Thanksgiving Menu - Cranberry/Orange Relish

Hello dear friends, sorry I've just been posting and not commenting much, the life of a wife, mom (cook and baker go here too) and blogger sometimes can be hectic! You  know I love being here and I love commenting/replying! I am trying! really! I hope you still mentioned coffee somehow on any of your posts of the week to be able to link back and link up to our party on Friday! It's going to be a big party! You'll see! We'll be having a "double celebration" and you know that at least I try to always tweet the posts that link up with us!... So... keep coming back! I'll always try to have something special for you!

Today I thought I would continue with my Thanksgiving Menu that I've been sharing with you... The next item on My Menu would be mashed potatoes and gravy... I don't think I need to tell you how to make classic mashed potatoes... all I can say is that.... ehem... well... I don't make my gravy from scratch! Remember I am talking about a 'stress-free Thanksgiving Dinner' where the host/hostess can enjoy as well! so ... if you feel there's something you'd rather just buy already made, go ahead and buy it!' I do prefer things from scratch.... all I am saying is that if there is something, anything, that would cause you to stress out... don't do that... like Beth Moore would say: "Do what blesses, not what burdens"!

So... the next item on my menu is a delicious, really delicious Cranberry/Orange Relish... we prefer that to the cranberry jelly ... but it's your choice! I hope you do try it! It's really yummy and super easy to make! I got this recipe from Auntie Sally (Hubby's aunt) and I am happy to share it with you (just her sugar cookies recipes I am not allowed to disclose )

From left to right: Auntie Janet, Grandma Shirley, Auntie Amy, Auntie Sally.

*Auntie Sally's Cranberry - Orange relish*

 

I don't even know why I've never actually taken a good picture of this deliciousness! But this relish is the one in the center there!

Yummy stuff!

 

Ingredients: 

(Yield: about 3 1/2 cups, plenty for many!)

4 cups fresh cranberries

1 orange (peel and pulp)

2 cups of sugar

Directions:

Finely chop 4 cups cranberries and 1 orange (peel and pulp) in food chopper or processor.  

Stir in 2 cups sugar.  Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours (overnight is better).

Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

Perfect for Fall - Apple Pie with "leaves" crust

Good and Blessed Monday everybody! How was your weekend? We had an almost "surprise visit" from family in Wisconsin... FIL and his wife, Donna, were traveling and stopped by and stayed with us for a couple days! It was a really great time! The girls were so happy to have grandpa' and grandma' here with us!

Now... let's go to our Fall Theme... as you know I am trying to help you get encouraged and host your own Thanksgiving Dinner... not only host it actually but enjoy it too! Stress free! Truly! It is doable... My first Thanksgiving "TIPS"and "secrets" to achieve it is: HERE , and I'll continue sharing those tips, so, stay tuned... there is a lot more to come! But today I want to share a delicious, really delicious Apple Pie Recipe... I found this recipe online a while ago, in my search for the "perfect Apple Pie" and since I found it and made it my own I've stopped searching! This is it!

Homemade Traditional Apple Pie

Apple Pie... My way!

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

I teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons butter (softened and room temperature)

6 tablespoons shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Note: If this is your first time making this pie crust, make a double batch to be sure you have enough crust. (although one batch is enough)

For the Filling

5 Tart Peeled Apples

1 Tablespoon Lemon or Lime Juice

1 Cup Sugar

2 Tablespoons Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar

Plus 3 tbsp. of cold butter cut in cubes.

Directions:

Make The Crust:

Mix in a large bowl:

2 cups all-purpose flour

I teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Then cut in using the dough blender or fork: (avoid using your hands)

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water (I use 7),

 Note: You will only need enough water to bring all the ingredients together, once it has formed a "ball" or it's wet enough to form it you should stop adding water, so add it little by little.

• Wrap your pie crust in plastic wrap. Then place in refrigerator for at least 30 mins. while you make the pie filling. 

Time to Make The Filling:

• Fill a big bowl with water (about 2/3rds. of the bowl and add the tbsp. of lemon juice) Peel and slice your apples, as you slice them throw them in the bowl with water immediately to keep them from browning. Once you've peeled and sliced them all and they're still in the water, cover with saran wrap as close to the surface of the apples/water as possible.

Mix in a separate large mixing bowl:

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt 

     1 tablespoon vinegar 

• Now, drain the water off of the apples and mix them with the spices.

Time to put  that Pie together: (Preheat your oven at 400F)

• Now that your pie crust has had plenty of time to cool, divide it into two, equal halves.    
• Roll one of the balls of pie crust out until it is around 1/8th of an inch thick.
• Once you have rolled out the dough, wrap it around the rolling pin and unroll it onto your pie pan.
• Once you have shaped it to fit the inside of the pan, take a fork and poke holes all over the bottom of the crust. This will let the steam out as the pie bakes. Don't be shy... just go ahead and poke holes all over the bottom.
•  Dump all of the apples in the pie. Place about the chunks of cold butter on top of apple filling. This will give the filling rich flavor.

Putting Top Pie Crust On Pie

• Roll out the remaining pie dough and place it on top and seal the edges together with your fingers you can create a wavy design like the traditional pies or instead once the top crust has been rolled out just cut with a leaf shaped cookie cutter and place the leaves of dough arranged on top of the apples to make a beautiful, fall looking and very inviting crust.

Note: For a glossy effect you can brush the top crust with egg wash (mix 1 egg and 1 tbsp. water and brush it all over the top crust) I also recommend you to place aluminum foil around the edges of the pie and a small square of foil also right on the center on top of the pie to prevent too much browning.

Bake for 50 to 60 mins. until pie looks golden and you see the inside is bubbling.

Let it rest on a cooling rack for at least 3 hours (do not rush this) it will not only cool off but it will let the filling set, it's even better the next day!

Hopefully you will make this pie part of your family traditions for FALL!

Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

Never too late for peach cobbler!

Well... on Monday I posted a great recipe with lots of "soul" ... and in the same "comfort food theme" today I am going to post a "Peach Cobbler" Recipe... it's really delicious and it's also from Allrecipes.com ... I made this one two weeks ago but I hadn't gotten to post about it, I thought it was so good that even when we are welcoming fall into our lives with arms wide open it's never too late to eat a good (or I should say great!) peach cobbler...

As you know... I am on vacations right now but "The Coffee Shop" is obviously open for business. I will try to stop by and comment and hopefully reply back as much as I can but just be patient if I am not visiting as often... I am enjoying an awesome vacation with my family and pictures of our trip will be coming! so ... once our vacation is over and we're back to our routines I'll be able to blog and post and comment as much as I love to! In the mean time please remember to add some coffee to any of your posts this week and link back to us so you can link up this Friday... oh yes! We are still having our Coffee Friday! And we will have a great featured blogger for it so do not miss it! (Grab our Coffee Friday Button on our right sidebar if you'd like to use it to promote this party... the more, THE MERRIER)

And now our recipe:

Southern Peach Cobbler
(Original from Allrecipes.com)

Ok, it's meant to say Peach, not Prach... Thank you! :P

Ingredients

Filling:

• 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into med. sized wedges
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Dough:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup boiling water

  Topping to sprinkle:

Mix together:

• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is dark golden, about 30 minutes.

 Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

I'm Baking Friends! Yes, with a B!

Hello friends! I usually post a HAPPY Monday Post on Mondays... but...  It's already that time of the month when I post about my experiences baking a cake for the great baking club I belong to: "The Cake Slice" (don't worry... it's a Happy post anyway)

This year we have been baking from a FANTASTIC book: The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, we've been enjoying month after month great, luscious cakes and desserts that have been voted by the members of this special baking club.

This month the selected cake was "Ultimate Lemon Roll"... I am not posting the recipe this time but you can find it here

Today I just want to mention that I am enjoying so much this whole baking a cake a month because I am actually "baking friends" LOL! ... I've used my passion for baking as a great opportunity to meet other people, this month I just made the cake and posted an open invitation on fb to all my friends for whoever wanted to join and eat some of the lemon roll! I've done that previously ... I had some friends show up and some others that requested a slice... it was a lot of fun! I just moved here a year ago (from Wisconsin to Texas) and it's about a year ago that I joined the Cake Slice Bakers club, so it's all worked out perfect and now I have made great friends that have just gotten closer through my baking! I enjoy cooking/baking a lot... but mostly because it brings people together! Everybody enjoyed this cake... although I must say that I did get some "it's too lemony" comments, so if you are not a "lemon lover" this might not be for you.

Now... some pictures of the making of the cake and the enjoying it too!

The lemon curd / Chilling in an iced water bath

The sheet cake before going into the oven

Cake right out of the oven

Rolled up, cooling off

I had some issues when filling it up, and the cake cracked a little but I still think it looks great

Some of the sweet friends who enjoyed this dessert (and my almost 4 yo)

I also baked some M&M cookies, my girl of course had to pose.

 So... I think inviting people out of the blue... and or having something sweet always at home for those who want to stop by is one of many great friends to get to know people.. what do you do to make friends? Sometimes when we feel lonely we isolate ourselves even more... but.. if we want friends we can find ways to meet people and/or get to know them better... who knows... maybe they are waiting for you to give the first step.

 © Paloma K.

A very refreshing cucumber based drink - Agua de Pepino!

Happy Saturday everyone! Here I am with something quick and very refreshing for a Hot Day of Summer (like today!)

In Mexico... We have lots of traditions involving food... and one of those things we, all Mexicans love (due to the predominantly HOT weather we experience in Mexico, I am sure) are: AGUAS FRESCAS

"Aguas Frescas" literal translation would be something like "Refreshing Waters" ... they are a soft drink... not bubbly, not sparkling... just mostly fruit based drinks... (some of them are made using rice and others using a vegetable!) and they are delicious! always made with fresh ingredients and sooo colorful!

The most traditional flavors are lime, cucumber, tamarind (my favorite), watermelon, horchata (made with rice... very popular, but I do not like it), mango, cantaloupe among others!

It's very common to see these served at parties (and even restaurants), they are usually displayed in big (very big) crystal clear containers that resemble a "barrel" and of course they are not alcoholic... they are sooo good!

Well... today I bring to you the recipe to make "Agua de Pepino" (the cucumber one) but remember! With most Mexican recipes it's all about your senses more than measurements! If you like something you add more of that! You taste, adjust and enjoy!

So... here's a recipe you can use as a base to start your "Agua de Pepino" but of course, as I said... you'll adjust to YOUR taste!

Agua de Pepino (serves about 8)

Ingredients:
8 cups of water
4-6 green limes (depending how juicy they are, it should be about 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed juice)
1 good sized cucumber (with the peel and everything) cut in big chunks.
1/2 cup to 3/4 cups of sugar (or to taste)

Directions:
Add 3 of the cups of water to your blender, blend with the rest of your ingredients until it's as smooth as possible, transfer to a bigger pitcher/jar and mix with the rest of the water. Chill it and serve it with lots of ice (never use cold water to blend the ingredients or the sugar won't really sweeten and you'll need to use more, it's even recommended to use some warm water to mix the ingredients first and then you can chill it afterwards)

Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

ONE YEAR IN TEXAS ... and Apple Crisp recipe!

Hello friends! Happy Wednesday! I hope the week is treating you well! We are seeing summer come to an end... At least I am... I feel like it's almost done... I am already excited to hear all the plans for Fall! Ladies Bible Study, Mom2Mom, new songs for the choir, etc! Church fills with activity again! And that makes me so happy! :)

Also... this weekend (Sunday) was our first anniversary living here in Texas! It's been a great year, God's blessed us so much with wonderful friends and with the great opportunity to have family over from Mexico! My weeks are no longer so lonely! I love Wisconsin, I miss it a lot, I miss my dear friend Ashley who I used to see about 1 a week! and her boys!!! ... I miss hubby's family tremendously! But here... there's always something going on! And I am very happy for myself, of course! but especially for hubby and the girls! Our lives are so full! :) I wish we could all be close but I can't dwell on that ... I have to Praise God because he's blessed us so much!

So... now... let's see... Oh! Yes! I hope you are getting ready for our Coffee Friday party! We have a great blogger to be featured! She will be serving coffee for us and I know you will love her and her blog! Please add some "coffee" to one of your posts this week (you just have to mention coffee somewhere and link back to us) so you can link up!!!

We had great posts linked last Friday ... but today I want to thank Gg for joining our Coffee Party... Look what she brought with her:

Gg's post: Two Cups of Coffee

I hope you stop by her blog and say hi! ;)

And now... my Apple Crisp Recipe!

Apple Crisp

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings
Serving Suggestion: Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. 

Ingredients

• 4 Granny Smith (or tart) apples (cored and sliced)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup quick oats (plus some more for sprinkling)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
2. Place apples in prepared dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Pour water over the apples/cinnamon.
3. In a bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Blend in flour and oats. Spread mixture evenly over apples. (You can use your hands to distribute the batter until all the apples are evenly covered)
4. Sprinkle it all with some more oats for decorating.
5. Bake in preheated oven 35 - 45 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is golden. 
6. Let rest for at least an hour before serving. 

  Enjoy!

Linking up to: 



© Paloma K.

Raising sweet girls and Lemon/Blueberry Bars

So... first of all... yesterday would've been a perfect day if it wasn't for the horrible tragedy that happened in Colorado! I happened to find out through Facebook and it made me feel so sick and sad! How can people do these things? I am so sorry for the families of the victims and for those who went through it as well of course! What a horrible thing!

So... later in the day I decided I can't stay affected by all these things that happened... especially having a family to care for... all I can do is pray and raise my girls to become a blessing to society not another evil curse! As a mommy these things can affect me even harder than they did before I had children... but we have to keep going because we do not help if just stay crying...

So... after thinking about the events that occurred there and knowing I had to still make a good day for my hubby and girls I ended up drawing with my 3 yr. old (using Paint on the computer) and making pizza and Lemon/Blueberry Bars!

Here's the result of Mommy's Drawing (mine)

Very childish... and wishing I could keep my girls naive and happy always!

So... after our "Drawing session" I started the cooking.... Started making the pizza dough early (around 2 p.m.) to allow it it rise properly... no rush!... and my patience definitely paid off!

Right before going into the oven!

Then I proceeded to make the lemon/blueberry bars... Trust me... they were both the pizza and bars just amazing! Even I shouldn't be eating pizza but had to have this! and the Bars... well... As I was making them I felt like I should share them with someone else... maybe God had intended for me to make them to bless someone... so when I finished I posted them on fb to see if there would be any takers and thankfully there was a great response so I gave them to the first one to comment! :) .... I just kept one of the bars for hubby to enjoy and he said it was really, really delicious (and he is not a fan of "lemony" or fruit desserts) so I was very pleased!

Now... the recipe for all of you!  (you can find the recipe for the pizza in my recipe index page)

Lemon/Blueberry Bars 
I got this recipe from Monica at: Lick the Bowl Good

For the crust: 

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Zest of one lemon

For the filling:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 (14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk 
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish as you usually would (I usually do it with CRISCO because this really keeps anything from sticking to the pan). Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Mix until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of prepared pan. Bake the graham cracker crust for about 10 minutes if your oven is on the "hot side" then just bake it for about 8 or nine mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Let's make the filling! 

Combine the egg yolks and condensed milk in a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture is smooth and begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in about 3/4 of the blueberries, to use the rest for the top. 

Pour the lemon blueberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust then top with the remaining blueberries. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until just set (I baked it for about 17 mins.)

Cool for about 20 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate until completely chilled. Cut into bars and serve.

 Enjoy!

© Paloma K.

Big Reminder and How to Freeze Cherries

 Hello everybody! Thanks for all your wonderful comments on my previous post! You are all spoiling me! I am getting used to comments! They are actually quite addictive! I love reading and responding them! So nice!

Now... a quick reminder... Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! And we have our "Coffee Party" here at the Coffee Shop... we call it "Coffee Friday" and to be part of it you just need to:

1. Mention coffee on your post (your whole post doesn't have to be ALL ABOUT COFFEE but just mention it)... (either tell us that you went to a coffee shop or that you brewed some coffee at home or that you used coffee grounds for your garden, ANYTHING that is coffee related)

2. Link Back to us somehow inviting people to come and join this Coffee Party! You can use this button:

<center><a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src=" http://tinyurl.com/84v43fd "/></a></center>

And then just stop by tomorrow (and every Friday), get your cup of coffee and Link up!!!

If you would like to be THE FEATURED BLOGGER you just need to send me your "coffee pictures" (1 or up to 5)  to: love.for.coffee@gmail.com, along with a link to your blog, link to your favorite post and telling us something about yourself and why you like coffee... when you do I will just send you the date when you will be featured and everyone who stops by that day will have "the cup of coffee you served" (through your picture) and will be able to stop by your blog to get to know you better and thank you for the cup of coffee!

So... don't wait any longer and start taking your pictures and mentioning coffee for tomorrow's post so you can join this "Coffee Party".

------ ok... that reminder took a lot longer than I thought... now our "How To" ----

So... got a lot of fresh cherries and you're done eating them "for now"? Are you afraid they might go bad? They are very delicate so yes, they might go bad quickly... but don't lose their delicious flavor now that they are in season and keep it longer by freezing them properly.... Here is How to do it:

1. Start with ripe fresh cherries, wash them, drain them and place them on a paper towel, while you gently pat dry them as well.

2.  Pit the cherries over a baking sheet to catch all the juices that might be released while pitting. If you don't have a cherry pitter then I guess this is a guide on "how to pit cherries" as well. If you want to keep your cherries whole you just need to:

• Remove the stem
• Insert a toothpick or even a paring knife where the stem used to be until you can touch the pit.
• Bend the utensil that you are using (toothpick or paring knife) -I use the paring knife- and twist around the pit until you loosen it and then you just press the cherry (almost squeezing) the pit out. 

What I prefer to do is just remove the stem and then cut all the way around the pit with a paring knife, pulling cherry in half, and removing the pit (it's pretty easy, actually)

3. Arrange the pitted cherries on the baking sheet you've been working on (I actually used a 9x13" pan)  on a single layer, making sure there are no cherries on top of each other and place them in the freezer (on the baking sheet) for at least two hours or overnight.

4. Once the cherries are completely frozen transfer them to a "freezing sealable bag" (try to get as much air as possible out of the bag) and place them back in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Now just enjoy them in smoothies, shakes, cakes, cobblers, pies or just pop them frozen in your mouth! They are delicious!
  
© Paloma K.

The Alamo Cat and Blueberry Buckle

 If you read (or looked at, because it was mainly pictures) yesterday's post, then you know we had a "vacation weekend" with old friends, we went to San Antonio, Tx. and enjoyed the Riverwalk, The Alamo and Mission San Jose... It is amazing how you can be transported in time when you visit places like that... I am sure the people who fought there never thought there would be one day "smiley tourists" and "giggly children" running around those halls and gardens! As I touched the walls I could even imagine their conversations, their voices and the rush of the time of battle! and then I found this:

I introduce to you: "The Alamo Cat"

And it made me think like this cat lived it all... I know it didn't happen... But for some reason it made me think it was "The Alamo pet" it was so still that it almost looked like a statue! it made me want to go pet him but I didn't want to "break the spell" I was in another time and era... it was actually a little sad, thinking of the innocent people that always result injured when battles occur... anyway... I know sometimes wars are needed... but... I guess I'll never completely understand it...

And now... a recipe that will transport you too! Not in time but at least to a very pleasant place (just ask my hubby!):

Blueberry Buckle
Original from Allrecipes.com

Yield 1 -8x8 inch cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

For Crumb topping:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch pan.
2. Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, and egg.
3. In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries. Spread evenly (it is going to be very thick) into greased 8x8 inch pan.
4. To make topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.
5. Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes. (I baked it for exactly 30 minutes and it was perfect)

Right out of the oven

The Blueberries melt through the crumb topping making it look even more delicious!

The inside is like a "blueberry coffee cake"

 Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee! ;) (ok, you can drink anything you want!)

© Paloma K.

Tuesday of Quotes and Blueberry muffins

Well...today is Tuesday! And I am supposed to share a famous quote, inspirational thought or words of wisdom on Tuesdays but I have so much to share that I'll share the quote and then go ahead and write a little about Summer and share a great blueberry muffin recipe!

So... here is the "Quote of the Day" ... thinking of Summer!

"A life without love is like a year without summer. " ~Swedish Proverb

It's a beautiful day outside! It's super hot but that's ok if there is a cool pool or some splash pad where the kids can get all their energy out! It's been a great summer so far! I know it's just beginning and I also know it's more than likely I will soon complain for the hot weather, etc... but I hope I can have a better attitude this year and just enjoy it all like my oldest girl in this picture:

Saturday we had an awesome morning with friends! We went BLUEBERRY picking! Let me say that I've never been a big fan of blueberries and/or blueberry desserts, for some reason I've never found them to be that good, I've honestly tried to like them and bought them sometimes at the store but nah! they would usually end up in the garbage, this time I was excited about going blueberry picking just for the fun of it! In Wisconsin I used to go apple picking and I miss it so I thought it would be fun to do something like that here in the hot State of Texas! when my friend invited me to go with her I was ecstatic! We got there at around 9:30 a.m. and there were lines of people LEAVING already! and many more that were just arriving like us! Everybody had buckets to collect the blueberries and big bags FILLED with them! I kept wondering how the blueberries don't get all squished in there being as fragile as they are... but anyway... I picked a little and my girls did too... then had to stop because it was way too hot and my 17mo. needed a break from the heat, still had a lot of fun and got to enjoy some berry picking!

 Then when we finally got home my friend shared some of her berries with me, I didn't really pick any for us because I didn't know what I would make, since nobody here likes blueberries either (although I was surprised when I tasted the blueberries we were picking and they were AMAZING! Soooo different from the ones we buy at the store!) so I was happy she shared some so I would try to make something with them... and... this is what I made:

Blueberry Muffins
Original Recipe "To Die For Blueberry Muffins from Allrecipes.com"

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use safflower)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups almost to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

 

These muffins were AMAZINGLY GOOD! Hubby wanted to have 3!!! right away! I only let him have two! I was afraid he would get a stomachache! LOL! ... He loved them so so so much! and my littlest one loved them too! I was a big fan too but I don't eat cake/cupcakes right now so... I had to pass! Trust me ... you'll like them though!

© Paloma K.

Strawberry Tart

Hello friends! It is Friday! finally! The weekend is here and it's going to be a long weekend for most people in the USA! So... enjoy! But please, please If you drink (you don't need to though) but if you do... please, don't drive! I beg you!

Anyway... lighter topic instead of the drinking one because I get rather passionate about that one... So, first of all... did you enter my giveaway? It's almost over but you still have time so to enter just click here. Now... to our topic! ... Just the day before yesterday hubby told me he needed a CAKE for Friday for a meeting in his job! (I mean... he told me this like at 9 p.m. on Wednesday), and the cake he wanted me to make was my famous "Chocoflan Cake" which is delicious and not really that hard to make but it just involves some ingredients I didn't have at hand and TIME for baking (it bakes in a water bath  for two hours) but I thought I would just go to the store on Thursday, get the ingredients and then make and bake it at night when hubby came from work so it would cool completely and then be refrigerated... But then... the sun came out and it was a beautiful day! It was windy and really warm outside! It just felt like the perfect day to hit the pool! We had been wanting to enjoy a day of swimming but for one thing or another (girls being sick and stuff like that) we hadn't been able to, so yesterday I just took my girls to the pool and even had a friend and her son join us! It was a lot of fun! We splashed and enjoyed the water for almost 3 straight hours! I didn't even realize I was getting sunburned! But it was just sooo great, after that, my girls (and I) were hungry so we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner....

We had a great time and my baby girl was ready to go to bed pretty early at night (awesome!) but I still had to make a "cake" for hubby's work... Good thing the pool and sunny day inspired me to make something different (and much faster to prepare) .... I knew it HAD TO HAVE strawberries... then I found the perfect recipe...

Strawberry Tart
Slightly Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipes

Ingredients

• For the Crust

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for handling dough
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

• For the Filling

  • 1 bar and 1/2 (12 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar
  •  2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved
  • 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jelly

Directions

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.
4. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).
5. Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, on cream cheese.
6. In a small saucepan, heat jelly on medium-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving. (You can use a pizza cutter to slice) 

Hubby wasn't sure about this "Strawberry Tart" he is not fond of cheesecakes (so he was afraid it would be like that) plus he doesn't really care for "fruity desserts" but... I actually had to share this recipe because he JUST called me from work saying this was absolutely amazing! I was very happy everyone enjoyed it! It was easy to make and delicious! I hope you try it too! (Please let me know if you do!)

 I only had 1 pound of Strawberries, that's why there is space between each strawberry but if you do have the 2 pounds just go ahead and place them all right next to each other and it will also look even prettier!  Enjoy your weekend!

 © Paloma K.

Delicious and very fresh dessert - The Cake Slice

Hello friends! Thank you all for choosing "The Coffee Shop"! I have been going back to my old posts, re-reading the comments and checking my Subscriptions to try to get in touch again with my old friends who used to make this place such a vibrant, happy spot to gather! "The Coffee Shop" is a place where we can talk about anything! Enjoy good food! but mostly enjoy one another! I am hoping I can soon gain new friendships and re-connect with the old faces that I miss so much! It's been all my fault because I wasn't here consistently due to just the "daily life" but I hope I am here for good now! we'll see, right? We all have "seasons" like that!  Just as a way to say "Thanks for being patient with me" I am hosting a giveaway! I am giving a $25.00 Starbucks Gift Card! I hope you enter! Please check my previous post! Entering is SOOO EASY! You basically just need to follow me here or like me on FB to enter! you can get more entries by blogging about the giveaway... just check it out here . I really appreciate your support!

Today... it is May 20th! And if you  remember I am a member of a wonderful group of ladies who LOVE BAKING as much as I do... check their blogs here: The Cake Slice Bakers

This year we are baking cakes from:  "The Cake Book by Tish Boyle"  I've loved that book and I've really enjoyed everything we've baked so far. This month was the turn for:

Delicious and beautiful!

Individual Meringue Cups with Lime Cream and Fresh Berries

This delicious dessert was just heavenly! So light! So fresh! You basically have to make some meringue cups, then lime cream (like a curd) and then you fill your cups and top it all with fresh berries (I only used strawberries and blackberries) ... I loved this! I am definitely going to make it again!

Here is the recipe: (Makes 6 Individual Meringues)
Ingredients:

Meringue Cups:
4 Large egg whites at room temp.
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup (7 oz) superfine sugar


Lime Cream:
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tbsp. unsalted butter (cut into tablespoons)
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
3/4 cup heavy cream

Fruit Topping
2 cups mixed fresh berries (raspberries, sliced strawberries, red currants, blueberries)

Confectioner's sugar for dusting.

Elaboration:

Make the Meringues:

1. Preheat oven at 225F. Trace six 3 1/2" circles onto a sheet of parchment paper. Turn parchment paper upside down and place it on the baking sheet.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at med. speed until foamy Add salt and cream of tartar and beat at med.-high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add the sugar, about 1 tbsp. at a time, then increase speed to high and beat the whites until stiff peaks form.
3. Scrape meringue into a large (18") pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. Starting in the center of each circle, pipe a spiral of meringue in toward the edge, filling the circle completely. Pipe a ring of meringue around the edge of each circle. Pipe another ring of meringue on top of the first to form cups.
4. Bake meringues for 2 hours or until they are very lightly colored and dry to the touch. Let them cool completely (I think I baked them for about 1 hour only). 

 Make the Lime Cream

1. Set a fine mesh over a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium heavy saucepan (making sure it's perfectly clean, stainless steel and has no traces of grease in it) whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the lime juice and butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture turns opaque and thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately strain the custard through the sieve pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Stir in the lime zest. Set the mixture aside while you whip the cream or if you are not ready to serve the meringues, refrigerate the mixture, covered until ready to use.
2. Shortly before serving, in the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream at high speed until medium-firm peaks form. Place the bowl of whipped cream in refrigerator.
3. If the lime mixture has not been refrigerated, set the bowl containing the lime mixture in a large bowl filled about one third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn't splash into lime mixture). Stir mixture frequently until is slightly cooler than room temp. (about 10 minutes)
4. Fold a large spoonful of the whipped cream into the lime base to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining cream.
5. Spoon the lime cream into the meringue cups, dividing it evenly. Top each meringue with mixed berries, then dust lightly with confectioners' sugar and serve.

STORE the unfilled meringue shells in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 5 days, once filled they should be served immediately.

I hope you try this recipe! I think it would be perfect for a 4th of July celebration! If you try it let me know how you liked it! and please don't forget to enter the giveaway.

Enjoy!


© Paloma K.