Recipes

Cook like a Tico: A Costa Rican Experience + Recipe

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Cook Like a Tico food blogger event at Boston University.

It’s hard to believe that we’re in mid-October already! This post is a quick flashback to summer. June 29th to be precise. I attended a food blogger event at Boston University called Cook like a Tico: A Costa Rican Experience.

“Tico” is a slang word that Costa Ricans use to describe themselves according to the Urban Dictionary. The word captures a care free outlook on life along with the saying “Pure Vida” meaning pure life.

That feeling is expressed in the food of Costa Rica and there is an emphasis on fresh local ingredients.

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We helped with some of the simple food prep for our meal that was prepared by Chef Randy Siles of Hotel Tropico Latino.

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The hotel’s website has quite a lot of information and gives more details about Chef Siles and his way of cooking.

Our chef Randy Siles, recently named the ambassador of the sustainable and healthy cuisine plan for Costa Rica, has a fusion style called “Author’s Cuisine,” which is a free-style way of cooking that lets him create original recipes from his imagination. Like an artist with a blank canvas, Siles skillfully creates gourmet art fusing flavors into delicious, fresh and healthy dishes that tantalize your taste buds.

I also noticed that the hotel has beach yoga and yoga retreats as well. With winter approaching, the thought of a warm getaway with great food and yoga sounds idyllic!

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The squash and farro salad was one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. The fresh mint and basil really make the flavors pop. The crunch of the cashews, with the cucumbers and squash add to the wonderful texture. I can’t say enough about this dish, which is a meal in itself.

On top of the taste, you can tell by the ingredients that it’s good for you too. What more could we ask for?

I was given the recipe and hope to make it at some point. Unfortunately, the measurements need conversion for us North Americans. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Enjoy!

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Squash & Farro Salad

INGREDIENTS:

50 g squash (chopped)
250 g farro
40 ml of olive oil
1 large fennel bulb (chopped)
1 green cucumber (chopped)
40 g basil (chopped)
40 g mint (chopped)
100 g of cashews (chopped)
3 limes (in wedges)
2 orange units (peeled and chopped)
200 g of feta cheese
30 g coriander (chopped)
15 g microgreens

INSTRUCTIONS:

Rinse and drain farro. Place in a pot and add enough water or stock to cover. Bring to a boil; add salt to taste and 20 ml of olive oil and blend. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes. Once farro is cooked, just blend it with the rest of the ingredients and squeeze in the lime wedges for flavor.

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Disclosure: The meal was compliments of Cheryl Andrews Marketing Communications and the Costa Rica Tourism Board in North America. Thank you!

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Recipe: Double Berry Almond Breakfast Cookies

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Double Berry Almond Breakfast Cookies cooling on a rack.

Back in 2008, I posed the question, “Cupcake or muffin?” Is the only real difference that one we eat for breakfast or a snack and the other is dessert? Muffins sometimes have glaze, which is basically frosting.

Calorically there is not much difference either. I agree with a recent Vox article stating that we need to get real about our American breakfasts. They are basically dessert.  Although an article found in Essence may help assuage our collective guilt.  Eating dessert for breakfast may help us lose weight. Let’s go with that one!

If you ever think that I will discourage dessert, then you are sadly happily mistaken. I have a healthy (cough, cough) breakfast cookie recipe for you. It’s been a while since I blogged a recipe, so the time is right.

The only reason that I found this recipe is because another one of my favorite magazines abruptly stopped publication — More Magazine. It was a great magazine. Stylish, intelligent and thoughtful. Oh well. Seems that doesn’t sell. I still miss Whole Living. *sigh*

But I digress. For the remainder of my More subscription, I was given Shape Magazine. It’s not bad, but not a true replacement. Anyway, I did find this breakfast cookie recipe. It’s sweet, but uses maple syrup instead of sugar. I added honey and made a number of other changes based on the ingredients that I had at home, my particular tastes and knowing my oven.

As I always say, a recipe is just a starting point. Adapt away! Let me know if you try the recipe and what you think.

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Double Berry Almond Breakfast Cookies (Adapted from recipe on Shape Magazine)
(Makes a dozen)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 T honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1  1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup cranberries (halved)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
  • 1/2 tsp. orange peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium to large bowl combine ingredients. Mix well. Use an ice cream scoop to put batter on baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes. Remove cookies and let cool on a rack. Enjoy!

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Pear Crisp: Breakfast For Grown-ups

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Pear CrispBreakfast or dessert? I’ve asked this question before. Since I’m a grown-up, I’ve decided that it’s breakfast.

When I was a kid, I remember looking forward to being one of the grown-ups and being able to make my own decisions about things just like this. Because in the greater scheme of life, shouldn’t I be able to eat what I want for breakfast? Now is certainly the time to reap the benefits.

Last Sunday, I salvaged some subpar pears by baking with them. The inspiration for the crisp came from the apple crisp recipe shared by Amy Traverso. I made several changes, but her recipe served as a nice framework.

I cut the ingredient amounts in half, so it worked for the amount of pears that I had. I left the skins mostly on, but removed some of it because of brown spots. I changed the sugar to half brown and for the other half decided to finally use this coconut sugar that I bought about a while ago. I was a bit concerned that it might taste like coconut, but I didn’t notice it.

I used regular salt instead of kosher. Instead of all cinnamon, I used some cardamom too. For the flour, I keep a mixture of all-purpose and wheat in a container that I use for everything. It’s not measured, but it’s mostly all-purpose.

The crisp was really good and G loved it. He said, “That’s what grown-ups eat!” I happen to agree.

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Pear Crisp
(4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups pears (cut up)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter (melted)
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. cardamom

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the pears in an ungreased baking dish, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugars. Combine ingredients, then stir in egg. It will be crumbly. Spread the mixture over the pears. Drizzle the melted butter over the top. Then sprinkle the cinnamon and cardamom.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. You should probably let it sit and cool for a few minutes before cutting it. But we were hungry and watching CBS Sunday Morning as we were waiting for the crisp to finish baking.

Once it was done, I took a few quick pictures and we ate it. Because sometimes grown-ups are as impatient as kids!

Happy November to you!

Flashback Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Ganache

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chocolate zucchini cakeI like a nice surprise. Especially, when it involves food. Even better when it’s dessert. And a chocolate dessert at that.

Now I wish that I could say that this actual cake was presented to me as a surprise and I got to eat it. Not quite. But I did get the next best thing. A surprise tweet!

Five years ago on the old blog, I gave away a festival bundt cake after having won a set of three Nordic Ware Bundt pans from Courtney. I didn’t need to keep all three. Edi was the lucky winner.

I hadn’t thought much about the pan since. Out of the blue this week, Edi showed me a picture of the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Ganache that she baked! Thanks to a comment below by Candelaria, Edi is sharing how she made it, so we can all try.

I’ve made the cake twice and it turned out great both times. I’ve never put nuts in it. The first time had no frosting. I’ve made no other alterations to the recipe.

I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips. I could not find out how many ounces were in the bag, but it’s the typical size bag. I used those leftover after measuring out what I needed to make the ganache frosting.

I only made half the recipe.  I used half and half and a little butter, a little vanilla extract. Enjoy!

So nice to see that the pan has found a happy home and is being used! Now I have been reminded that I haven’t used the pan that I kept!

By the end of this year, this must be remedied! There hasn’t been much baking here and I think it’s time to create some new recipes. Stay tuned!

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Photo Credit: Edi

Recipe: Single Serving Nutella S’More

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single serving nutella s'more This isn’t much of a recipe, because it’s only three ingredients and I made none of them. But Nutella is always a good place to start.

It is a recipe, if you believe that a recipe can have cake mix as an ingredient. Which I do not. But let’s just go with it for now.

If like me, you have some random graham crackers, marshmallows and Nutella, then you can make assemble this single serving snack.

It’s rather precarious and gooey. Will probably crumble apart and you’ll need to lick your fingers. But it is just one serving and you’ll be making it in the privacy of your own home, so who’s gonna judge you?

To soften up this caramel covered marshmallow, I punctured it with a wooden kabob skewer and rotated it over the flame on top of my gas stove. Some parts caught fire and got singed. No worries.

I plopped it on a graham cracker. Slathered Nutella on top. Then I ate it. Maybe it’s not a recipe, but it was fun.

Have a good weekend!