2 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This is the most dangerous recipe I've ever shared. You can now make yourself an individual chocolate cake in 2 minutes...120 seconds. And it was stolen. Yup, chocolate and robbery.

Nick spotted a copy of Lucky Peach, 2011's best new food magazine, at a bookstore this weekend and took a picture of this cake recipe on my iphone. Sorry, we promise to buy a copy next time, we swear.

2 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
generously adapted from Lucky Peach magazine

I took inspiration from their recipe but swapped out most ingredients for healthier options.

2 T coconut oil
1 egg
3 T whole milk
3 T maple syrup
3 T whole wheat pastry flour
 2 T pure cocoa powder
3 T dark chocolate chips
small splash vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 small or medium coffee mug (microwave safe)

First melt the coconut oil in a small to medium mug (in the microwave) then add the rest of the wet ingredients (egg, milk, maple syrup) and whisk. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again.

Put your mug into a microwave for 2 minutes. The recipe notes a 100-watt microwave so depending on the power you may have a more or less dense cake. The cake may rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed. Tip out onto a plate if desired or dig into the mug (which I prefer).

Why is this cake recipe the most dangerous recipe in the world? Because now we are only 2 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night.

Dino Smoothie

I'm having one of "those mornings". Dylan woke up screaming at 4:30 from, I think, his first nightmare. He was so shaken up and only wanted to lay on my belly and rub my arms and cheeks. He was visibly afraid and stiff. It broke my heart.

We walked up to the bakery in our pajamas for early coffee and croissants to shake off the funk that filled our house. Then somebody mistakenly threw away our croissant and took our table. It was one of those moments where I felt like the world was ending - don't mess with my butter croissant, not today buddy. We walked home.

Luckily, Nick is first-rate and let me go back to sleep for 2 hours. Love that guy.

I'm determined to turn this day around by way of purple smoothies. As I mentioned I've been practicing at home versions of my neighborhood juice bar's blends. Here is my take on the Dino Smoothie.

Dino Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries (I use frozen in the winter)
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 heaping cup baby spinach, kale, or a mix of the two

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Muffins

So we finally started watching Downton Abby this weekend - such drama! I love it. Nick and I made a deal to do more special things together at home after Dylan goes to bed. Saturday night we played Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition which made me feel like we were back in 2008...although I remember dominating in 2008 and was royally beat this weekend. Must brush up on New Kids on the Block and Gulf War trivia.

Dylan and I made these muffins together Sunday afternoon while Nick went surfing. He had just woken up from his nap so my sous chef was wearing polar bear PJs, as all good sous chefs should.

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Muffins 
from Feeding the Whole Family
recipe says makes 12 muffins but I came out with 10

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or barley flour (I used whole wheat pastry)
2 teaspoons nonaluminum baking powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup baked and mashed winter squash or sweet potato (either bake the vegetable and scoop out flesh or purchase a high quality canned vegetable - organic without any additives)
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, for topping (I used raw sunflower seeds)

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil muffin tins or line with paper muffin cups. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.

Mix mashed squash or sweet potato, butter, maple syrup, and eggs together.

Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and mix with minimum of strokes. Fill muffin cups full with batter. Decorate top of each muffin with a few pumpkin seeds. Bake 25 to 30 minutes (check at 25 because you don't want to over-bake, mine were done).

For babies 6 months and older: Reserve 2 to 4 tablespoons of the baked winter squash or sweet potato that has been mashed. 

For babies 10 months and older: Toast some pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet until they puff up and pop. Grind these to a meal and use 1/2 teaspoon or so added to baby's cereal for flavor and nutrients.

For toddlers: Eat muffin as is or slice and spread with butter, all fruit jam, or nut butter.

Mommy's Lunch

Oh hello I'm just trying to get piles of things done that should take me hours in about 10 minutes. Did I mention Dylan woke up at 4:45 am today? If you find yourself in a similar "head is spinning I didn't know sock feet could slide across wooden floors so fabulously fast" situation make yourself this lunch. It takes little brain power and reminds you to sit and eat something delicious...if even for a moment.

Mommy's Lunch

1 tablespoon good butter 
1 sprouted tortilla
2 farm fresh eggs
1 big handful baby spinach
1/4 onion, sliced thin
Small handful grated cheddar
salt and pepper

Heat skillet over medium-high.
Melt butter.
Saute onion and spinach until soft and wilted - push out to sides.
Crack 2 eggs in the center, sprinkle everything with salt and pepper.

Toast sprouted tortilla, topped with cheese, in toaster oven.
Pile everything on top.
Think about going to sleep but clean the kitchen instead. Boo.

Best Quinoa-Black Bean Burgers

Do you love where you live? If so tell me why. I'm in a funk because I love where we live but our little city is cursed with some fatal flaws (which rhyme with schools and jobs).  So how did you decide on where to call home? I'd love to know.

I've been making these burgers twice a month for five years. And I'm just sharing them now? Yup. A very similar version was posted way back when so I was worried they'd be too repetitive but I've realized if we eat them so much you should be too.

Dylan loves these. He smashes handfuls of the crumbled burger into his mouth then whisper-grunts "mmmooorre...". I doubt many kids can resist a sesame seeded bun and squirt of ketchup.

Best Quinoa-Black Bean Burgers
makes 4

2 cups or 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (sub corn meal for gluten-free)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
pinch salt 

1. In a small sauce pan, toast the quinoa in olive oil for a few minutes. Add a cup of water and a pinch of salt, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes).

2. Put the black beans, cooked quinoa, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and tomato paste into a mixing bowl. Mix everything together with your hands until it's evenly mixed. Really go after it and squish the mixture between your fingers, mashing the beans up. You want it to hold together well.  
 

3. Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Divide the burger mixture into four equal pieces. I like to trace a line with my hand before forming patties. Use your hands to build the burgers.

4. Pour a layer of olive oil into the pan. Cook the patties (be careful not to overcrowd the pan) for 5 minutes on each side, until they are a deep brown. While the burgers cook, mix honey mustard together.

5. Toast the buns, slather them with honey mustard, and assemble the burgers with avocado, tomato, arugula, cilantro, a fried egg, or whatever else catches your eye!

I served the burgers with simple roasted cauliflower. 

Pre-heat oven to 425 and toss little florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30-ish minutes, until golden around the edges.  

Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas - Round 2

These quesadillas have made me friends, brought me clients, and had a big roll in growing my pregnant belly. About 20% of the time when I ask someone how they found me they say "Oh I was searching for Garden Grille's butternut squash quesadilla recipe and I found you!" Why thank you Mr. Quesadilla - you are delicious and helpful.

This was one of the first recipes I ever posted back when my camera had two buttons and my mom was our only reader. So I owe it this recipe, one of my favorite meals ever, to share it again all retouched and pretty.

Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas 
makes 4

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1" dice
olive oil
salt
2 avocados
1 can black beans, rinsed
grated jack cheese
8 whole wheat tortillas
pickled jalapenos *if you like heat, sprinkle some pickled jalapenos in the mix
salsa

Pre-heat oven to 425. Toss butternut squash with olive oil and salt then roast in a single layer for 30-40 minutes or until tender and caramelized around the edges.

This squash may look burned to you but it actually tastes like candy.

When you are ready to assemble, spread 1/2 an avocado each on 4 tortillas, sprinkle with black beans, and roasted squash. Season with a bit of salt.

Pile on jack cheese (and pickled jalapenos if you like) and bake (open faced) in the oven for 10-ish minutes or until cheese is melted and the tortillas are crisp. As the loaded tortillas will take longer to crisp up then the toppers you can add the toppers to the oven half way through.

Slice into wedges and serve with your favorite salsa and hot sauce.

Ps. This week I'm delivering My Favorite Soup, these Quesadillas, and the best Quinoa Burgers ever (that I'll share later this week)!

Peanut Soba Noodles & Little Boys

Eleven of my friends are pregnant. Yup, eleven. And considering I have about twelve friends that's a high percentage. Besides the overwhelming love and excitement I have watching them become mothers for the first or second time their pregnancies have made me realize that I am not the mother of a baby anymore. I have a boy. I see new moms in coffee shops and walking down the block with their tiny babies curled up in slings and catch myself thinking I'm still there. But my life is so different now. I sleep at least seven straight hours every night, I go out with friends, and I read books again but part of me misses the crazy club of raw newborns. Sometimes I miss my tiny baby Dylan but man I'm happy where we are.

What do soba noodles have to do with this? Not much besides that this recipe has been with me for a while and I keep adapting it to our changing lives. It's delicious - you should make it.

Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce:

1 package soba noodles
1 carrot, peeled of tough skin then peeled into thin ribbons
1 cup pea pods, trimmed
2 tablespoons unhulled sesame seeds

1/4 cup natural peanut butter (meaning no added oil or sugar)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey

-Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil  
-Blanch carrot peels and pea pods for 2 minutes, skim out (saving boiling water) and run under cold water to stop cooking process and lock color 
-Cook soba noodles in boiling water per package instructions
-Mix sauce ingredients together until combined but don't over-whisk or it will become too thick
-Drain noodles and return to pot set over low heat
-Mix noodles with sauce in pot over low to allow the sauce to loosen up and coat the noodles evenly - toss with blanched vegetables and sprinkle with sesame seeds

I'm Cooking You Dinner

Some of my favorite gifts have been thoughtful experiences rather than objects. Delicious dinners, dog walking for a month, facials, a yoga pass, surprise concert? Yes please. It's fun to dream up what would make someone's life a little easier or a little more fun.

For the month of February I'm cooking a family dinner three nights a week. It's a gift to an overworked mother of two young children. I'd like to share with you what I've done and the dinners I have in mind. If you like, you can cook along side me and give yourself a good excuse to get some healthy dinners on the table.

Week 1: 
Sweet Potato Tacos

Wild Rice Casserole with a Big Salad

Week 2: 

15 Minute Flounder with Simple Roasted Vegetables

Greek Salad with Farro and Kabobs (of your choice - chicken, fish, tofu) 

Peanut Soba Noodles (using carrot and pea pods) with Cucumber Salad *warning this photo is from many moons ago but tastes great!

I'll be back to share weeks 3 and 4 - happy cooking!

Rainforest Smoothie

I really love our neighborhood. It's full of friendly people and we can walk to the best bakery in Providence, the library, pharmacy, wine shop, three playgrounds, a fabulous toy store (complete with in-store train table), a great Indian restaurant, cutest retail shop, and a juice bar.

I always order one of two smoothies at the juice bar - Rainforest or Dino. But let's be honest, an $8 smoothie is not an everyday occasion. So I've mastered my at home recipe.

Rainforest Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup baby spinach

Dylan seriously can't get enough of it. He must like a taste of the tropics because this green glass is full of sunny pina colada goodness.

15 Minute Fish Dinner

I've never been a land-locked type of gal. I get the same feeling as I do when I'm in the middle of a big city without a car...stuck. So it's no surprise I've found myself in the Ocean State surrounded by coastline. Big bonus? Fresh fish. If you are also a Rhode Islander here is a list of local seafood suppliers.

photo Djhockman7

This 15 minute flounder dinner is inspired by a dish my mother in law cooks for us on Cape Cod. I love the idea of layering two thin flounder fillets, creating a sandwich of flavor, and popping it in the oven. Done. Delicious.

15 Minute Fish Dinner
serves 2

The beauty of this dinner is that it can serve 2 or 12. For a large group, stack fish on a baking sheet and rotate halfway through to ensure even cooking.

4 local flounder fillets (2 per person)
olive oil
Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
high quality flavored panko breadcrumbs (sold at the Whole Foods' fish counter)
lemon, sliced into wedges 

-Pre-heat oven to 425
-Rub olive oil on the bottom of a pan
-Lay 1 fillet down, sprinkle with salt and pepper, brush with 1/4 teaspoon (each) of Dijon mustard
-Sprinkle with panko, top with second fillet
-Again sprinkle top fillet with salt and pepper, then with panko
-Drizzle olive oil over the top
-Bake for 10-15 minutes

I served this with big lemon wedges and a huge arugula salad.