Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Passover starts tonight, and if you have your big seder this evening, I realize I may be getting this dessert idea out too late.  However, it never hurts to have a delicious kosher for Passover snack cake on hand for days 2-8, right?  This cake would also be perfect for Easter--since I celebrate both holidays, I'm planning on making this again next weekend and dressing it up with some eggs and/or bunnies.

This cake is delicious: moist, tender, and perfectly lemony.  I couldn't taste the olive oil, but I think it adds some hard-to-pinpoint depth to the overall flavor of the cake, and it's nice to know you're baking with a healthy, dairy-free cooking fat.  The glaze is cashew-based, but I worked hard to make honey and lemon the prominent flavors, so I think people who don't know cashews are the main ingredient won't be able to figure it out.

Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Cilantro Pesto

Do you like to read "day in the life" posts?  I loved this one on What's Gaby Cooking (the first food blog I ever read!),  saw this one recently on How Sweet It Is, and was inspired to write my own.  I think it's fun to get a peek into someone's daily routine.  Of course, if you don't, you can just scroll down for the recipe.

If you're still with me, here's the story of my Thursday!

I woke up late, around 9:30.  Since Ben works from home on Thursdays, he had made coffee.  I had mine with vanilla chai spiced ghee and a splash of cream, blitzed with my immersion blender.

In the kitchen, I briefly contemplated abandoning my cauliflower plans since I wasn't sure I had time to cook and photograph everything before class at noon, but I decided to go for it.  I had a gorgeous orange cauliflower from Whole Foods, so I had to take a few shots of it before chopping it up.

Roasted Vegetable Soup (Paleo, Gluten-free, Vegetarian) and Pompeian Olive Oil

I know what you're thinking, but there is no pumpkin in this soup.

Parsnips, turnips, and sweet potatoes, yes, but no pumpkin.  See?  I'm branching out into other fall flavors.

This soup is sweet, creamy, and comforting.  Roasting the vegetables with thyme and olive oil gives them great flavor (as does a generous splash of wine).  In my opinion, though, serving the soup with a dollop of tangy creme fraiche and drops of rich olive oil is what really makes it so fabulous.

This recipe is inspired by a bottle of Pompeian extra virgin olive oil that I was given and asked to review.  I often cook with olive oil, but I had not given a lot of thought to what makes a particular olive oil special.  So, since this is a product review, I tasted some of Pompeian's olive oil plain, and also tasted some of the other brand of olive oil that I've been using for the past few months.  Both of the oils were very flavorful and robust, but I preferred the taste of the Pompeian.  It had a smoother flavor than the other oil, which tasted a little more jarring to me.  Since I liked the taste of Pompeian plain, I knew I would love it in the context of a delicious soup.  Click here if you'd like to learn more about Pompeian and get a coupon for $1 off.  Also, you can click here to like Pompeian on Facebook, and click here to take a survey and be entered to win $200!

Here, olive oil is used for roasting the vegetables, sauteing the onion to make the base, and for finishing the soup.  I love this olive oil as a finish because you can really taste the earthy goodness of it, which is a great counterpoint to the sweet roasted veggies.  I hope you love this soup as much as I do!

P.S.  Pompeian extra virgin olive oil is monitored for quality by the US Department of Agriculture, and quality-certified by the North American Olive Oil Association.  Did you know there's a lot of fraudulent olive oil being imported and sold in our country?  Sometimes olive oil labeled as "extra-virgin" has lower-quality olive oils mixed in, or even other oils altogether (like canola).  Tom Mueller has written a whole book about it called Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. You can also read a blog post about it here.

Blackberry, Almond, and Rocket Salad with Fresh Mozzarella

Did you know that arugula is called rocket in the UK?  Arugula is a pretty fun word, but rocket is even better.  This salad has rocket in it, along with all the other delicious things listed in the title.  After making blackberry cupcakes for this month's Get Your Chef On challenge, I wanted to do something else fabulous with the rest of my juicy blackberries.  I dreamed up this salad, and thought about it all day during class.

I was happy to find that it was even better than I had imagined!  The spicy arugula, sweet blackberries, creamy mozzarella, and toasty almonds are the perfect combination.  This is my new favorite summer salad.  Ben loved it, too!  When I served it he said it looked fancy (secret--any salad with blackberries looks fancy!), and then he asked for seconds.  Usually he's a one plate of salad kind of guy.

So, here's what I would recommend.  Go buy a lot of blackberries, make these cupcakes, then make this salad.  A light dinner with a decadent dessert is the perfect thing to have on a summer evening.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 cups arugula
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch of sea salt
1 heaping cup blackberries
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, roughly cubed

Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often to make sure they don't burn, until golden brown (less than five minutes).  Set aside to cool.

Toss the arugula with the oil, vinegar, and salt and adjust seasonings to taste.

To serve, line plate with arugula.  Top with blackberries, fresh mozzarella, and toasted almonds.  Enjoy!

You might also like:

Spring Salad with Citrusy Shallot Vinaigrette








Jerk Chicken with Avocado and Papaya Salad








Wheat Berry Salad with Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Pickled Red Onions

Brownie Sundae Cupcakes

These cupcakes feature the essential elements of a brownie sundae in a convenient, easy to serve and eat form.  I made them for the kids and they were a big hit at the pajama dance party we had today (we filled the dinosaur jar again).  Some kids were guilty of just licking the ice cream off the top and leaving the brownie, but most of them polished off the whole thing.

You could just make this with your favorite brownie recipe and your favorite homemade or store bought ice cream to save time.  I ended up making my brownies with olive oil because it was the ONLY thing left in my kitchen, but they turned out great!  Nobody noticed anything at all, and I felt a little less guilty about enjoying several of these cupcakes over the last 24 hours.

I got the inspiration and ganache for these from Joy the Baker, modified this ice cream recipe from Annie's Eats, and adapted this brownie recipe from food.com.  I can't wait to make these again with a different flavor of ice cream.  And then maybe with blondies instead of brownies?  The possibilities are endless.  And some whipped cream on top, maybe?  I totally wanted to do that, but all the cream was used up making the ice cream.

Ingredients (makes about 30 brownie cupcakes):

For the brownies:

1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted
1 cup olive oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder

For the vanilla bean ice cream (makes about 2 quarts):

3 cups heavy cream, divided
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the ganache:

1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To make the ice cream, heat half the cream in a medium saucepan with the salt, sugar, and vanilla bean (scrape in the seeds, then throw the bean in, too).  Stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in the remaining milk and cream.  Chill the mixture thoroughly, remove the vanilla bean, then freeze in your ice cream maker.

To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350 and line 30 muffin cups with paper liners.  Mix together the oil, sugar, and melted chocolate chips in a large bowl.  Stir in the eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining dry ingredients.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients until no floury spots remain.  Divide the batter among the cupcake cups (don't add too much--you want the batter to just cover the bottom of the cupcake paper so you'll have room for the ice cream later).  Bake for 8 or so minutes until set.  It's better to underbake these a little since they'll harden up in the freezer later.  Cool to room temperature, then transfer to the freezer for at least 30 minutes before adding the ice cream.

To make the ganache, set the chocolate chips aside in a bowl and heat the milk or cream until scalded.  Pour it over the chocolate chips, cover, and let sit for a few minutes.  Stir in the vanilla.  If your chocolate isn't totally melted, microwave in 15-second intervals and stir until smooth.  Cool to room temperature before using.

To put the cupcakes together, spoon softened ice cream (right from the machine is perfect) over chilled brownies to fill the cupcake papers.  Freeze cupcakes for at least an hour.  Using a spoon, top each cupcake with a teaspoon or so of ganache.  Store in the freezer, and remove about five minutes before serving.