You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for October 2011

Happy Halloween!

October 30, 2011 by

“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers, ’tis near Halloween.”
~Author Unknown

Truth be told, I’ve never been much of a Halloween person, but since my nephews came along, I’ve definitely gotten a bit more into it … and I can’t wait to see them in their Halloween costumes tomorrow night.

While 7 1/2 month old Graeme is a bit young for tasty Halloween treats, I wanted to make something fun for my almost 3-year-old nephew, Ben … and since we try to keep his diet as natural and chemical-free as possible, I wanted to make something fairly healthy and not *too* sugar laden … sounds tough, eh?

Feeling less than inspired, I turned to the Internet, which brought back lots of fun ideas … and from the multitude of options I found, I chose to make pretzel mummies! Not only are they totally adorable, they are pretty easy to make … and since I sourced organic and all-natural ingredients—and made the icing from scratch—I knew that the final product contained nothing artificial, which made me feel pretty good.

Hopefully Ben—and you—like these pretzel mummies as much I do!

Pretzel Mummies

Ingredients:

  • 20 organic pretzel rods
  • 1 cup prepared royal icing, soft
  • 40 Ghirardelli mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a large (or two small) cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper. Place pretzels rods on parchment, leaving a fair amount of space between them.

2. Place icing in a sturdy ziploc bag and snip the corner to create a small opening.

3. Pipe icing over the pretzels rods in a thin line from top to bottom. Immediately repeat piping, but from bottom to top this time. Icing will spread slightly and should resemble mummy wraps.

4. Place two mini chocolate chip into icing at top of pretzel to resemble eyes.

5. Place cookie sheets with prepared pretzel mummies in fridge to dry overnight.

6. Package in clear cellophane bags and secure with twist tie.

Happy Halloween!

2 Comments

Filed Under: Recipes  

Spinach and Feta Phyllo Cups

October 24, 2011 by

Yes, folks … it’s that time again … time for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club!

Faithful readers of Rhubarb and Honey know that I’ve been participating in The Secret Recipe Club for the last few months. The idea of The Secret Recipe Club is similar to other blog exchanges in that each participating blogger is assigned another participating blog to make a recipe from, but the twist with The Secret Recipe Club is that you can’t tell anyone whose blog you have—shhhh, it’s a secret!—until you finally post about the blog you were assigned and the recipe you chose. It’s a great way to “meet” other food bloggers and expand my blog readership as well. If you’re a food blogger, I highly suggest you join.

This month, my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment was The Foodies at Work, a lovely blog from Melissa and Angela, two foodies in two cubicles in two cities … but with one giant appetite. Longtime friends who met in college, Melissa blogs from Boston and Angela blogs from New York City. Their blog is host to their “favorite original and discovered recipes, highlights of local foodie events, and restaurant reviews from Boston, NYC, and beyond.” I love the fact that these two foodie friends are still able to share their love of food even though they live in different cities … and I am happy I can share their blog with you.

The Foodies at Work have tons of delicious recipes on their site, and I spent almost an hour reading through them while deciding what to make. When I saw their recipe for Spinach and Cheese Pie, I knew I’d hit paydirt.

Melissa and Angela’s recipe immediately brought to mind one of my favorite Greek foods, spanikopita or “spinach pie,” a savory pastry made with chopped spinach, feta cheese, onions, egg, and seasonings. The filling is wrapped in phyllo dough with butter and/or olive oil, traditionally in the shape of a triangle.

I knew that I wanted to add phyllo dough to Melissa and Angela’s recipe, but since the preparation for spanikopita can take some time, I decided to improvise … and therefore, I bestow unto you my recipe for spinach and feta phyllo cups.

This recipe turned out better than I could have imagined. The phyllo cups were light and flaky, the perfect “container” for a delicious spanikopita-inspired filling of chopped spinach, feta and parmesan cheese, and chopped kalamata olives. The filling itself was full of bright flavors and just the right amount of salt. Combined together, this is the best side dish I’ve made in awhile.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do … and I hope you check out The Foodies at Work … I know you’ll love their blog as much as I do too!

Spinach and Feta Phyllo Cups

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces frozen chopped spinach
  • 2 ounces feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 10 kalamata olives, finely chopped
  • 6 to 8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place frozen spinach in microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at 50% power until defrosted. Once defrosted, remove excess water from spinach by squeezing tightly over bowl; squeeze until all excess water is removed. Place spinach in a separate bowl.

3. Add the feta cheese, parmesan cheese, and chopped olives to the spinach; mix thoroughly. Set aside.

4. Arrange one sheet of phyllo dough on a clean work surface; cover the remaining phyllo dough with a damp towel. Brush phyllo sheet with melted butter, top with another sheet, and repeat until all sheets have been used.

5. Using a pizza cutter, cut assembled phyllo sheets in to six equal-sized squares. Butter six cups of a 12-cup muffin pan, alternating cups to allow room for each phyllo cup. Line each prepared cup with one of the phyllo squares, gently pressing it into the edges to form a cup.

6. Fill phyllo cups with equal amounts of the spinach mixture. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Notes: The recipe makes 6 phyllo cups and can easily be doubled to make more.

[This post is linked to Jane Deere's Fusion Fridays.]

 
 

P.S. To learn more you about The Secret Recipe Club or to join in (you do have to have a blog with a decent number of recipes for others to choose from), click here to read about it and sign up!



23 Comments

Filed Under: Recipes   Tagged With: ,

Popcorn “Baseballs” or Let’s Go, Cardinals!

October 19, 2011 by

“Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack, I don’t care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don’t win it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, At the old ball game.”

One hundred years ago, on May 2nd, 1908, the United States Copyright Office received two copies of a new song titled “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” submitted by composer Albert von Tilzer and lyricist Jack Norworth. This musical work, affectionately referred to over the century as the “other” national anthem—baseball’s national anthem—has become the grand-slam of all baseball songs. It has been ranked in survey polls as one of the top ten songs of the twentieth century and is second only to “Happy Birthday” and “The Star Spangled Banner” as the most easily recognized songs in America. (Information from The Library of Congress.)

One of my all-time favorite songs is Take Me Out to the Ball Game. I know that sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s true. If you’ve ever been to a baseball game in the middle of the seventh inning, you know why. It’s infectious. It brings people together. It’s just plain unabashed love for our national pastime.

I can’t wait to hear that song tonight when my hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals, take on the Texas Rangers in the 2011 World Series.

My love for the Cardinals goes back so many years, I can barely remember the first game I went to as a child. Today, my love for the Cardinals is the greatest it’s ever been, as the road to their 18th World Series berth was paved with many ups and downs … and they fought through it all. Left for dead in August—down 10½ games behind the Atlanta Braves—their stunning comeback to win the National League Wild Card, the National League Division Series, and the National League Championship Series is the stuff that dreams are made of. Our St. Louis Cardinals are the personification of heart, and yes, they have a little piece of mine.

Okay, enough with the sentiment. Let’s get to the real reason you’re here. In honor of my teams appearance in the World Series this year, I present to you popcorn “baseballs.”

I got the inspiration for this recipe from The Yummy Life, a blog I had the distinct honor of cooking from in my last Secret Recipe Club assignment. Monica’s recipe for Red Hot Popcorn Party Mix immediately caught my eye the first time I saw it. A delicious mix of popcorn, honey roasted peanuts, cinnamon candies, and white chocolate, it’s the perfect treat to share with my fellow Cardinal loving friends.

I decided to adapt Monica’s recipe a bit and turn her “popcorn candy bark” into “popcorn baseballs” … and I’m pleased to announce that it worked. These adorable “baseballs” are the perfect game night treat … and since I just know the Cardinals are going to go all the way, I made plenty to have on hand each night they play!

Popcorn Baseballs

Ingredients:

  • 8 cups air-popped popcorn (see notes)
  • 1 cup honey roasted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup “Hot Tamales” chewy cinnamon candy
  • 1/4 cup “Red Hots” cinnamon candy
  • 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 5 ounces (approx. 1/2 bag) mini-marshmallows
  • 1 cup white chocolate or vanilla baking chips
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • Decorating sprinkles (red sugar, nonpareils, etc)

Directions:

1. Pop popcorn if making yourself. Sort through popcorn to remove any unpopped or small, hard kernels. Place popcorn in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine peanuts, Hot Tamales, Red Hots, and salt; mix thoroughly and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in marshmallows and cook until melted, stirring constantly. Scrape bottom of pan frequently while stirring.

4. While marshallows are melting, combine white chocolate chips with canola oil in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Melt in microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring after each until chips are completely melted.

5. When marshmallows are melted, stir in melted chocolate and combine thoroughly. (If too think, add 1 tablespoon melted butter to thin.) Pour marshmallow and chocolate mixture over the popcorn and stir with spoon to coat evenly, working quickly to distribute evenly. Stir in peanut and candy mixture until evenly distributed.

6. Quickly shape the coated popcorn/peanut/candy mixture into balls before mixture cools. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and sprinkle with decorating sprinkles of your choice. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.

7. Wrap popcorn balls with plastic wrap or in cellphane treat bags to give as gifts; store at room temperature.

Makes 10 medium-sized popcorn balls.

Recipe Notes: Monica also has a recipe on her blog for making air-popped popcorn in your microwave, and it’s genius. Try it! Also, to keep the popcorn mixture from sticking to your hands while shaping it into balls, spray your hands with cooking spray. You’ll thank me later.

Let’s go, Cardinals! Let’s go!

Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Recipes   Tagged With: , , ,

Happy Fall, Y’all! A Recipe for PayDay Candy Mix

October 12, 2011 by

“Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~ Carol Bishop Hipps”

I love Fall. Leaves changing to bright orange, yellow, and red … cool, crisp days perfect for a light sweater and woolen scarf … trips to the pumpkin patch … it’s my favorite season, hands down. Another classic sign of Fall? The giant bowl of candy corn and peanuts, aka “PayDay Candy Mix,” that graces my mother’s counter, filled over and over until Thanksgiving arrives.

This ubiquitous Fall treat, a mixture of equal parts candy corn and salted peanuts stirred together in a bowl, has been making an appearance at my mom’s house for years. It is said that this simple combination tastes just like a PayDay candy bar (hence the name), and to many it must, since everyone in my family who eats it always says, “Hey, this tastes like a PayDay candy bar.”

Truth be told, I don’t care for the PayDay candy mix. I think it stems from my intense dislike of candy corn, one of the main ingredients (okay, one of the only ingredients … go with me here), which I’ve always found to be just too sweet and, well, artificial. Even mixed with delicious, salty peanuts, I still can’t get on the candy corn train.

But, many people do love this strange treat and gobble it up by the handfuls (ahem, that would be my husband in the photo above … I hadn’t even finished taking my first picture when his hand zoomed in to grab a snack) so I’m sharing the recipe with you. It also makes an easy treat to share with friends and family … just fill a cellophane treat bag with a scoop or two of the mix, tie with a twist tie or ribbon, and voila, a super quick gift.

Happy Fall, Y’all!


[This post is linked to The FrugalGirls.com Chic and Crafty Link-up Party
and It's A Blog Party's Falloween 2011 Party.]

2 Comments

Filed Under: Recipes   Tagged With: , , ,