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Here is entry #4!  Last, but certainly not least.

When we go out for Thai food, we always share a dessert of sweet sticky rice and mango, it’s called (Khao Niaow Ma Muang.) Usually it is just that, some sticky rice with chunks of mango on top of it. Not very complicated but still one of my favorite desserts for it’s delicious simplicity. I wanted to make a spin on this classic dessert.

I started my recipe thinking all things maple, as we don’t usually think of Asian food when Maple Syrup comes to mind.

Rather than sugar-sweetened coconut, I’ve sweetened the rice with maple syrup which gives it a warm and natural but not overpowering sweetness. I’ve added fresh banana to the rice because I love to eat with chopsticks and little squares of banana are the perfect size for grasping. Not to mention, banana is found in many Asian dishes, but not usually this one.

The second component is the wet nuts. Again the maple syrup is featured in one of my favorite banana split toppings, but here, without any added sugar.

Finally, keeping with the necessary flavor of its roots, I added a mango-maple coulis. All three components star maple syrup for one spectacular dessert!

Usually my husband and I order one dessert about this size and share it. This recipe, makes three desserts, serving a total of six people. It could be divided into six separate portions or smaller if you like!

Re-Purposing Idea for left overs: A Tropical Rice Pudding! Whisk together an egg and regular milk, plus all of your left overs and cook stirring for 10 minutes.

My rounded measuring cups came in handy for this one. I really hope you have enjoyed my recipe creations using Maple Syrup!  whisper…this was my favorite entry 🙂

The main ingredients: Plums and Flour

When I think about “brunch”, I think about girls getting together and chatting. I think about friendships. Growing up in Lake Valley, our neighborhood was a bit like The Wonder Years. We were The Gadzia’s, next door were the Wheeler’s, The McKee’s, and the Bemis’, The Wiggins’, The Simmons’, The Zumwalt’s, The Godwin’s, the Todd’s…and Pete on the corner who gave us bare-footed kids Tootsie Roll pops. Then of course, there were The Lund’s. Many of my first food memories and first tastes were at The Lund’s house. Christina was three years older than me, the same age as my brother but we were the good friends. She was more like the big sister I never had- but always wanted.

Their house was so much more immaculate than ours. Being that Mom owned a pet shop, our house was more like an exotic zoo at times. We had a pet raccoon, a spider monkey, even had a pet prairie dog once. But it was a beautiful home with a pool on the lake, and my childhood Elementary school years are most memorable.

Mrs. Lund probably never imagined that I would become a Foodpreneur, and at that time, was mentally cataloging everything I tasted at her house. I had my first cucumber salad there, first homemade wheat rolls, and of course, my very first taste of German plum cake. I remember Mrs. Lund as a gracious, beautiful and sweet lady with a German accent who was also the school librarian. I went back to the old neighborhood a few years ago and Mr. & Mrs. Lund looked exactly the same as they did 30 years ago. Even their lawn was as perfect as it was 30 years ago.

People would find it strange that I remember everything I’ve ever tasted, and everything everybody else tells me, they tasted.

I found an early photo of myself relaxing in our back yard on the hammock, obviously quite curious about a strawberry. 🙂 Food seemed to be as curious to me then as it is now.

Now back to the Plum cake. The German name for Plum Cake is “Zwetschgendatschi.” There are two main versions, the easy version with powder for rising or the more time-consuming version with yeast. I’ve made both. The yeast version tastes more like Plum Bread to me. My girls loved it right out of the oven with melted butter.

This is not a sweet cake. I like granulated sugar as opposed to powdered sugar. This is pure cake with real fresh plums. I reduced this recipe to be made in a 8×8 inch square pan…simply because a 9×12 cake is just too much cake for my family. Plus, most of the recipes call for a whole pound of plums or more. I made mine with only three plums. The important thing is to make sure your plums are ripe. They will give when you push on them. I use margarine in this recipe because I don’t think butter improves it. I love butter, don’t get me wrong. 🙂 I will post the yeast version next week.

Try cutting them into little finger cakes too.

For more exciting Brunch recipes look here:

Beverages

Watermelon Rosemary Champagne Cocktail by Vanilla Lemonade

Pear Hibiscus Brunch Cocktail by Rachel Cooks

Strawberry Rose Sangria by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

Mocha Frappuccino by Around My Family Table

Pineapple-Basil Tea by The Kitchen Prep

Eggs

Tomato and Mozzarella Quiche by Love and Confection

Cherry Tomato and Chorizo Omelette by Katie’s Cucina

Asparagus and Bacon Quicheby Confessions of an Overworked Mom

Meat, Poultry and Fish

Bacon Canapés with Oranges and Maple Yogurt by Cook the Story

Chicken Bacon Ranch Panini by Sweet Remedy

Pancetta Wrapped Chicken by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Breads, Grains, Cereals and Pancake-type Yums

Spinach and Goat Cheese Muffins by Culinary Flavors

Overnight Blintz Bake by White Lights on Wednesday

Bananas Foster French Toast by by Cravings of a Lunatic

Desserts

Cinnamon Raisin Bread by Katie’s Cucina

Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake by Take A Bite Out Of Boca

Strawberry Scones by Kokocooks

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart by Kelly Bakes

Fruits and Veggies

Honey-Watermelon Soup by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

The EASIEST ONE-BOWL Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe that uses part butter and part margarine for a crisp edge and chewy center.

Most recipes on the web, claiming to be the “BEST” are made with ONLY butter. I like to use butter AND margarine. The reason I started using part margarine is that even though the all-butter recipes are divine when they first come out of the oven, by the next day they are crispy like potato chips. Also, I find the all-butter a bit too greasy on the corners of my mouth.

In my mind, The perfect chocolate chip cookie is gently crisp on the edges, but not greasy, and chewy-soft on the inside, even the next day. I’ve been making my Chocolate Chip Cookies this way for about 20 years.

No, no vanilla extract. But add it if you like!

No sifting, no hand-mixer…Just put all of the ingredients in the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. I use no fancy flour and no waiting by the freezer. The only tools are 1) A cookie scoop 2) and a baking mat OR Parchment paper (not waxed paper). If you don’t have either of those, some Pam Baking Spray will be fine too.

Once I started using parchment paper, I was hooked. It makes everything so much easier. CLEANER. Not just cookies, but for meat loaf, baked chicken, you name it. No more scrubbing pans and soaking them in the sink. Then, out came the BAKING MAT. (When I first wrote this blog post over a decade ago, baking mats were just not a thing.)

The cookie scoop isn’t REALLY necessary but it will make all of your cookies the exact same size resulting in a batch of cookies uniform in color and texture. It’s an inexpensive kitchen staple.

*Remember that cookies continue to bake on the sheet from the bottom up for about 2 minutes after you pull them from the oven, so you might want to pull them out right before you think they are golden.

“I LIKE” CHOCOLATE: I like semi-sweet. I like the mini-chips. I like Dove dark chocolate bars chopped up. Anything goes! What do you like? Put it in there! I like equal parts chocolate chips, equal part cookie. But some like chunks of chocolate with just cookie holding it all together. So I will let you decide how much chocolate you like! B

Let’s get the word out that part butter/part margarine chocolate chip cookies are the best! 🙂

 Yes, that’s right, Scrambled Eggs with Potato Chips in them. Not exactly the healthiest breakfast but the girls and I sure had a blast making this recipe. We decided to use a buttered English muffin, and then added some grated cheddar and bacon. I was so surprised how a handful of classic potato chips gave scrambled eggs a little more personality. (more…)