Raspberry White Chocolate Crumb Bars

This is an adaptation from a recipe that I found in the Nestle Classic Recipes book I bought decades ago. Wow, that sentence made me feel really old. The original recipe was tooth melting sweet - way too much for me! Once you try this recipe, you'll find it hard to believe the original could be any sweeter than this one but I find it a tastier treat than its predecessor. It is definitely a winner and an easy "Go-To" treat for a quick dessert, unexpected company or a girl's night in.

Ingredients

1 Cup salted butter at room temperature

2 Cups Flour

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar (I like dark)

1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 Cup chopped Pecans

1/3-1/2 Cup Seedless Raspberry Jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350


2. Grease/Spray a 9x13 pan


3. Beat butter until soft, add flour, sugar and mix until crumbly


4. Press 1.75 Cups of mixture into bottom of pan


5. Bake 10-12 minutes


6. Microwave dark chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk for 60 seconds, stir until incorporated


7. Pour over hot crust


8. Add pecans into remaining mixture and sprinkle over the chocolate


9. Drop small amounts of jam over the mixture


10. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over the top


11. Bake for 25-30 minutes


12. Cool


13. Cut bars small, they are sinfully sweet!

Enjoy!

Asian Cabbage Salad

I love this salad and make if often. It is great with added chicken or shrimp!

4 Cups shredded cabbage, I like to mix purple and green

1 Cup shredded carrot

1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped

1/2 Red Bell Pepper sliced

1/2 Cucumber diced

1 Cup Snap Peas, cleaned and halved

1T toasted sesame seeds

1/3 C Toasted Almonds

4 T Soy Sauce (Low Sodium is better)

2T Vegetable Oil

1/4 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar

2 Garlic Cloves chopped

1t sugar

1/2t ground Ginger (Fresh only)

1/4 t crushed Red Pepper

1/2 t Sesame Oil

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl

Make dressing by adding the last 7 ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well.

Toss both salad and dressing together and refrigerate for 1-3 hours tossing occasionally.

Prior to serving sprinkle almonds on top.

Apple Mango Avocado Salsa

2 Mangoes, peeled and cubed
1 Large Avocado, peeled and cubed
2 crisp apples, I like Granny Smith and Braeburn
1/4 Cup chopped Cilantro
2 limes, Juiced
Salt to taste
1 small red onion, diced
1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Cup Corn Kernels


Mix the first 5 ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour

Add remaining ingredients, toss and chill before serving


This can be used as a Salsa with traditional corn chips or as a salad atop your favorite greens.

Jicama Slaw with Chicken

1Bag Broccoli-Slaw

3 Cups diced Chicken

1 Cucumber diced

1 Jicama diced

1/2 red onion diced or for a more mild flavor green onions

1/2 Cup Olive Oil Dressing (See below)

1T Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 t chili powder

1 t paprika

1. Mix 1st five Ingredients together
2. Add Remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl and mix well.
3. Dress the salad and chill.

Lasts for a good two days before getting soggy.

Olive Oil Mayo

1 Egg

1 1/2 T Apple Cider Vinegar

Pinch of Salt

Pinch of Cayenne

1t Grey Poupon or favorite mustard

1 Cup Olive Oil

Mix all ingredients until incorporated.

Ribollita - Stale Bread Soup

Dawn with the AWESOME garden - I am green with envy. Get it.....GREEN

Ribollita - Stale Bread Soup

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 thick slices pancetta or bacon chopped (Skip if vegetarian)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine - I've used white too and it'd fine
One 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
6 cups beef stock (Chicken or vegetable for the vegetarians/vegans)
4 cups torn stale bread
Two 15-ounce cans small white beans
4 cups chopped kale or chard
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
10 leaves fresh basil, torn

1. Heat stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil


2. Add the pancetta and cook for 4 minutes


3. Add the garlic, three-quarters of the chopped onion, the carrots and zucchini and season with salt and pepper.


4. Cook the veggies 8 to 10 minutes


5. Add the wine to deglaze the pot


6. Stir in the tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil


7. Reduce to simmer


8. Stir in bread and beans.


9. Add greens into the pot and wilt them into the soup


10. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes, stirring until it thickens


11. Check seasoning adding salt and pepper to taste


12. Pour into soup bowl and top with Parmigiano cheese, a touch of raw onion and some basil.

Cucumber Salad

It's Summer - Produce Abounds!
It's mid July and the farmer's market is packed every Saturday morning. I am lucky enough to live in a suburb where we have farmers bring their goods twice a week and I seldom need to schlep all the way downtown; quite a relief since I already do it five days a week. I usually bike to the local market early on Saturdays with my son. He enjoys the ride and looking at all the beautiful flowers the vendors sell, he seldom even looks at the produce for fear he might be asked to try something! In addition, each Tuesday I get my CSA box which is always filled with a few unknowns and a few staples. This week I found myself with an abundance of cucumbers so I decided to make an old fashion cucumber salad.

Cucumber Salad

2 Cucumbers - Peeled, seeded and sliced
3/4 Cup Grape Tomatoes halved
1/4 Cup Red Onion finely sliced
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 t. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 t. Sugar
1 t. fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and dill


2. Add Cucumber, tomatoes and onion, mix


3. Add salt and pepper to taste

I like to let it sit overnight - goes with anything summer!

Once Each Spring

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I never used rhubarb until 10 years ago or so. For some reason I never thought I would like it and I certainly didn't know what to do with it.

Anyway, I found myself in a new home that had two plants in the backyard and upon removing them to build a much needed play set for the kids, I met my first neighbor. She oooohed and aaaahed over the plants, going on and on about how great the rhubarb was, she couldn't just come right out and ask me for the plants, instead she just went on and on about how throwing them away was a waste....blah, blah, blah. I hate it when people pussy-foot around. Just ask for the damn plant! After a good 5 minutes or so I simple told the woman to take one of them and be on her way. As it turns out I've only spoken to her a handful of times since I've been here. It turns out she is the neighborhood gossip and I have no time for that either. Anyway.......I found myself left with a plant and asked the nice next door lady, Mrs. Johnson if she would like the remaining plant and she did. Before we could plant it in her yard we cut it down and I took the rhubarb home. Not knowing what to do with it I asked around at work and sure enough the recipes poured in. I tried this recipe not because it sounded the best or because I like pie, but because the woman who gave it to me I like best, her name was Juel and she was my mentor at work. To date this is the only of all those recipes I have ever tried, it is so delicious there was no need to expand my rhubarb repertoire. Of course now I don't have any rhubarb plants, so each year I take enough rhubarb from Mrs. Johnson's plant to make one pie. We have it for dessert on a Sunday evening and I always bring two slices over to the Johnson's; it is a tradition we never speak of but all look forward to each year.

Use your favorite single crust recipe. I hate baking so I buy the Pet Ritz deep dish frozen crust and it is great.

Ingredients

3 Eggs

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1/4 Cup flour

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

salt

4 Cups Rhubarb & Strawberry combination (I like 3 C Rhubarb to 1 C Strawberry but usually use 2 of each - that seems to be the family preference)

Directions

Beat Eggs. Mix in sugar and spices. Mix in flour and salt. Beat until smooth. Add fruit and mix

Pour into pie shell and use your favorite crumb topping. Bake at 400 for 50-55 minutes.

I like this pie served warm, not hot with some really good vanilla bean ice cream.

Welcome Spring!