recipe below)
Directions
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.
While the marshmallow is being whipped, add the crushed graham crackers, sugar and butter together. Set aside. Grease a 8×8 inch square pan with cooking spray or butter and dust the bottom with the graham cracker crumbs. Reserve the remaining crumbs. Like this:
Once the fifteen minutes has passed, your marshmallows will be light and fluffy. They will look like this:
Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. Carefully fold in the blueberry sauce just until you see a ribbon of blueberry and a light marbling effect. Pour into the baking pan and sprinkle with some of the remaining graham cracker crumb mixture. Let the marshmallows set overnight or for approximately 6-8 hours.
Cut the marshmallows up once they are set and dust the remaining sides with the graham cracker crumb mixture. Enjoy!
Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup water
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.
I am a little obsessed with Jennifer Lopez. It is amazing how she has managed to actually age backwards. Looking at pictures of her from ten years ago, I can’t believe how much better she looks as the years have gone on. So, while I was perusing the July 2015 issue of InStyle magazine and came across her recipe for a green smoothie I knew that I had to try it.
The smoothie features her BodyLab Vanilla Whey Protein Complex which I unfortunately did not have on hand so I opted for my Trader Joe’s Whey Protein in vanilla. I am guessing they are pretty similar, so I moved forward with the recipe. The smoothie includes rice milk, spinach, banana, chia seeds, sunflower butter and protein powder. This was a convenient recipe for me since I usually have all these ingredients on hand. Not having too many ingredients was very helpful.
Now for the taste, it was surprisingly good. I honestly wasn’t sure how the sunflower butter would marry with the rest of the ingredients but the banana and sunflower butter take over most of the flavor and the spinach adds a freshness without being to overpowering. I may even actually pick up a container of the BodyLab protein powder when I am done with my current protein powder to see how the BodyLab version compares to the Trader Joe’s variety.
I would definitely recommend trying the recipe for this shake. Looking at J-Lo, there are many things she is doing right and I will try one of them to see how it works continuously. Not only is it delicious, but if this is one of the items J-Lo is eating I am going to give it a try as well.
*For an additional Maca smoothie recipe as well as an extremely knowledgable post about Maca and all the amazing benefits, check out this article on superfoodliving.com. Some of the benefits noted are increased libido and hormone balance (something I could definitely use, especially a few days a month).
J-Lo’s BodyLab Green Smoothie (1 serving)
Ingredients
1 cup rice milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 handful spinach
1 frozen banana, sliced
2 T. chia seeds
2 heaping teaspoons sunflower butter
1 dry scoop BodyLab Vanilla Tasty Shake Complete Whey Protein Complex (I used Trader Joe’s Vanilla Whey Protein)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Serve.
You know a marketing campaign is good, when years after it has run its course, you still recall their slogan. I love pork and I think calling it the “other” white meat sells itself short sometimes. My new favorite cut, is pork tenderloin. It is succulent, delicious and is the perfect canvas to absorb all sorts of flavors. The fact that it is relatively lean doesn’t hurt either – especially this time of year.
The recipe I made last night was inspired by one of my favorite wing recipes, Maple Wings. If you have never tried this recipe, you definitely should – they are sensational and everyone always raves about them. I can’t tell you the number of times I have given out that recipe. The combination of soy sauce, teriyaki and maple syrup is spectacular and really brings out the natural flavors in the pork. I love to serve this dish with my Ginger Rice and a cool cucumber salad. Sooooo good!
Maple Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin (approximately 1.5-2 pounds)
2/3 c. pure maple syrup
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. teriyaki sauce (preferably Yoshida’s)
1 T. finely minced garlic
1 t. pepper
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
Directions
Put pork tenderloin in a ziploc bag. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients and pour into the ziploc bag. Marinate for as long as you can – overnight, if possible.
Remove pork from the plastic bag and grill or bake in a 400 degree oven until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
While the pork is cooking, boil the remaining marinade in the bag for atleast 10 minutes.
When the pork is finished, slice and serve with the marinade as a sauce.
Now, wasn’t that easy!
There is a Mediterranean restaurant that my husband and I absolutely love going to called, Mediterranean Kitchen. The food is so flavorful (think super garlicky and lemony) and although it isn’t the place to go if you are on a first date (unless you are into that sort of thing) it is definitely the place to go if you want something crazy garlicky good.
I love Mediterranean food which is why I am so excited to share my recipe for a Greek Quinoa Salad that I created. I am always looking for new ways to incorporate these fresh flavors into my cooking so when I found a recipe for a greek salad with yogurt dressing I knew it would be a winner.
The dressing itself is delicious and not only is great as a dressing but also is amazing utilized as a sauce as well. I did create this recipe to be a little more garlicky, a lot more lemony and a touch lighter (in calories) by adding both olive oil and chicken stock then traditional dressings/sauces. I used Greek yogurt for its added protein punch and added quinoa and garbanzo beans to make this salad super filling.
I have been cooking a ton lately, but everything has been so healthy I was craving something that was decadent and blog worthy. Even though I have been trying to cook healthier I can not and will not ever give up sugary, decadent delights such as this Orange Scented White Chocolate Toffee.
The base is the same that I use for my original toffee which is butter, sugar, almonds and vanilla, however in this case I use orange extract in place of the vanilla extract. The orange extract I use is Nielsen-Massey’s Orange Extract, which you can find on Amazon here. I find this extract lends the toffee a mild orange flavor without tasting artificial.
There are still many delicious healthy recipes to be posted, but as with everything in life there needs to be some balance and this Orange Scented White Chocolate Toffee brings balance into my life – well this and Proseco. 🙂
