Author Archives: Ruf Love

Blueberry Scones with Blackberry Butter and Devonshire Cream

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I promised! Here are the scones from last weekend. Amazing? Yep!

blueberry-scones-1

I love scones but never seem to buy them or make them. It’s the once in a (very long) while, I order one and remember, oh yeah…I love these things.  Plain, blueberry, chocolate chip, with icing; I love them all.

These were light, slightly sweet, moist, and oh so good. They were a hit at the jewelry party.

BLUEBERRY SCONES

INGREDIENTS

3 C flour

1/3 C sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 C unsalted butter

1 C buttermilk

1 C blueberries

1 T flour

1 T heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add butter and mix with your hands until completely blended. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Toss blueberries with flour. Fold into batter.

2. Transfer dough to a floured counter and divide into 2 parts. Roll each to 3/4″ thick. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place slightly separated on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with the cream.

3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Notes:

Adapted from I can’t remember. Once I find the source, I’ll post it.

BLACKBERRY BUTTER

blackberry-butter

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C butter

1/2 C blackberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Whip butter until light and fluffy.

2. Add blackberries and beat on low until just combined.

Notes:

Created by me, Emily.

DEVONSHIRE CREAM

INGREDIENTS

4 oz mascarpone

1 C heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 – 2 tsp sugar

Zest of lemon

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the mixture holds its shape and looks like softly whipped cream.  Use right away or cover and refrigerate the cream until serving time.

Notes:

Adapted from Joy of Baking.

I forgot to take pictures of this!

Creamy Baked Eggs

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Jewelry and brunch. The perfect combination! This past weekend I hosted a jewelry party and tried a few new recipes. All of them turned out great – Creamy Baked Eggs, Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread, and Blueberry Scones with Devonshire Cream, Blackberry Butter, and Honey Butter.

The first recipe I’ll share is Creamy Baked Eggs. I’ll share the rest with you later this week! Promise.

Creamy-baked-eggs-3

Creamy cheesey sauce mixed with eggs and bacon. Tasty by itself or on the side of cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, or anything sweet. This recipe is a great brunch dish because it can be made the night before.

CREAMY BAKED EGGS

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbls butter

2 Tbls flour

1 3/4 C 1% milk

1/2 C grated cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 package bacon

2 green onions, chopped

8 large eggs

1 piece bread

1 Tbls chopped chives

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 6 ramekins and place on cookie sheet.

2. Melt butter in medium saucepan then whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook for two minutes making sure not to brown.

3. Slowly add the milk while whisking. Cook until thickened (It should coat a spoon.)

4. Turn off the heat. Add grated cheese and whisk until smooth.

5. Add salt and pepper.

6. In separate, larger pan, cook bacon until brown and crispy. Remove bacon and place on plate with paper towels to soak up the grease. Remove bacon grease from pan, reserving 2 Tbls.

7. Saute green onions in bacon grease until soft.

8. Crumble bacon and add it back to the green onion pan.

9. In medium bowl, beat the eggs.

10. Add eggs to bacon and onion mixture.

11. Cook eggs until they are partially set and add the sauce.

12. Stir eggs and sauce and evenly distribute between greased ramekins.

13. Crumble bread into pieces and sprinkle on top of eggs.

14. If you are making this the night before, cover and put in fridge.

15. Bake uncovered for 2o min or until set and bread is toasted.

16. Sprinkle chives on top of eggs.

NOTES

6 servings

Adapted from Food.com.

Mushroom and Polenta Napoleon

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I’ve been eyeing a recipe that has LOTS of mushrooms on top of creamy polenta. I didn’t have any uncooked, plain polenta but I did have a package of pre-cooked  Trader Joe’s Organic Polenta that we usually use for polenta fries. Soooo, I did a little thinking and came up with this….

Stacked golden polenta rounds with mushrooms and shallots sauteed in a wine reduction. Topped with shaved Parmesan. Glass (or bottle) of wine. Friday night deliciousness. Did I mention, it’s actually healthy?

Mushroom-Polenta-Napolean

Please ignore Andy’s hand in the picture. We have absolutely NO natural light coming into our place so he’s holding it over the balcony. My Photoshop skills are lacking, so the hand stays.

MUSHROOM AND POLENTA NAPOLEON

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbls. olive oil

1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 C. sliced, assorted mushrooms (I used button and cremini)

1/2 C. red wine

1 C. grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

olive oil spray

1 package pre-cooked polenta, sliced into 1/4″ rounds

2 Tbls. shaved Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add wine and Italian seasoning to pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add grape tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes. Transfer mushroom and shallot mixture to small pan.

Spray large pan with olive oil spray. Add polenta rounds. Cook for 4-5 minutes each side, until golden and crispy.

Place one round on a plate then top with a spoonful of mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers two more times for each Napoleon.

NOTES

4 servings

*I served this with lemon and herb marinated chicken breast and broiled asparagus.

Inspired by Wild Mushroom and Tomato Ragout with Polenta from Shape Magazine.

Greek Chicken and Mushroom Gyros

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If you read my “About Me,” you’ll learn I create some of my best recipes by scouring my fridge or pantry.

Last night, while thinking about what to have for dinner tomorrow, I remembered I had some leftover Crazy Feta, from How Sweet It Is, and some whole wheat pita bread. I raided the rest of my fridge and pantry to see what else I could come up with. Mint, plain Greek yogurt, cucumber, mushrooms, and lemons? Hmm…I’m thinking a version of gyros. And, a good idea it was!

Greek Gyros
2 servings

2 whole wheat pitas

1/2 C. feta or Crazy Feta

Grilled Greek Chicken

Roasted Mushrooms

Tzatziki Sauce

Grilled Greek Chicken

adapted from Kayln’s Kitchen

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced

1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil

1/3 C. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. fresh lemon zest

1 tsp. Greek seasoning

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. dried oregano

black pepper to taste

Tzatziki Sauce

1/2 C. plain greek yogurt

1/4 C. seeded, peeled (optional), chopped cucumber

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. fresh mint, chopped (optional or use fresh parsley)

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients in Tzatziki Sauce, cover, and let sit in fridge until ready to serve.

3. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, Greek seasoning, poultry seasoning, oregano, and pepper in shallow dish. Reserve 2 Tbls. of marinade in small bowl. Add chicken to shallow dish, turn to coat, and marinate for at least 30 min.

4. Cover a small cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Toss mushrooms and reserved marinade and evenly space mushrooms on pan. Roast mushrooms for 15-20 min. or until done.

5. Preheat grill pan with lid to medium-high. Grill chicken until done, approximately 7 minutes per side.
6. Remove chicken from grill and slice chicken. Slice pitas in half and open on cut side. Place chicken, mushrooms, feta, and Tzatziki sauce in pitas.

Summer Vegetable Crepes

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Ricotta, sour cream, fresh vegetables and herbs. Delicious, light, and perfect for a summer night. You can substitute pretty much any vegetable you have in your house or garden. I highly recommend keeping the corn AND using corn straight from the cob.

This recipe looks complicated, but I promise, it’s not! These can definitely be a full meal or you can serve them as a side dish.

Summer Vegetable Crepes

Summer Vegetable Crepes

4 servings, approx. 300 calories per serving

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill, divided, plus more for garnish (original recipe call for chives)

3 tablespoons low-fat milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped zucchini

1 1/4 cups chopped green beans

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 crepes, store-bought or from scratch (my favorite crepe recipe)

1. Stir sour cream, 1/4 cup dill, milk, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.

2. If making crepes from scratch, make the batter and refrigerate until you’re ready to make the crepes.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, green beans and corn and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in ricotta, Monterey Jack, the remaining 1/4 cup dill, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook, stirring gently, until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover and remove from the heat.

4. If making crepes from scratch, cook crepes placing parchment or wax paper between each crepe.

5. Spoon 1/4 of the vegetable-cheese mixtures (about 3/4 C) down the center of the crepe. Fold one side of the crepe around the mixture. Continue rolling until secure. Place crepe, seam-side down on plated. Repeat with remaining mixture.

6. Serve each crepe with an additional 2 Tbls. of reserved sauce spooned on top and garnish with dill.

Adapted from Eating Well.

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix

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This is our favorite trail mix. It’s super healthy, sweet, and salty. You can vary the ingredients based on your taste, pantry, or dietary requirements. I’ve listed the ingredients we (mostly) use.

trail mix

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix

12 1/4 C. servings

260 calories per servings

INGREDIENTS

1 C. raw pumpkin seeds

cooking spray

1 tsp. canola oil

1 C. whole almonds, unsalted

1 C. pecan halves, lightly salted

2 Tbls. maple syrup

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 C. dried cranberries (or any dried fruit)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Put the pumpkin seeds in a bowl and coat with the oil. Spread the seeds on the baking sheet and roast for about 20 min, stirring several times.

2. Place the pumpkin seeds, almonds, and pecans in a medium bowl and stir in the maple syrup to coat. Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sea salt in a small bowl. Add to the nuts and stir well.

3. Spread the mizture on the baking sheet and roast for 15 min, stirring occasionally, until dry. Check often to avoid burning. Cool in the pan for 20 min.

4. Place th emixin a bowl and stir in the dried cranberries.

*Adapted from The New Abs Diet Cookbook

Tourist in Our Own Town

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Andy and I decided to be tourists one day in DC. We stopped at the American History Museum. Neither of us have visited since they renovated. My favorite part was seeing the Star Spangled Banner. A pretty amazing feat when you consider the lack of technology.

We then justified our pig-out at Lauriol Plaza by walking 2.25 miles to the restaurant. On the way, we passed a beautiful Methodist church with a sunflower garden. Yellow, red, multi-colored, …gorgeous!

sunflower

Red. And the bees were everywhere.

Partially bloomed.

Rainbows.

Thinking of popping out.

Dreamy.

Just starting with some beautiful color coming through.

Multi-colored.

Check out the detail on the bee’s wings. Wow.

So after a dinner of chips, salsa, margaritas, fajitas, and more chips and salsa, we decide to head home. Another walk to burn off some of those chips.

But wait…there’s more! We leave the restaurant and just happen to see a wine shop having tastings! Score!  Can the day get any better? You bet. What could that be? A chocolate tasting, of course…just one block away.

And that, friends, is a day well spent.