Tag Archives: Recipes

Clementine Cake

This isn’t an easy or quick recipe, but I’m in search of a hasty, tasty version. This one is a bit labor-intensive, yet delicious.

First, what is a clementine? It’s the smallest of the mandarin variety of oranges. Some are marketed under the name ”Cuties.®️”

A few things make Clementine Cake unique. First—and this first grabbed me as a hasty tasty feature—clementines are cooked in their peels in the microwave oven for three minutes then drained. They’re puréed whole, not peeled or zested.

Butter and sugar are creamed together before adding dry ingredients. Eggs are added one at a time.

All purpose flour is combined with ground roasted almonds (you could substitute almond flour but you’d lose some of the texture) and puréed whole clementines.

The cake is finished with a dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or a glaze. I opted for a chocolate ganache (also prepared in the microwave oven).

This is not a figure-friendly recipe. However, it makes 12 servings so you don’t consume so many calories per serving. When you bite into a slice of the finished cake, it’s a delicious treat, mindful of those orange crème chocolates in the assorted candy boxes.

Recipe:

Clementine Cake With Chocolate Ganache Glaze.

Cake Ingredients:

  • 3-4 Clementines, cooked 3 minutes in the microwave oven then puréed.
  • Sliced almonds, roasted and ground into 1 cup meal, or 1 cup almond flour.
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp. Baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 5 eggs
  • 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened.
  • 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar.

Ganache ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 12 ounces dark chocolate chips
  • 1 Tbsp. corn syrup

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a 9” cake pan with oil and parchment paper.
  • Combine almond flour and all purpose flour with the salt and baking powder.
  • In a separate bowl, cream sugar with the softened butter until fluffy.
  • With mixer running, add each egg separately and blend well.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture until all is mixed in.
  • Fold in the clementine purée until combined.
  • Pour batter into a 9” round cake pan.
  • Bake 50-60 minutes. Check for doneness.
  • Cool cake at least an hour before glazing. Carefully loosen cake from pan and remove parchment paper. Move to a plate.

Ganache Directions:

  • In a microwave-safe bowl, combine cream and chocolate chips. Cover and heat 75 seconds.
  • Gently stir to combine chocolate and cream. Add corn syrup and whip until glossy and thick.
  • Spread over the top of the cooled cake.

Enjoy!

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Quarantine Cuisine Day #27 – Oatmeal

Today we’re out of milk. The skim milk is gone, the unsweetened almond milk is gone, the evaporated milk is gone … we’ve even used the shelf-stable cartons of milk we typically stock for hurricane preparedness. No cold cereal today for breakfast.

Oatmeal to the rescue! Grocery stores frequently have oatmeal on sale as a BOGO (buy-one-get-one free), so we had two boxes of Quaker Old Fashion Oatmeal in the pantry. With a pressure cooker, perfect oatmeal is easy. Here’s how I cook it.

RECIPE

Oatmeal for two

Ingredients: 2/3 cups oats, 2 cups water, 1/4 tsp. Salt (or to taste), 1 1/2 tsp butter, and 1 cup water for the pressure cooker.

Directions: Pour 1 cup water into the pressure cooker pot. Add trivet. In a separate bowl or pot (any vessel that fits inside the cooker for pot-in-pot cooking), combine all other ingredients. Seal pressure cooker, set for 10 minutes, cook, and allow pressure to drop on its own. Do not vent manually. Carefully open the pressure cooker, remove the inner pot or bowl using potholders or mittens, and stir oatmeal vigorously. Serve immediately.

My husband eats his oatmeal with a Tablespoon of honey stirred in. I like to add cinnamon and stevia. There are endless possibilities to flavor oatmeal.

If you want larger servings (Ours are approximately 100 calories per serving , not including toppings), simply increase the amounts of oatmeal and water while maintaining the 1/3 cup oats/1 cup liquid ratio.

We will enjoy oatmeal again soon. It’s a hearty and satisfying breakfast.

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Quarantine Cuisine Day #5 – Kung Pao Chicken

I craved Asian cuisine today, so I made Kung Pao Chicken and brown rice in the Instant Pot. I didn’t have hot peppers, hoisin sauce, or chili purée. Without the typical red chili peppers, my dish was milder than take-out. As for the condiments, I found recipes online and made my own.

We were pleased with the results. I focused on ingredients I had (fresh ginger root and fresh cilantro) and followed a Betty Crocker (Cookbook) recipe for low fat Kung Pao Chicken. I used frozen chicken thighs and modified it for the Instant Pot or any brand multi cooker.

RECIPE—Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken for Two

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water
  • 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. Grated ginger root
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth (from cooking the chicken)
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp Chile purée
  • 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
  • Pressure cook chicken thighs in 1/2 cup water ten minutes. Allow pressure to drop on its own.
  • Mix a slurry of all other ingredients except broth, onions, celery, and peanuts. Set aside.
  • Remove chicken from pot and cut into 1” cubes. Reserve broth.
  • Using sauté mode, sauté onions, peanuts, and celery in 1/2 cup of reserved broth for five minutes.
  • Add chicken and stir.
  • Add the slurry and turn off Instant Pot. Stir until sauce thickens.
  • Serve immediately over 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.
  • (optional) Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken

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Quarantine Cuisine Challenge

We have thirty more days ahead of operation #StayHome to stop the spread of Coronavirus. So for the month of April, I’ve challenged myself to creating as many meals as I can from my freezer and pantry, without a visit to the supermarket.

It’s particularly challenging because I prefer fresh foods over canned or frozen. I haven’t a garden, thanks to the deer who thought we planted vegetables just for them. But we fall into the vulnerable demographic and I’m determined to make this work.

I won’t post every meal, but as often as possible I will share the interesting (?) menus and dishes I develop. So who’s with me? It’ll be fun.

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