FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

2012 WILD HARVEST Blogger Recipe Contest

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The best thing about the Healthy Living Summit 2012 (so far) is receiving a big box of goodies from SUPERVALU INC. and being encouraged to get my  bake-on, stat!  The Summit is nearly six weeks away and, already, there’s some bonding action going on among the attendees that opted to participate in the WILD HARVEST Recipe Contest.  I can’t wait to see what my blogging buds come up with, but in the meantime, this is what I’ve been working on!

The big ol’ box contained so, so many goodies!  Animal crackers, granola, raisins, peanut butter, apple sauce, spices, beans, salsa.  Upon opening the box, I immediately started snacking on animal crackers while brainstorming potential breakfast ideas.  Moments later, Courtney warned me via Instagram that the animal crackers were no jokin’ good and to beware.  It was too late,  half the bag was already gone!!

The basis of the contest is to create a fun, healthy breakfast using at least three of the provided ingredients.  My initial reaction was to bake some sort of protein cookie using the peanut butter, granola, and raisins.  But after further thought, that recipe wouldn’t be very me.  A more me recipe would be a savory, eggy breakfast.

A savory, eggy breakfast using using some of the leftover pie crust from last weekend!

FoodFash Black Bean Quiche with Mango Peach Salsa (yields 6 servings)

1 batch of your favorite pie crust

1 can of WILD HARVEST black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bunch of green onions, finely sliced

2 packed tablespoons of chopped, fresh cilantro

3 eggs

1 cup of milk

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of WILD HARVEST cayenne pepper

salt to taste

serve with WILD HARVEST mango peach salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill an uncooked pie shell with black beans, green onions, and cilantro.  Add eggs, milk, cayenne pepper, and salt into a blender and blend until slightly frothy.  Pour egg mixture over beans, making sure that most of the filling is covered with egg.  Bake for 50 minutes, rotating quiche once mid-way through baking.  Let quiche stand for 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with WILD HARVEST mango peach salsa and enjoy!

Man oh man am I happy I went the savory route.  The cayenne pepper adds that kick (that I find so necessary) and the mango peach salsa satisfies that sweet/salty craving that is so appropriate for brunch.  And not only is this breakfast such a weekend treat, it’s also filled with loads of protein and fiber – the perfect fuel for a weekend adventure!

*SUPERVALU INC. provided the above WILD HARVEST products for free for the purpose of this blog entry and the 2012 WILD HARVEST Blogger Recipe Contest.

Meringue Madness

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Ever since licking the bowl and beaters when I baked that lemon meringue pie, I’ve had meringue on the brain.  And since I was not going to tempt myself with another whole pie just to get a meringue fix, I figured meringue cookies would do.

FoodFash Mocha Meringue Cookies

3 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon coffee extract

6 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and extracts at medium speed until eggs are frothy and forming soft peaks.  Gradually add sugar and then beat for 4-5 minutes at high speed, until meringue is stiff and looks like the picture above.  Scoop all of the meringue into a large ziploc bag (or pastry bag) and cut off the corner of the bag.  Squeeze meringue onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet into whatever shape your heart desires.  Bake for one hour, turn off the oven, and allow the cookies to stay in the oven for a few hours.  Store in an air-tight container, separated by parchment paper, at room temperature to prevent cookies from getting sticky.

I left the cookies in the oven overnight and when I popped a few in my mouth as I rushed out the door this morning, they were perfect!  Light and airy with a hint of coffee flavor, I was down with it.  But when I arrived at home after working all day (sooo excited for a cookie), it was a totally different story.  You see, in my 7:30 AM frenzy, I figured the cookies would be just fine stored in the oven all day.  I figured wrong.  Meringues and the slightest bit of humidity equal marshmallow taffy-like things.  No bueno.

As I hesitantly tossed them into the trash can, I was already thinking of new meringue flavor combinations.  New flavor combinations, how I need to buy a pastry bag, how similar baking meringues are to baking macarons.  Lots and lots of thoughts going on as each fluffy fail found its way to the bottom of the bag.

Spicy Little Devils

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In addition to tart and tasty lemon meringue pie, I also brought spicy sriracha deviled eggs to the lake house on Sunday.  Deviled eggs and pie?  Though not exactly coordinated in any way, shape, or form…  Nobody seemed to mind.

I had a huge fear that this batch of freshly bought eggs was going to give me trouble when it came to peeling, but they didn’t give me much trouble at all.  I added eggs, a splash of white vinegar, and a pinch of salt to a big ol’ pot of water, brought to a boil over high heat, then covered and reduced heat to low for 12 minutes.

FoodFash Sriracha Deviled Eggs

1 dozen boiled eggs, cooled

4 tablespoons mayonaise

2 tablespoons white vinegar

sriracha to taste

salt to taste

smoked paprika for garnish

Slice eggs in half and dump yolks into a medium-sized bowl.  Add mayo and vinegar and then whip until smooth.  Add sriracha to taste.  I ended up doing two rounds of squiggles (technical term), which added flavor without being too, too spicy.  Add salt to taste.  Stuff each egg with yolk filling and then sprinkle with smoked paprika.

I’ve come to the conclusion that social gatherings and deviled eggs should go hand in hand.  They are so super easy, so super delicious, and they make people crazy-like excited!

I’ve Missed You

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Due to my recent obsession with cooking all things seafood, my kitchen and I have completely neglected tofu.  Who would have ever though fish would trump veg in the convenience department?  But even though that’s totally the case, I’ve been missing that little, white block of curd.

I forgot to press the tofu the night before, but pressing for an hour proved to be enough time.  I sliced the block in half and then made larger chunks than usual in an honest attempt to recreate yet another Whole Foods salad bar favorite.

Parchment paper.  Olive oil spray.  400 degree oven for 25 minutes on each side.  Perfection.

Soak up any excess grease with a paper towel, coat with some sawce, and put it in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.  I topped leftover garlicky kale with this tahini and white balsamic covered tofu and let me just tell ya, it was like going to the Whole Foods salad bar minus the gynorm line or expense.