Serve mango and almond coffee cake for breakfast for a tropical start to your day, or with a cup of coffee in the afternoon for a sweet treat. You’ll love the tastes and textures of this dessert.
If you have a sweet tooth, or just enjoy delightful treats, this coffee cake might be up your alley. The mangoes are a nice change from the usual fruit, and the almonds give the cake a bit of crunch. It's lovely served for a special brunch or with coffee when you're gathered with friends.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 large mango
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup oil
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 egg whites
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- Nonstick cooking spray
Optional glaze:
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Use the nonstick cooking spray to lightly coat a round, 9 x 1-inch baking pan.
- Peel, seed and dice the mango and set it aside.
- Use a large bowl and combine the milk, oil, egg, sugar and almond extract. Mix well with an electric mixer for a minute or so.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
- Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and beat until everything is combined, then fold in the mango and oats.
- Pour the mixture into the round pan and sprinkle the slivered almonds over the top.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for at least half an hour before serving.
- If you're making the glaze, add the milk to the powdered sugar in a small bowl and mix well until it becomes a thin glaze. Add more milk as needed. Allow the cake to cool completely before drizzling the glaze over the top of the cake.
Don't worry if you don't drink coffee -- you can still enjoy this delightful treat! You deserve a little bliss. Have it with tea
Makes 6 to 8 servings
There's no more classic Louisiana dish than this deeply flavored rice creole style . The chicken livers are traditional, and give it an authentic taste you can't really get any other way. Letting everything cook until it browns and sticks to the skillet is very important for flavor.
1/2 cup chicken livers (8 to 10 medium livers)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 pound ground pork
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1-1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
3 green onions, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 cups cooked rice
1. Puree chicken livers in a food processor. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat; add liver and pork, and cook, stirring, until browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and chili powder, and cook 2 minutes more.
2. Add 1/4 cup stock, and cook until evaporated, about 8 minutes, allowing mixture to brown and stick to skillet. Stir in onion and next 3 ingredients, and cook until well browned and sticking to skillet, about 8 minutes.
3. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups stock, and cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Add green onion, parsley, and rice, remove from heat, and stir thoroughly.
Heart healthy
Prep /TOTAL TIME: 50 MINUTES SERVINGS: 12
3 pounds brussels sprouts, halved
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt
1 . Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the brussels sprouts and cook until bright green, 2 minutes. Drain well and pat dry.
2 . In a large, deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add half of the garlic and half of the brussels sprouts and cook over high heat undisturbed for 1 minute. Add half of the crushed red pepper, season with salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring a few times, until the brussels sprouts are browned and tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil, garlic, brussels sprouts and crushed red pepper. Serve warm.
Heart healthy
Practicing good home food safety habits will help keep the foods you eat safe and also reduce your risk of getting food poisoning. Here are a few tips during Food Safety Education Month:
1 . Thaw meat in the refrigerator. Never thaw frozen items on the counter or by soaking in hot water.
2 . If you are boiling, poaching or frying eggs, make sure you cook them until the yolk is firm and not runny. If a recipe, such as one for a salad dressing or something that will not be cooked, calls for raw eggs, use liquid pasteurized egg substitute.
3 . Quickly refrigerate perishable foods and leftovers. Make sure your refrigerator is set to 90 degrees or cooler. If you are unsure how safe a food is to eat, throw it out.
4 . Start with a clean kitchen. Make sure all cooking utensils, surfaces and cookware are clean. Wash hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before, during and after food preparation.
Words of Wisdom:
"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it."
"The richest person is the one who is contented with what he has."
"The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. Beautiful people do not just happen."
"Depending upon the kind of person you are, you will attract similar energies around you, and others will reciprocate with similar energies. Be kind, compassionate and empathetic so you can attract kindness, compassion and empathy in return. Spread love and enjoy being loved back!"
"Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?"
A proud grandpoppa G.
Prep /Total time : 2 hours 15 minutes Makes 24 empanadas
DOUGH :
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon sugar
FILLING :
1/4 pound ground beef
**Salt and freshly ground pepper**
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/4 cup chopped, seeded tomato
1/2 teaspoon achiote seeds (also called annatto seeds)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove,
**Vegetable oil for frying**
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper ??
1. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat the eggs with the wine and vinegar and drizzle over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough just comes together. On a lightly floured work surface, gently knead the dough until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the achiote seeds and cook over moderately high heat until the seeds darken and the oil is orange, about 1 minute. Discard the seeds. Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, onion and bell pepper and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato, tomato paste and chicken stock and simmer over moderate heat until the liquid has nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
3. On a generously floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. With a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out as many rounds as possible (you should have about 24). Reroll the dough scraps and stamp out additional rounds if possible. Brush the excess flour off the rounds. Working with 1 round at a time and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap, form the empanadas: Spoon 2 teaspoons of the filling on one side of the dough round. Fold the dough over to enclose the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Cover with plastic wrap while you form the remaining empanadas.
4 . Preheat the oven to 350°. In a deep skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 350°. Fry 4 empanadas at a time, turning once, until browned and crisp, 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a baking sheet. When all of the empanadas have been fried, reheat them in the oven and serve.
Make head :
The filled, uncooked empanadas can be frozen on a baking sheet, then transferred to an airtight bag. Bake them in a 350° oven without thawing.
TIP :
Alternatively, you can bake the empanadas: Preheat the oven to 350°. Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk. Evenly space the uncooked empanadas on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper and brush with the egg wash. Bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.
Heart healthy
Tailgating ia an American pastime from different walks of life to come together for one common cause : to cheer on their favoriate team . Each team and many families have traditions related to tailgating and most of these traditions involves some type of food or beverage . Here are a few tips to help you safely tailgate this season :
1 . If you can't keep hot food hot during your drive to your tailgate , plan ahead and chill the food before packing it in a cooler . Reheat to 165 degrees before serving . If you are bringing hot take-out food , make sure to eat it within two hours of purchase or within one hour if the temperatureis above 90 degrees .
2 . Make sure you pack several sets of utensils . You should have at least one set for placing food on the grill and at least one set for serving food . Pack extras in case you drop one .
3 . Never serve marinades that have come in contact with raw meats .
4 . Pack clean , wet , disposable cloths or paper towels for cleaning hands and eating surfaces .
Happy tailgating .Words of Wisdom :
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."
"Use your heart. Understand. Learn to see things in the now, not as they were or will be, or as they might or should be, but as they are, right now, in this moment. The heart sees the now; the mind only sees the next. If you can't learn to see the now, you'll never see what's truly there, and then where will you be?"
"I have come to a deeper, more soulful beauty and clarity like an oasis in the desert. From that place of clarity, a vision of what I could have, what I could do, who I could be has emerged ... if I allow my heart to become a place of compassion, acceptance and forgiveness."
"If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve."
"Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere."
"Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something: they’re trying to find someone who’s going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take."
A proud grandpoppa G.
Makes 16 servings ( serving size : 1/4 cup drained pickles)
This easy pickle recipe yields lots of cucumber pickles to keep on hand for picnics or snacks. Try bread-and-butter pickles on sandwiches or burgers, as a complement to field peas, or as a snack with whole-grain mustard, cheddar cheese, and crackers. Thin-skinned pickling cucumbers are essential.
5-1/2 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Drain; rinse cucumbers under cold water. Drain; return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to bowl.
2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Heart healthy
