Spring is here!  What a way to bring in the season, but with a fresh salad. What makes a great salad, to me its the yummy dressing that goes with it.

Marinades/Vinigarettets are easy to make once you get the basics down, and you can whip up some in a few minutes. What combinations can you come up with?

THE BASICS
(courtesy of thefreelibrary- edited by Gourmet Diva)
Five flavors,Combining the five flavors your tongue experiences, balances the taste of the vinaigrette or marinade and makes it satisfying and enticing.
 Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, and spicy combine in an oil base that carries and infuses the flavors throughout the marinade. Pungent is often the most difficult taste concept to grasp. Garlic, ginger, rosemary, citrus zest, wasabi or horseradish
, cilantro, and onions can be described as pungent. 

1)  Pair up vinegar (or use lemon, lime, or orange juice) and oil.
2) Then, Sweetener (fruit sweetener, agave, mape syrup) to cut the acidity.
3) Add a salty ingredient, such as tamari or soy sauce, miso, or sea salt. 
Line up your choices and think about what you want to use before committing to the vinaigrette.

Overall
(vinegar + oil) + sweetener + salt = yummy vinigarette

Try this salad, my lil one likes it, but he rather have it with bananas than strawberries.


Heirloom Lettuce Salad with Strawberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese
From The Earthbound Cook by Myra Goodman

1 pint fresh strawberies, rinsed, dried,and hulled
Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette
7 ounces pre washed mixed baby greens or pre washed baby green
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Cut the strawberries in quarters, place them in  small bowl, and toss them with about 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss to lightly coat the leaves, then taste and add more vinaigrette if needed.

Transfer the lettuce to individual salad plates. Top the lettuce with the strawberries, toasted walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese, and serve immediately.

Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette
Makes about 1/2 cup

2 tabespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons toasted walnut oil
2 tablepoons extra - virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Combine the vinegar, mustard, and both oils in a glass jar and seal the lid tightly. Shake the jar vegorously to combine. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper to taste. The vi

After yesterday's radio show, tribute to Woman's History and National Nutrition Month I mentioned that we should "Go Green". Urging listners that they should be more adventerous when it comes to eating vegetables. Here are the few recpies that I had mentioned on the show

Crispy Kale
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
6 -8 cups chopd fresh kale, hard stems removed
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

Directions:
Place a rack on the lowest shelf of your oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread kale out on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Toss to coat.
Place on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir so that kale can get crispy all over.
Bake another 8 - 12 minutes or until kale is crispy. It shold be just lightly browed and crispy to the touch.
Continue cooking until crispy.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately.


Kale on Toasted Bread - Cavolo Nero con le Fette (Italian)
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Ingredients:

• A pound (500 g) Kale
• Tuscan-style bread
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: Take about a pound (500 g) black leaf kale, strip away the tough ribs leaves, and wash what remains with care. Then boil it in lightly salted water just until done (since the kale will wilt, start with as little water as you can; it's done as soon as the leaves are tender). Once the kale is cooked drain it, reserving the liquid, and coarsely chop it. Next, cut several slices of pane casalingo (Tuscan-style bread), toast them, cut them in half, rub them with a cut clove of garlic, dip them in the pot liquid, and arrange them on the plates. Put a 1/3-inch layer of kale on top of each slice, drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil, season with pepper to taste, and serve.

Ginger was very gracious to share her Banana Chocolate Chip bread recipe, now who has some ripe bananas I can use.  Tip: To ripen bananas fastr but them in a brown paper bag and put them somewhere dark.
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread 
1/3 cup of Earth Balance butter
1/2 cup sugar (I leave this out)
2 cups flour
2 tsps. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
2 medium ripe bananas (I often put in 2-1/2 or 3 bananas)
1/2 cup soy or rice milk
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup of finely shredded coconut (optional) 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease loaf pan with butter or oil (I use little muffin tins). 

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar (or just the butter if you aren’t using sugar).  Mix in with a spoon, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Add mashed bananas, soy or rice milk and vanilla.  Mix until batter is moist and sticky.  Gently fold in chocolate chips. 

Pour batter into loaf pan (or muffin tins) and bake for 15-18 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife comes out clean.  (I make little tiny (2 bite) muffins and they are great to take with you for a snack.)

I had a random craving for fudge the other day, not the fudge that you usually see in the "Fudge shop', but the fudge that Belizeans make.  My fondest memories of visiting Belize as a child included eating fudge. The greatest thing about this dessert/candy is that is easy to make and you can add anything you want to it or eat it plain.  I like peanuts and rasins in mine.  Try coconut as well. 

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Latley I have been eating healthier, so making this I started to laugh and called my mom the convo went like this:
Me: I just made fudge

Mom: How did it turn out? Did you get it right? (*the trick with making fudge is if you dont' let cook long enough it wilh be mushy)

Me: I got it just right, now who was the genius who invented fudge, condensed milk that already has sugar in it, add MORE sugar and then butter... Oh well it taste good

Belizean style fudge

Ingredients:

          1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

          1 cup sugar

          2 tbsp. Butter

          1 tsp vanilla 

          Peanuts/ Raisins

Directions: 
Mix all ingredients together in a pan. Cook at medium heat stirring constantly.
When it reaches a brownish color, place a few drops of the mixture in a glass of water and if it becomes firm then it is ready (aka 'softball state'.) Add peanuts and and continue to stir for 2 min then pour the mixture on a buttered baking sheet and cut in to squares before it gets hard.

As I always say my inspiration for the things I cook come from my friends. I have had store brought almond milk before, I enjoyed it, but the $4 for a little carton was starting to hurt my pockets.

The solution to this problem came from my Raw Food expert, Sharon, she gave me some of her homemade almond milk, I fell in love!
It was a creamy delight. Overall almond milk is a great alternative for cows milk for those who are lactose intolerent, and can be used in vegan and raw food diets. If this was a Bobby Flay throwdown, Sharon's Almond Milk won, but don't worry I'll get you next time.

Sharons Almond Milk Recipe
1/2 C almonds (or more for a more nuttier taste)
1 1/2 C distilled water
3 tbsp Raw Agave
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch cardamom
Pinch Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Now I was in a hurry to make this and didn't have most of the ingredients that she used so I made do with
what I had already in the kitchen.

Gourmet Diva Almond Milk Recipe
Yield: Between 2-3 cups

Total cooking time: 15 minutes

Equipment:
Bowl for soaking
Blender
Cheesecloth, sprout bag (http://www.rawglow.com/sproutbag.htm), or strainer
Bowl for catching milk
Container for milk

Ingredients:

1 cup of almonds
3 cups of distilled water
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
Sugar, syrup, 3 - 5 soft pitted dates, honey, or stevia to sweeten (optional)

4) Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth into a bowl. Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the fridge for later use

5) Put the almond milk back into the blender and blend in the vanilla and optional sweetner until smooth.

  Happy Valentines Day! What screams Valentines day more than chocolate covered strawberries. I always wondered how they made those “Husband and Wife” chocolate covered strawberries. I found this video online and its pretty simple to make. If you need a last min gift from the 'heart' homemade chocolate covered strawberries should do the trick. (PS. I'm about to experiment with chocolate covered grapes!)

Tips to perfection: If possible get the strawberries with the stems on it, it makes it easier to dip.

You can use chocolate candy wafers, its easier to melt and coat strawberries

In this audio clip I explain the term 'cream' and how to use it in the following recipe below.

Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002
Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: 1 min Cook Time: 10 min Level: Easy Serves: 10 to 12 servings Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• Pinch salt
• Bottle dark rum
• Boiling water

Directions:
 1) In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
 2) Refrigerate until almost firm. 
 3) Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs.
 4) Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). 
  5) Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.


© 2010 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

I was very excited to try this Sweet Potato gratin recipe from the "Today's Kitchen" cookbook that I recently picked up. How can I go wrong with sweet potatoes, ginger and pineapples. Well.... the recipe didn't produce enough pineapple mixture for the amount of sweet potatoes.  Lucky I'm here to make these mistakes to save you time.   I tweeked the measurements and added some notes so you can get it right the first time around.

Baked Sweet Potato Gratin with ginger and pineapples
Serves 8

3 lbs 4 lbs of, sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced thin into 1/8 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter, plus 6 tablespoons, chilled
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 (12 – ounce) can crushed pineapples in its own juice
½ cup minced fresh ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
½ cup light brown sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and use a 9 by 13 baking dish or a gratin dish
2) Use one tablespoon of butter to grease baking dish
3) In a bowl mix together orange juice, pineapple,nutmeg, and ginger; set aside.
4) In the baking dish, make one layer of overlapping sliced of sweet potatoes.
5) Sprinkle with pineapple mixture, dot with butter, and then make another layer of potatoes and continue until potatoes are finished. End with pineapple mixture and butter on top.
6) Bake in oven for 40 to 45 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender when a pairing knife is inserted. Baste gratin with excess juices every 10 minutes. The top should be bubbly and brown. If the top gets too brown or starts to burn, cover with aluminum foil and continue cooking until sweet potatoes are done.

Tip for perfection:
 * Be sure to slice your potatoes as thin as possible. They get all melty and creamy. Slice them too thick and you'll have trouble cooking them through.

Random fact:
1 cup sweet potatoe puree = 1 lbs sweet potato

When its cold outside having a little hot chocolate with that special someone is always a good option.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
* 2 cups half & half
*12 small dark chocolate covered peppermint patties
*2 cups 1% Milk
*Pinch of salt

Directions
Combine 2/3 cup half and half with candy in heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir continually with a wire wisk over low heat until patties melt. Stir in remaining half and half, milk and salt and continue heating until mixture reaches simmering stage. Serve immediately. Garnish with peppermint sticks if desired.

What else can we do with an egg? I feel like Forrest Gump and shrimp, there are plenty of things to do with them.  Today I decided to make a 'frittata'. A what? Yes frittata.

In my Alton Brown voice:
"The frittata is an Italian dish, similar in composition to an omelet. Unlike an omelet, however, the egg mixture is not folded over and finished on the stove top. Most variants of the frittata start with a few moments on the stove top until the bottom layer of the egg mixture has solidified, and then are baked in the oven for half an hour to an hour depending upon the size and recipe"

This thing was soooo easy to make, give it a try.  You probably have all the ingredients in your fridge. The possibilites are endless, you can try mushroom and peppers or another veggie combo. 

Spinach - Feta Frittata
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:
6 slightly beaten eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon of dried dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic or 1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon margarine or buttre
1/2 of a 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 teaspoon lemon - pepper seasoning
1/4 cup feta cheese
chopped red sweet pepper
*source easy dinners vegeterian

1. In a medium bowl use a fork to beat together the eggs, milk, dill, salt and black pepper until combined. Set aside. (I'm not a huge fan of dill so I didn't use that much)

2. In a 10 inch broilerproof or regular skillet cook onion and garlic in hot butter until tender. Stir in spinach and lemon  - pepper seasoning.

3. Pour egg mixture into the skillet over the spinach mixture. Cook
over medium heat. As egg mixture sets, run a spatula around the edge of the skillet, lifting egg mixture to allow the uncooked portion to flow underneath. Continue cooking and lifting edge until egg mixture is almost set but still glossy and moist.

4. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Place broilerproof skillet under the broiler 4 - 5 inches from the heat; broil for 1 to 2 minutes or just until top is set.
(or if using a regular skillet, remove skillet from heat, cover and let stand for 3 to 4 minutes or just until top is set)

This was the point where I hoped my house wasn't going to go on fire. 

5 To serve, if desired sprink with red sweet pepper. Cut into 8 wedges

Nutrition facts per serving 206 calories, 14 grams total fat, 335 mg cholesterol, 535 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 13g protein