Raspberry or Strawberry Shortbread Bars Recipe or No Eggs Needed

This is a variation of a recipe a girlfriend of mine gave to me many years ago. I made it for the first time last year as I had a jar of homemade strawberry jam I wanted to use. The only mistake I made I was not photographing as I didn't expect it to be consumed in under a day.


Raspberry or Strawberry Shortbread Bars Recipe (serves 12)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, margarine or shortening at room temperature or slightly melted
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ tablespoon water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (2.6 ounces) – 1 cup (8 ounces) raspberry or strawberry jam
Extra butter, margarine or shortening or non-stick cooking spray if using non-stick baking dish

1) Place oven rack on middle rung.
2) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
3) If using non-stick 8 x 8-inch baking dish, grease baking dish with butter, margarine or shortening or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

4) In a large bowl, slightly melt butter, margarine or shortening.
5) Cream butter with sugar, canola oil, water and vanilla extract.
6) Combine flour with butter mixture.

7) Cut dough in half, pressing one half into greased or non-stick 8 x8-inch baking dish.
8) Spread jam over one half dough pressed into baking dish.
9) Flatten remaining dough with fingers in sections and lay on top of jam. Continue to do this until the jam layer is covered with dough in a crumb-like topping.

10) Bake for 30 minutes.
11) Remove from oven and cool.
12) When cool, cut into 12 squares and serve. Store any leftovers in airtight container.

Apples wrapped in Bacon

A sweet baking apple, like a Cortland, make this a two ingredient recipe.

8 oz. bacon
One large sweet baking apple, peeled*, cored and cut into 1” pieces.
Toothpicks
Non-stick broiler pan

1) Place oven rack on middle rung.
2) Pre-heat oven to temperature for baking bacon as instructed on bacon package.
3) Cut bacon slices in half.
4) Wrap one slice of bacon around almond stuffed date.
5) Push toothpick through bacon and date to hold this together.
6) Place almond stuffed bacon wrap on broiler pan.
7) Repeats steps 4 – 9 as many times as needed.
8) Bake as instructed on bacon package.
9) Remove from oven. Cool 1 -3 minutes. Serve.
10) Store any leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator.

*Peeling suggested but not required.

Unpeeled Cortland Apples 

wrapped in 

Turkey Bacon

White Beans on Toast for One or Two

As noted in my hummus recipe, I've come to enjoy eating beans on a regular basis hummus Roasted Red Pepper and Hummus or Apple and Hummus Triangle Pita Sandwiches. As a native of New England, I knew about baked beans and brown bread but didn't know about beans on toast until two years ago while watching the series “Food: Delicious Science”. The simplicity intrigued me.

White Beans on Toast for One or Two

2 slices of toast
butter
½ cup white beans (white kidney or great northern recommended)
garlic powder (optional)

If using canned beans, drain and rinse beans. If using dried beans, soak and cook beans according to package.

Toast bread to desired brownness. Butter toast and let it sit for about 30 seconds to 1 minute to allow butter to melt.

Put half of beans on slice of toast and remaining half on other lightly sprinkling garlic powder on top if desired, or put all beans on one slice of toast sprinkling garlic powder on top if desired and placing other slice buttered side down on top. 

Oven Roasted Celeriac/Celery Root for One or Try Before You Buy a Lot

Celeriac or celery root is a whitish bulb about the size of a softball which I spy frequently at local farmers markets. On a recent local farmers market visit I was informed roasting celeriac with the carrots I was buying was delicious. I took the recommendation buying one celeriac bulb, one bunch of carrots with the intention of roasting them and serving them together. Well the celeriac got roasted, was eaten immediately upon cooling.  The carrots had a different fate.

This recipe is a modification of Vava Berry's December 5, 2013 The Telegraph post for Roasted Celeriac.


Oven Roasted Celeriac/Celery Root for One

1 small to medium celeriac or celery root
1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¾ teaspoon dried thyme.


1) Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

2) Peel celeriac by using knife to remove top, bottom and then side. (For visual, see this 2010 post from thekitchn.com).

3) Cut celeriac into ¼ inch slices and then cut slices into thirds making them look like thin, fat strips.

4) Place celeriac strips in a medium-sized bowl.

5) Add oil, garlic and thyme. Toss until celeriac wedges are coated.

6) Spread wedges in a single layer on non-stick baking sheet

7) Bake 15 – 30 minutes until golden brown and easily pierced with a fork.

8) Remove from oven. Serve warm, storing any leftovers in air tight container in refrigerator.

Oven Roasted

Celeriac/Celery Root

ready to eat

"Slow" fudgy brownie recipe

In an earlier post, I shared my quick fudgy brownie recipe. As food allergies, especially the one to cocoa entered my life, I began searching for a “slow” fudgy brownie recipe where I could substitute cocoa for carob, a brown floury powder extracted from the carob bean, used as a substitute for cocoa. I tried multiple recipes and the following from modified from the Fudge Brownies recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook 10^th Edition to meet my criteria.

½ cup (1 stick) and 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
6 tablespoons cocoa or carob powder
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
(optional) 1 /2 cup chopped nuts 

1. Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
2. Grease 8-inch x 8-inch pan.
3. In a small medium saucepan or medium to large microwave safe bowl melt margarine or butter.
4. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract by hand lightly until just combined.
5. Stir in flour and cocoa or carob powder. Stir in walnuts.
6. Spread brownie mixture evenly into greased pan.
7. Place brownies in middle of oven rack and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Cool completely in pan until cutting and serving. Store any leftovers in air tight container.

Apple Flavored Glaze

Every now and then I have a jar of applesauce that doesn't seal successfully. I label these as “use first and immediately”. This year, I had two jars of applesauce which fell into this category,--one 8 ounce jar and one 16 ounce jar. I consumed the 8 ounce jar myself in one sitting. And, yes, it was yummy. Wanting to share this year's batch of applesauce with others, I chose to use the 16 ounce jar to make applesauce cake since this is about 1 cup of applesauce. Omitting the raisins and walnuts this time, I chose to top the cake with a glaze.

This recipe is based on the glaze recipe from The Boston Globe's Spiced and Glazed Apple Cake which a coworker gave to me over a decade ago. While I've yet to make the cake from this recipe, I've used variations of the glaze recipe over the course of the last decade primarily to top a loaf of applesauce bread.  

This recipe will cover the tops of two 8” cakes which is what my applesauce cake recipe makes. Do not make glaze until what you plan to top has cooled completely/is at room temperature.

1 tablespoon butter or shortening

3 teaspoons apple cider or apple juice

½ cup confectioner's sugar

Put apple just and shortening in a small microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave until shortening is easy to stir into the apple juice (about 25 to 60 seconds).

Mix in confectioner's sugar until well blended.

Using a butter knife spread glaze over top immediately as glaze will set quickly. 

Applesauce Cake 

with 

Apple Flavored Glaze

"Asian" Style Eggplant

This recipe was shared with me many years ago by someone who once took pilates class with me. Every summer since I make at least 1 – 2 batches which are usually consumed as quickly as they are cool enough to eat. Eggplant can be prepared 1 -2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator prior to cooking. 

"Asian" Style Eggplant

1 pound eggplant, Chinese or Japanese variety recommended as they are long, slender and contain few seeds.  (For photo of these eggplant, click here.)
½ – ¾ cup canola oil
½ – ¾ cup soy or tamari sauce
1 – 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon black pepper

1. Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 475 degrees farenheit or highest heat setting.
2. Gently rinse eggplant in water and pat dry with a towel. Slice off ends and cut into 1½-inch segments.
3. Slice each segment into ½ inch by ½ inch strips. The eggplant should like very thick french fries.
4. In a one-gallon ziploc bag place eggplant strips, canola oil, soy or tamari sauce, garlic powder and black pepper.
5. Seal bag and shake contents until strips coated.
6. Spread strips in a single layer on non-stick baking sheet.
7. Bake 8 – 10 minutes, flip eggplant strips continue baking in 2 – 8 minute increments until strips are easily pierced with a fork and slightly browned.
8. Remove from oven. Serve warm, storing any leftovers in air tight container in refrigerator. 

Asian Style Eggplant 

cooling on baking sheet