Sexy Nutella Tease~

 Nutella Coconut S'more Bars

My momma always said I would do anything for attention, so yeah, I used the word "Sexy" AND "Nutella" in the same title to get your attention.  

But it's not just a tease...let's call it a warm up, a first step to seeing a really easy and scrumptious recipe for:

Nutella Coconut S'more Bars.  

I'm guest hosting at BellaNutella today, so pop-on-over there, click on BLOG and get the real goods...hottie. :D

Mango Salsa in Cucumber Cups

I've been struck with Mango Madness this year!  So, I had to come up with something that could use the little pieces of mango that are left over and hanging on that hunkin' huge seed. 

 

Here's my "Giant in Flavor, Tiny in Size" 

Mango Salsa in Cucumber Cups. 

This makes a fresh appetizer, party starter or just a healthy "take a moment to yourself" snack.

If you're not sure how to cut a mango, have no fear - check out my post for Mango and Coconut Milk Risotto for a few easy steps or the tips at Mango.org

For an easy guide to making Cucumber Cups - check out my post for Chilly Cucumber Cups with Spicy Mousse and Melon.

You can use the beautiful sides of the mango for this dish, or gather the scraps, trim the seed, and use the small bits to chop up for this salsa.  

 

I can't stand wasting food (I've even soaked the seed in warm simple syrup for a mango infused ice cream base.)

The salsa goes great with Plantain chips, Steamed Fish, or piled on top of a spinach salad, too.

Hope your summer is glorious and this Mango Salsa in Cucumber Cups is a great addition.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Mango and Cucumber Salsa

1 Mango (peeled and chopped small)

1/2 Cucumber (or the inside of scooped cucumber)

1/2 small red onion minced

1/2 Jalapeno minced (without seeds for less heat)

1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

2 Tbls. Lime Juice

1) Mix all ingredients together and allow to marinade for 2 hours in fridge or overnight.

2) Fill Cucumber cups and serve.

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins with Oatmeal Crumble Top

I would like to have breakfast brought to me in bed every morning. Just putting that out there.

In second place, I'll take these Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins with Oatmeal Crumble topping sitting ready on my counter.  

If I set my programmable coffee maker right and put one of these on a little dish, it will be darn close to morning bliss.

I know people who can take a bite out of fresh Rhubarb and keep on talking.  I can't.

It's just a bit too tart for fresh nibbling in my opinion, but that is exactly what makes it perfect for baking and jams (Rhubarb, Pineapple, Coconut Conserve.)

The Rhubarb balances the roasted sweetness of the strawberries and the brown sugar and makes these muffins a wholesome and "not-too-sweet" breakfast fare.

The Oatmeal crumble topping gives it a little crunchy texture and makes you feel like you're eating pie for breakfast, but in fact you're adding wonderful fiber to the beginning of your day (or through the day if you take a second one like all of us.)

Did I mention how easy these are to make?  

It's pretty well just mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, add the chopped ingredients and cook.

Look for yourself.  Make and love.  You'll thank me in the morning.

Recipe:  Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

(Preheat oven to 400F - makes about 15-18 muffins)

   I used Paperchef liners- for easy baking

2 Cup Flour

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Eggs

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Stick (4oz) Butter, melted, room temp.

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Cup Chopped Strawberries

1 Cup Chopped Rhubarb (about 3 stalks)

1)  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2)  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, then the buttermilk, butter and vanilla.

3)  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, fold to combine, then add the fruit and fold to combine.  No need to over mix.

4)  Spoon into muffin tins lined with holders (Paperchef used here), or silicone muffin molds.  Fill about 3/4 full.  Top with Oatmeal Crumble (recipe below.)

5)  Bake in preheated 400F oven for about 20 minutes.

Recipe: Oatmeal Crumble

1/2 Cup Rolled Oatmeal

1/2 Cup Flour

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 stick (2oz.) Butter, melted

1)  Mix the oatmeal, flour, sugar and salt together in a small bowl.

2)  Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork into a crumble texture.

3)  Use to top muffins, cupcakes, pie and other pastry goods before baking.

Radish Salad filled Deviled Eggs ~

Hello Summer. Hello picnics. Hello Radish Salad filled Deviled Eggs.

I got lucky this week, my Farm Fresh box had a bouguet of Rosy Radishes just waiting for ideas.  One idea happened very fast: I washed it, sprinkled some fleur de sel on top and popped it in my mouth.  Done.

The next idea took a tiny bit more patience, but the payoff was big. I boiled a few Safe Eggs, grabbed my mandoline to create a handful of thin slices, and chopped a few into a fine mesh of peppery sprinkles.

Once the eggs were finished and peeled, I got fancy with the yolks (not really.)  I used a garlic press to turn the yolks into a crumbly garnish.  You could just as easily chop them up too.

The whole filling came together pretty fast, however my husband came by and stole two of them before I hardly got started.  I will also tell on him by exposing that he ate the leftover Radish salad without anything more than a cracker for a scoop.  His sneaky return to the scene of the crime is always a good sign that the recipe works on a whole hardy level, too.

For the more "elegant among us", these make a beautiful party platter and can be chilled ahead of time for a picnic treat.

I used Safe Eggs for these, because I always have those on hand for baking with meringue or macarons or sauces.  I learned about Safe Eggs at a blogging meeting and loved the whole idea of NOT worrying about raw egg whites or young kids eating baked treats, etc.  Here's a link that tells you more about it: SafeEggs.com

Hope all your picnics are sunny and your days filled with delights as tasty as this Radish Salad. :D

Recipe: Radish Salad

1/2 cup minced Radish (about 5-6 large Radishes)

1 extra Radish, sliced for optional garnish

1/3 cup Sour Cream or Cream Cheese (for firmer)

1/4 cup Grated Parmigianno Cheese

1/2 Lemon zest

1/2 Teaspoon fresh (or dried) Tarragon (or Dill)

Salt/Pepper

6 Boiled eggs (cut in half, yolks removed and saved for garnish)

1)  In a small bowl, mix the minced Radish, Sour Cream, Cheese, Zest, a couple of the cooked yolks, Herbs and dash of salt and pepper together well.

2)  Spoon a heaping amount of Radish Salad into each boiled egg white half.

3)  Grate or chop the rest of the egg yolks and sprinkle over the top of each filled Devil Egg.  Serve chilled and garnished with Radish slices.

These can be made ahead and chilled for a few hours before serving.  Enjoy!

Mango and Coconut Milk Risotto

Mango and Coconut Milk Risotto

Did you walk by a mango today?  Did you look at a mango and think it looked interesting, but just didn't have the energy to think about what to do with it?  This Mango and Coconut Milk Risotto could cause you to never walk by a mango, again.

Believe me, sometimes I literally slow-run through the grocery store or even the Farmer's Market just because of time.  I put my head down, ignore the ideas and the seasonal colors, and just get the essentials for the next few days.  That's when I grab a few apples, a couple oranges, maybe a bunch of bananas and try not to knock down the displays turning the corner on two wheels. Now, mangos have made it even to my "quick grabs".

I was fortunate to have a weekend recently at CampBlogAway for food bloggers and one of the sponsors was the National Mango Board (yeah, who knew there was one of those, right?)  When I returned home, a few days later, I received a box of gorgeous mangos just to enjoy.  Hopefully, my getting these mangos literally dropped at my doorstep will benefit you, too. 

I'm not going to let food go to waste, no way no how, so I began experimenting with recipes.  I'll post a few as it goes along, but I must say this one I just couldn't wait to show you.

First, let me tell you a couple things I learned about mangos, and maybe that will make you feel very at home with this fruit, too.

1)  Mangos can be eaten when they're almost ripe (ie. a salsa), ripe (ie. this risotto) and very ripe (ie. caramelized and on top of ice cream), depending on how you fix them.

2)  Mangos will continue to get ripe if you leave them at room temperature, or you can stop them from getting any riper by putting them in the refrigerator where they will keep for several days.

3)  Mangos come in a variety of colors and that's not the way to judge their ripeness.  A ripe mango will have a light "give" and be a little soft to the touch.

The easiest way to cut a mango is to stand it up on a cutting board, stem end down and hold.  Place your knife about 1/4 inch from the widest center line and cut down through the mango.  Flip the mango around and repeat the cut on the other side.  The two ovals are the "cheeks" of the mango.

Cut parallel slices into the mango flesh, being careful not to cut through the skin.  Scoop the mango slices out of the mango skin with a spoon.

For this recipe, I also experimented with my little Mango slicer, which worked great (but a knife works well, too.)

 

Also, after cutting the parallels, I added a cut across before scooping, so I had little cubes of mango.

Then I just scooped them out and held them nearby until the Risotto was almost done.

Adding the cubed mango near the end allows the fruit to stay in nice firm little bites, while still blending with the creamy risotto.

Recipe:  Mango and Coconut Milk Risotto

1 Mango (without skin, cubed) *See Above for easy cutting*

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Minced Shallot

1 Cup Arborio Rice

1/4 Cup White Wine (or use water or white grape juice)

1 Can Coconut Milk (13.5 ounces), plus a Can of water

Dash of grated Nutmeg

Salt/Pepper

* optional Rocket Arugula *

1)  In a large skillet, heat the oil and shallot (and a pinch of salt) on Low/Medium -just til tender (about 5 minutes.)

2)  Add the rice and stir often, heating until the rice turns opaque - (about 10 minutes.)

3)  Add the wine and stir to incorporate all the flavors formed in the skillet.  Continue heating and stirring until almost all of the liquid has been used up.

4)  Add the Coconut Milk in increments (about 1/2 cup at a time), stirring frequently to allow the rice to absorb the liquid each time.  Season along the way with the salt/pepper and nutmeg.  When all the Coconut Milk is used, fill the empty can with water and continue until that is used up also. 

***It is important to cook, stirring until the liquid has been absorbed before adding more liquid.  This will take about 20 - 30 minutes, but will give you a creamy Risotto with just the right amount of al-dente bite.***

5)  Just as the last amount of liquid has been used up, add in the cubed mango and fold gently.  (If you want to add Arugula, do this now also.)  Taste and season.

6)  Serve.  If you have leftovers to keep, reheat with a bit of liquid (more Coconut Milk, water or juice to taste.)

Enjoy and watch for more Mango recipes, including checking out their very fun website: Mango.Org

Now, go walk up to a mango and grab it!

Chocolate Chip Scones and Campblogaway

I am not a morning person, but I love breakfast.  What's a gal to do?  Make these flaky Chocolate Chip Scones, (freeze them before baking) and just pop one in the oven for 15 minutes while making my morning coffee.  

Of course, no one is going to blame me for having one with an afternoon tea, or a midnight snack while watching a taped segment of Shark Tank, either.  

The key to these flaky scones is in the ingredients.  Using good chocolate makes a huge difference.  Using a great quality butter is an absolute.  Many of the European butters are wonderful, and for mine I used Kerrygold butter.

I'm not kidding when I tell you, Kerrygold is luscious and it will make you butter a scone.  I know my friends from "ye ol'London-town" are gasping out loud at the idea of using butter on a scone, but I couldn't help it.  I was taking the pictures for this post, the scones were fresh, hot out of the oven, the Kerrygold package was sitting there and then I opened it. 

A moment later I had smeared it on the inside of my scone and eaten half of it while moaning in a butter induced dream. 

I learned a lot about Kerrygold butter and cheeses while I was at sleep-away camp.  It wasn't when I was a kid, I went to camp last week.  Crazy, right?  It's called CampBlogAway and it's a blast.  This was my second year (see last year's post here for Avocado Bacon Margarita.)

I slept in a cabin with a FoodBlogging buddy:

Cheryl from BlackGirlChefsWhites.com

I took walks in the beautiful San Bernardino enclave known as de Benneville Pines-

We toasted S'mores over the fireplace at night.

Patti (WorthTheWhisk & Creator of CampBlogAway), Priscilla (She'sCookin), Dara (CookinCanuck) with Rachel (LaFujiMama)

CampBlogAway is a chance for Foodbloggers to hangout with other peeps who like to talk/write/photograph/eat and marvel over food.

There were many wonderful sponsors:

Wente Wines

Roland Food

National Honey Board, National Mango Board, Kerrygold Butter and Cheese

Paperchef Products

 We had beautiful salads made by Nancy of Melissa's Produce.

Nancy, Stacy, Dorothy (Shockingly Delicious)

We had breakout sessions where other bloggers lead discussions on topics of interest (like Sarah from AverageBetty.com lead a session on Video.)

Throughout the day we also had speakers (people with experience in journalism, internet matters and techniques) telling their personal stories of growth and gladly answering our questions.  

It's not a stuffy conference where everyone is straining to hear or see the screen.  It's casual.  It's friendly.  It's camp!  

If you have "camp envy", go to CampBlogAway.com and get ready for next year's camp on Memorial Weekend, 2013.

If you have "Scones made with butter so good it will make you butter a scone-envy", make these:

Recipe:  Chocolate Chip Scones

1 1/4 cup Flour (plus more for board)

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 oz. (4 Tablespoons Butter, preferably Kerrygold) cold, cut into small cubes

1 Egg

2 Tablespoon Sour Cream

2 Tablespoon Milk

1/3 Cup Chocolate Chips

1)  In a bowl, whisk together Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder and salt.

2)  Toss in the Kerrygold Butter cubes and using your fingertips, rub the cubes into the flour just to break them up a bit.

3)  Add the Chocolate Chips into dry ingredients and toss to coat.

4)  In a separate bowl, whisk the Egg, then whisk in Sour Cream and Milk.

5)  Using a fork, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined.

6)  Pull the dough together with your hands and place on a well floured board.  Roll over once to coat with flour, pat into a disk (approx. 8 inches round).

7)  Cut into fourths, then cut each fourth in half to make 8 small triangle shaped scones in total.

8)  Place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375-400F oven for 18-20 minutes.

***These can also be frozen on the tray before baking, then bagged and kept in the freezer for several weeks.  Take out as needed, place on a baking sheet or toaster oven tray and bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 375-400F oven.***