get your yummy back

musings from a health supportive culinary artist

Polenta Napoleon with Pesto August 28, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 3:37 pm
Tags: , , , , ,

Looking for something out of the ordinary to do with all that fresh basil? Make pesto and use it in this super-delicious Polenta Napoleon with Pesto. This is some serious gluten-free comfort food.

Technically, a napoleon is a french pastry layered with cream (and sometimes berries) and served for dessert. In this savory version, polenta is layered with tomato sauce, pesto, sautéed zucchini, and cheese. Once cool, it sets right up into gorgeous layers. Delicious, healthy, and satisfying – this one’s a keeper!

Other favorite recipes highlighting polenta (both sweet and savory) include polenta pie, polenta and black bean casserole, orange polentina, and lemon-poppy seed polenta with blueberries. Yummy stuff!

 

Buttermilk Cake + Fresh Plums August 22, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 9:02 am
Tags: , , , ,

Last week, a friend gave me half a case of stone fruit – plums, pluots, nectarines, peaches, apricots, and plums. I baked a Plum Upside Down Cake. It was delicious (as evidenced by how quickly it was devoured!) I also made my Savory Pluot Salad again, which, I swear, I could eat every day. As my last hurrah, I baked a Buttermilk Cake with Fresh Plums. Oh my! This tasty cake is moist and not too sweet. It makes for a lovely breakfast cake. While I stuck with fresh plums, I think this cake would be delicious made with any ripe, pitted stone fruit – cherries, peaches, apricots, nectarines – you name it!

A few comments about ingredients for the Buttermilk Cake …I regularly substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour when baking, it usually works well…fine grain natural sugar is minimally processed and makes a great substitute for granulated white sugar….fine grain sea salt includes all the benefits of sea salt with a texture suitable for baking…it’s fun to try new things…enjoy!

 

Grilled Nectarines with Honey-Balsamic Glaze August 14, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 11:33 am
Tags: , , , ,

Because I bake at my work place, people often ask me what my favorite dessert is. Without question, it’s a fruit dessert. Preferably a fresh fruit pie, or crumble, or crisp. I also love desserts that highlight citrus – lemon tarts, lemon bars, key lime pie…the list goes on…

This recipe for Grilled Nectarines with Honey-Balsamic Glaze is right up my alley. The combination of fresh fruit with sweet honey and tangy balsamic, caramelized on the grill, is a delicious way to highlight summer fruit for dessert. Topped with a little honeyed plain yogurt…*sigh*…

If you’re grilling for dinner, just add a few coals to the fire while you eat, to keep the fire going. Once it’s time for dessert. the fire is ready and this dish comes together in minutes. Your friends and family will thank you for this simply delicious summer treat!

 

What’s for Breakfast? Oatcakes! August 9, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 12:31 am
Tags: , ,

In the San Francisco Bay Area, coffee shops sell these little oatcakes that are dense and delicious. Maybe they have them where you live, too. Commonly referred to as “hockey pucks,” they can at times be too dense and dry. However – done well, they are a hearty little meal and fill me up for breakfast. Sometimes they are studded with dried apricots, dried cranberries, or nuts. I’ve been working on re-creating them and when I saw this recipe for oatcakes by Heidi Swanson, I had to make them. (Yes, this meant going to a friend’s house to bake as I am still without an oven) These oatcakes are more muffin-y than the typical coffee shop fare, but no less delicious. I will continue my quest to replicate the oatcake, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying these! I hope you do too.

 

 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 58 other followers