peach cake

In case anyone wants the recipe of the peach cake that made an appearance in the office this morning...
http://www.food.com/recipe/fresh-peach-cake-60378
So good! It's a good thing I didn't keep it to myself, because I definitely could eat the whole pan...

Key lime pie

At Melissa's request, here's the recipe for the key lime pie I brought in yesterday.

Don't tell anyone how ridiculously easy this is to make!

Chickpeas with sausage and kale

Here's one for you CSA ladies. I've never gotten around to making it myself, but a friend of mine loves it, and she has good taste. It should be helpful for using up all that kale and chard and whatnot!

Fried chickpeas with sausage and kale.

BBQ Espresso Spareribs

Just ran across this recipe in the cookbook I'm copyediting...it had me at the word "espresso." Perhaps someday we'll have to have a Baker Babes grill-out...unless I decided I can get through this much meat on my own. Which might be possible...this sounds deeeelicious!

2 racks spare ribs
Salt and pepper

sauce:
½ cup beer
½ cup apple cider
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup strong coffee or espresso
½ cup beef or chicken stock
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. hot sauce
1 t. salt
½ t. ground pepper
4½ t. garlic
½ cup ketchup
Recipe Yield
6 servings
For the sauce: place all sauce ingredients in a glass bowl and whisk to mix. Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

For the ribs: preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ribs on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment for easy cleanup. Cut each rack of ribs in thirds along the bone so they can be easily stacked. Sprinkle liberally with salt and black pepper on both sides and pat into the meat. Place ribs in the oven, rotating the layers every 30 minutes, until they are tender and almost falling off the bone, about 2 hours.

Transfer ribs to a preheated grill on low heat. Brush ribs with sauce and grill for about30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, until the ribs are well glazed.

Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories 462.8; Total Fat 31.0g; Cholesterol 86.1mg; Sodium 1346.6mg; Total Carbohydrates 25.3g (Dietary Fiber 0.2g); Protein 19.0g

Banana Carrot Muffins

Cruising through my recipes and I ran across these muffins. Yum! They are delicious (and more or less healthy). How could I have gone so long without making them? I may have to rectify this soon.

Combine:
1 ½ c. flour (I use 50/50 wheat/white)
¾ c. sugar*
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Set aside.

2 eggs, separated
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.

Beat egg yolks until light and lemon-colored, then mix in
1 Tbs. honey
¼ tsp orange peel
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 c. shredded carrot (2 lg.)
½ c. unsweetened applesauce (*regular is ok; just use less sugar)

Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened, then fold in egg whites. Do not over mix.
Sling into muffin cups or greased muffin tins, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Then eat them all.

simple sweet & sour stir fry

This may be my favorite stir fry recipe--and yes, real sweet and sour sauce is not pink! I use either chicken or pork, and whatever variety of vegetables my little heart desires. But here's my go-to combo:

1 lb boneless chicken breast or pork chop, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, diced
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced (on fancy days I julienne)
1/2-1 c. snow peas, ends snapped
8 oz. can pineapple chucks in juice (or more...)
2 cloves garlic, minced

for sauce:
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. cornstarch
1 t. bullion granules or 1 cube (I use chicken for chicken (duh) and beef for pork...but you do whatever you want!)

I recommend taking the time to do all of your prep before you start frying, including mixing the sauce and starting your rice. It's a lot less stressful. So, take a few minutes and chop everything. I'll wait.

For sauce: drain pineaple, reserving juice. Add enough water to juice to make 1 1/2 c. (There's about 1/2 c. juice, for those like me who use a bigger can of pineapple.) Add remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly and set aside. (You'll have to stir again just before adding to pan to mix in the cornstarch.)

Heat about 1 T. olive oil in large skillet or stir fry pan over high heat. (Put an apron on; this can get messy.) Add chicken/pork. Stir fry until cooked through and starting to brown. Remove meat and set aside. Add a touch more oil if needed. Stir fry carrots, onions, and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add pepper and peas; fry for a couple more minutes or until crisp-tender.

Push veggies from center of pan and pour in (recently stirred) sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly; cook 1 minute more. Add meat and pineapple. Heat through and serve over rice. Note: if you start your rice on the stovetop when you finish chopping everything, it tends to be done at about the same time. Serves 4 (or 1 person 4 days in a row...).

Fish Tacos with Fresh Corn Salsa

Monday night I made fish tacos with this nice fresh corn salsa. I liked it because I felt like I'd eaten something different and lighter than regular tacos. Last night I used the leftover salsa (I'd doubled it) in a taco salad--so good you will be seeing it at lunch today!

Ingredients

• 1 ear Fresh Corn
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1 whole Lime, Juiced
• ½ cups Chopped Purple Onion
• 1 whole Tomato
• ¼ cups Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Minced
• Oil, To Cook Fish
• 6 whole Fillets Of White Fish (Cod Or Tilapia Work Best)
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 8 whole Tortillas

Preparation Instructions

Slice corn off the cob. In a bowl, combine corn, lime juice, purple onion, tomato, cilantro and jalapeno. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on top to get the flavors to come out a little.

In a hot skillet, drizzle a bit of oil. Place fish into skillet and season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. “Fry” on each side for 2-5 minutes, depending on how thick your fillets are. Fish is done when it flakes upon being gently pricked with a fork.

Roughly chop cooked fish. Add fish to a warmed tortilla and top it with the corn salsa. Serve and enjoy!

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/fish-tacos-with-fresh-corn-salsa/