It’s essentially just some egg and flour, milk and butter on a pan. No big deal. But once in the oven, they start to puff up, and up and up, right before your eyes, until they’re peaking and spilling out of your pan. It’s insane. And so pretty!

I used a miniature cast iron pan so the ones you see here didn’t puff up as much as ones made in larger dishes can.
Exhibit A: this guy.

Don’t worry, they do actually deflate and settle once removed from the oven, which is kind of fun to watch too.

To help with rising:
1. Use room temp/warm eggs and milk.
2. Beat the eggs a lot before adding the rest of the components.
3. Get the pan immediately back into the oven once you pour the batter in.

Flavor wise, they’re kind of like a pancake, but not as cakey. Lighter and spongier. So maybe more like a soufflé. But…less delicate and eggy. In a way, they also kind of remind me of a crepe. Okay, forget it. You get the point. They are delicious.

The question is, where have these babies been hiding all my life? I’ve never seen them on a menu. Never heard any talk of them. Never even seen photos of such a thing. My mom recently introduced me to Dutch babies, sometimes referred to as German pancakes, after she had them at a bed and breakfast somewhere in Oregon. (Oops, can’t remember where right now.) She’s been all about them ever since, topping them with fruit and yogurt and syrup. I’ve made them several times now and see exactly why she’s so into them.

Traditionally, Dutch babies are finished off with a little lemon juice (which sounds weird) and powdered sugar. I’m not crazy about powered sugar so I messed around with a few other toppings. I did one with pumpkin puree, cinnamon and maple syrup. That was awesome. But, even better was the simple pairing of raspberries, sliced almonds and maple syrup.

Not sure what it was about this mix, but it was fantastic.

I was also really pleased with this savory one of sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes and arugula, topped with Romano cheese. Looks like a cute little deep-dish pizza!

They cool thing about Dutch babies is that you can play around with them. Just serve them up and let people have fun with the toppings. You can make large ones for people to share, or smaller individually sized ones like the ones I made here. They’re usually eaten for breakfast, but I think they’re good any time of the day depending on what you top them with.

Yes, yogurt is actually fermented milk, which I realize on the surface doesn’t make much of a case for its digestibility. But in actuality it has everything to do with why many people who can’t tolerate milk can enjoy yogurt. The live active cultures in yogurt create lactase (an enzyme lactose-intolerant people lack) and the bacterial enzymes created during the culturing process actually partially digest the milk protein called casein, making it much easier for the body to absorb and much less allergenic.

Okay, so all that made sense to me, but what I was stuck on was how on earth I was going to safely ferment milk in my kitchen. As in, how was I not going to end up with a bunch of rotten milk?!

Here’s how: Yogurt is produced by adding a “starter” of active yogurt culture, which produces lactic acid during the fermentation process. Lactic acid lowers pH, gives yogurt its tart flavor and most importantly, causes the milk protein to thicken, acting as a natural acidic preservative that prohibits pathogen bacteria from growing. That’s what keeps the milk from spoiling during fermentation! The partial digestion of the milk when these bacteria ferment makes it easily digestible. And these are the same ‘healthy’ bacteria that help settle GI issues by replenishing non-pathogen flora of the gastrointestinal tract. These are the tiny microorganisms called probiotics and ‘live active cultures’ that everyone talks about. Bored yet?

Okay, here are a couple good links if you’re interested in more of the health benefits of yogurt. Why Yogurt is Good for You via Live Strong And 10 Reasons Yogurt is a Top Health Food via Ask Dr. Sears

And on to the yogurt making!

It helps if you have a meat or candy thermometer for this process, but plenty of people wing it without one so don’t worry. I repeat, you don’t need a thermometer. Heat your milk (I used 2 percent organic milk) to just before a simmer, which is 185°F. The milk should be a little frothy, but not boiling. Stir the milk intermittently or use a double boiler to avoid any burning. Once milk reaches desired temp, you need to cool it back down to about 110 – 120°F. The best way to do this is to place it in an ice bath and whisk it a little. Once cool, you add in the starter, which is a tablespoon of store bought yogurt (after the first batch of yogurt is made you will use your yogurt as a starter). You can also add a teaspoon of sugar to help the bacteria grow. Whisk it in good, convert it to a clean glass jar and now it’s time to do some incubating!

Two key words here: warmth and darkness. You want to keep your milk as close to 110°F as possible without going over during this process. Any hotter will kill the bacteria. My mom just wraps her jars of yogurt in towels to keep the warmth in during this process. That does work, but I’ve been filling a stainless steel pot with hot tap water and then dropping in the lidded jar(s) of yogurt, covering the pot and wrapping it in towels like a baby. You’ve got to let it sit for at least 7 hours, but the longer you let it sit the more firm and flavorful it’ll get. I did my last batch for 9 hours and it was awesome.

So much fun to unwrap your little bundle to find yogurt!

The flavor comes out very mild (just a little tang) and the texture is somewhere between Greek yogurt and store bought Dannon type stuff and it’s much creamier and less tart than store bought stuff. I think people who aren’t really yogurt fans might actually like it. Don’t think I’ll be buying yogurt anymore because I actually really prefer the taste of this and it’s so easy to do!

The almonds!

What makes these muffins (or cake/bread if you choose to do that instead) so great for you is the almond factor. Instead of refined flours we use almond meal, which is very easy to make just by pulsing your almonds in the food processor a few times. There are just tons of health benefits linked to eating almonds (like lowering cholesterol), and almonds are loaded with vitamin E, antioxidants and monounsaturated fats (the same fats found in olive oil). By the way, go ahead and use almonds with the skin on because the flavonoids found in almond skins paired with the vitamin E in the their meat have been shown to more than double antioxidant power in the body. More on that here.

The eggs and almonds pack a good amount of protein, and then paired with the sugars in the banana, these muffins give you a nice boost of long lasting energy. Really nice for the morning.

So this recipe is pretty much brilliant, and I can say that because it’s not originally mine. It came from Jules over at the Stone Soup who is committed to cooking using 5 ingredients or less. Love that. (I did add to the recipe a little here and there so it’s not as simple as the original, but whatever.)

It just blows my mind when baking is so simple, successful and so guiltless too! One important thing to watch out for though is that you don’t pulse the almond meal too long in the food processor or you’ll end up with almond butter. Just stop when it gets like couscous. And if you can, also use a food processor to beat the eggs together with the banana so the mixture gets really really fluffy – this will help with the overall texture. If you can handle these two steps, you’ll find this recipe pretty no fail. I’ve made several variations of this same core recipe many times. It works great as bread or muffins, and feel free to add in more cinnamon and even some raisins. For today though, I’ve added cocoa powder to half the batter to give it a chocolaty center!

Everyone loves a little chocolaty surprise. It’s super easy to do this. You just mix some unsweetened cocoa powder into 1/3 of your batter. Then you do a scoop of original batter, followed by a small scoop of the chocolaty batter, followed by another scoop of the original batter. The result is a subtle hit of cocoa goodness at the center of each muffin that nobody will know about until they take a bite! (If you’re doing bread, just follow the same idea using your bread pan.)

Topping it off with some thinly sliced bananas & almonds and a few dots of coarse sea salt is a nice touch too. Oh yes, that salty + sweet.

All that healthy mint does the trick!

I worked on this recipe with Andy (chef friend and biz partner on the La Empanada Food Truck .) one beautiful Friday evening. We followed it up with a nice dessert of dark chocolate and red wine, and I’m going to go ahead and recommend you do the same! (Today happens to be Friday too, so go for it!)

This dish merges the always-lovely combo of peas and mint with another classic, pasta alla carbonara. Traditionally, pasta alla carbonara uses cheese, olive oil, pasta water and egg yolk to create a nice, creamy sauce that coats the pasta. Of course, you can stir it all together in the pot, but better yet is to present the egg yolk in a nest of piping hot pasta to be stirred in and cooked right there in your bowl for an even creamier version!

We decided to prep and season the egg yolks in their own little bowls so they would be closer to room temp and ready for adding on top of the pasta just before serving.

Little gems…

We wanted to go fresh peas all the way but couldn’t find large enough snap peas so the compromise was half frozen and half fresh. The frozen peas are sautéed with olive oil, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and shallots, but the fresh peas are left raw and just stirred in at the very end. The two different pea textures – the crisp, raw snap peas with the more supple and sweet frozen ones – ended up working really nicely together.

Another little extra touch was the addition of thinly shaved smoked tuna that I brought back from Spain. It resembles cured ham a little in color, but instead has a much saltier and smokier flavor…well, and it obviously tastes like fish, not ham. It’s pretty strong so you only need a little. I know there are some specialty food shops that sell it in the states, but I’d suggest substituting with a little prosciutto or even a couple diced anchovies. Or just leave it out all together.

What I enjoy most about this dish is it’s many layers, each representing a very different flavor profile, and each complimenting the other, oh so nicely.
1. Our canvas of linguini
2. Two different kinds of peas (one soft and sweet one raw and snappy).
3. Creamy and rich egg yolk
4. Palate cleansing mint
5. Sharp pecorino romano cheese
6. Smokey cured tuna (or prosuttio or even anchovies depending on what you’re into)
7. A little heat from red pepper flakes.

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Being that they’re so rich in mono and polyunsaturated fats (the good kind of fat), avocados are a great substitute for foods rich in saturated fats, like cheese, butter and other dairy – and the perfect healthy solution for making rich and creamy shakes/smoothies!

Avocado smoothies are one of my favorite treats when the weather is warm and since it’s been about 8 months since my last Green Smoothie post, well, here you go…

Half a ripe haas avocado. Half an apple. Milk of your choice (soy, almond, rice or regular). Agave syrup to taste. Splash of water and ice. Blend!

I definitely get the ew face pretty frequently when tell people about my avocado smoothies, so if you’re skeptic too, maybe it’ll make you feel better to know that avocados are technically a fruit. Nickname: butter pear.

An extra swirly of agave is a nice way to top it off!

P.S. Avocados are considered a “nutrient booster” because they help the body more easily absorb fat-soluble nutrients like alpha and beta-carotene. So drink up!

I topped each mini empanada with thin slice of tomato before baking to give you a little something extra to feast your eyes on. You can bake on a thin slice of veggie, fruit or even some fresh herbs to go with whatever they’re filled with.

My dear friends and biz partners, Andy and Janelle of, black bean deli, taught me everything I need to know about the art of making empanadas. Together we’ve been dreaming up all kinds of fillings and testing them on our friends and at caterings. Mainly we’ve been pumping them out in such high numbers for catering gigs, but also to test recipes for a new food venture we’re developing (wink,wink…tell ya later). We’ve been making empanadas like mad lately, and as a result, have probably eaten more of them in the last few months than a 10-year-old eats bowls of cereal in a year. And we’re still not sick of them!

SO, the cool thing about empanadas is that they’re the kind of thing you can eat anytime of the day. Stuff them with a tofu or egg and cheese scramble for breakfast. Maybe spicy BBQ chicken or grilled veggies and cheese for lunch or dinner. You can even do all kinds of dessert empanadas — spiced pear, chocolate peanut butter crunch, pumpkin pie…and on and on. All the possibilities are what make them so much fun to play around with. I’ve found that an empanada with a salad or some soup is a perfect little meal.

Empanadas first appeared in a Catalan cookbook back in the 1500s and it’s believed that they originated in Spain and Portugal, and like the Italian calzone, it’s thought that empanadas were derived from Arabic meat-filled pies (samosas). Traditionally, empanadas were filled with meat (pork loin or chorizo) or fish (cod, tuna or sardines) in a tomato garlic type sauce and became popular in those medieval days because they made such great portable meals for working people and travelers. The proliferation of empanadas eventually spread to Latin America, where each country has a regionally specific take on them – different dough recipes (made with flour, corn or yuca) and various traditional fillings.

But, the fillings we’ve been working on are all but traditional. Cured ham, cheese and melon. Crab and green tomato salad. Vegetarian sausage and peppers. Roasted beets and goat cheese. Pumpkin pie. S’mores. Truffle mac and cheese! Pretty much anything across the sweet to savory spectrum goes so you can really get creative.

Like here, we did peanut butter and jelly! Scoop of peanut butter, spoonful of strawberry preserves and little pile of sliced grapes. Each one is topped each with a sliced strawberry for ultimate cuteness.

One tip I will give you, is to make sure the fillings you choose aren’t runny by nature (like certain sauces) and don’t sweat too much during cooking (like raw veggies…or certain cheeses). This is because the filling will start to seep out and mush up the dough during baking. So if you’re using cheese, just don’t go too heavy on it. And of course, when it comes to meats and such, you need to pre-cook and season them! Think of it like toppings on a pizza – certain ones will work when placed raw (like herbs and cheese) and some would be retchid (like, uh, raw chicken). Also, fillings you can scoop with a spoon tend to work best. And you want your filling to be room temperature so it holds a form when scooped and placed in the center of the dough. Oh yea, and try not to overfill or you’ll end up with a mess no matter what.

See, here I did creamed corn and roasted cherry tomatoes as mini empanadas and spinach & feta full-size ones. The creamed corn is seasoned with thyme and thickened with flour during cooking. Then it’s cooled to room temp to reach its thickest state. The spinach was cooked with red onion and seasoned with some garlic, salt/pepper, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and lemon juice. I added some feta and cottage cheese and let some of the moisture cook out before adding an egg white to help hold it all together. Also cooled to room temp, and excess moisture poured out before adding to dough.

Of course, there are all kinds of dough recipes out there too so if you’re gluten free or want whole wheat you can definitely make it work. We haven’t come upon a recipe that we like (or that reacts) better than the dough we get from a Cuban bakery we work with out of Miami, so for now we’re sticking with that…though we do plan to experiment with some whole wheat recipes in the future. Empanada dough is similar to most savory pastry doughs, and you can find a million recipes for it online. The pre-made and cut empanada dough is actually pretty good and authentic and can be found in the frozen section of most grocery stores and all Latin American supermarkets. Choose a brand with a short ingredient list (La Cubanita and Goya make good ones without all the preservatives and junk). Just check the labels to make sure you’re not getting a dough with lard in it if you’re vegetarian. Some use lard, some palm oil.

Now, you can totally just place you filling in the middle and seal the edges of the dough using a fork (that’s how most people do it at home). But, you can also find these handy little presses at Latin supermarkets and restaurant supply stores. The press we use for the mini empanadas is actually just a dumpling press, which you should be able to get at your local Asian market. The presses make the job a ton easier when you’re doing large numbers, but you won’t miss out not using one if you’re just making a few at home. You’ll want your dough close to room temp before placing the fillings and should wet the rim of the dough before closing to help seal.

Once you’ve got all your guys filled, you can lightly grease a pan and apply and even egg wash to each empanada (back and front).

Then just bake them until they’re golden and crispy along the edges.

I’m giving you the recipe for the spinach ones because they’re by far the household favorite!

This soup works so nicely because, unlike most tortilla soups, it’s not super heavy. Instead of a thick bean & cheese base, I did a refreshing tomato/veggie and lime based broth with lots of fresh cilantro. The fresh and tangy broth is the perfect complement to the nutty yucca and avocado flavor.

I was so pumped on this new recipe that I decided to share it at a recent soup swap party hosted at my house. (Kind of like a cookie swap, but with soup instead. Everyone brings a pot of soup to split up amongst each other so that each person/couple gets a variety of soups to take home and freeze.) It was a pretty big hit, receiving 4.5 out of 5 kiwis (stars) on the rating scale developed by one VERY enthusiastic participant.

A little on yuca…

Okay, so it’s not the prettiest, but yuca happens to be one of my favorites. Beneath it’s thick brown and often waxed skin, is a nutty, sweet and creamy starch like no other. It’s no wonder that it’s the basis for tapioca!

Some of you may have seen it spelled yucca instead of yuca before, so just to clarify:
Yuca = yummy edible tuber grown from the cassava shrub.
Yucca = mostly ornamental plant (looks like an agave plant) with some edible seeds and flowers, but rarely roots.

Yuca root is as essential a food to people who live in the tropical lowlands of South America and parts of Africa, as corn is to the people of Central America and Mexico. Despite this, when we come across the strange looking tuber in the grocery store most of us don’t know where to begin. I’ll tell you where.

First thing you need to do is remove its barky skin. There are actually a couple layers (the top brown, a pinkish and then a white layer) that need to be peeled before cooking. I just use a sharp, handheld vegetable peeler and peel it from tip to tip like you would a carrot. The only difference here is that you’ll need to peel like 3 layers down until you reach the chalkly white part of the yuca.

From there it’s no different than cooking a potato. It can be boiled, baked or fried. Yuca is also great mashed! In this case I just threw it in with the soup and let it boil until soft. The yuca should be cooked until it’s gooey on the outside and soft through the inside, and at that point, the soup is done. I topped each bowl off with some fresh cilantro, tortilla chips, cheese and cold avocado slices just before serving.

And it just gets better with every bite as the cheese becomes incorporated with the broth and the tortilla chips soak it all up!

If you decide to make a bunch, it freezes really well. Just leave the cheese, chips and avocado slices out and put those on once you reheat.

p.s. All of the above is even better with a little hot sauce!

Not only is this pâté delicious, it’s super healthy! The sunflower seeds are soaked overnight, making them a better source of easily digestible protein. Then it’s just a few pulses in the food processor until creamy with some basil, olive oil, lemon juice, salt/pepper, agave and red peppers (roasted or raw). Super easy.

So what’s soaking the seeds have to do with it? Well, seeds and nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that, in nature, ensure the seed or nut only begins to sprout when the weather conditions are favorable (warm and damp in springtime). By soaking seeds and nuts in the warmth of your home, you can break down these enzyme inhibitors, releasing more nutritious and making the seeds easier to digest.

Sunflower seeds are loaded Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant found in many foods, fats, and oils. Vitamin E it is said to destroy free radicals (harmful compounds in the body that damage DNA and cause cell death) which are believed to contribute to aging as well as the development of a number of health problems, including heart disease and cancer. Antioxidant rich foods, like sunflower seeds, provide some protection against these conditions and can help reduce the damage caused by toxic chemicals and pollutants.

Because vitamin E helps break down fat, it should be an especially welcomed snack for the holiday season!

This pâté is great on all kinds of breads, chips and crackers. We also like to use as a spread on sandwiches. It’s fantastic with sharp cheeses and a really nice as a dip for veggies (smear it on some cucumber slices). Oh yea, and it’s awesome with avocado on a rice cracker or piece of toasted bread!

* Note: I’ve modified the recipe since its original post date.
I’ve done a couple batches using raw red peppers and it’s great, but I recently tried it with roasted red peppers and happen to like that a bit better. The roasted red pepper gives a richer, smokier flavor and I think it makes for a creamier, sturdier texture too. If you’re going to use raw red peppers, I recommend using the miniature sweet ones (you often see them sold in packs of orange, yellow and red together) because they are more flavorful and contain less water than regular red bell peppers.