Quick Little Ditty: Cool Broccoli Caprese Salad

The other night, my family invited us over for pizza and root beer-our traditional Friday night celebration. I was asked to bring a salad, but I had very few 'salad' ingredients available to me. I don't like going to the grocery store on a Friday night-it's way too busy, so I threw together a few ingredients to make this wonderfully delicious salad. It was so easy to make, and consisted of things I had already in my fridge.

I sauteed up some frozen broccoli, just to take the bitterness out, then stuck it back in the fridge to chill. I then added some minced white onion, diced mozzarella, grape tomatoes, torn fresh basil leaves and drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Toss that together with some kosher salt and pepper, and voila! You have a lovely, quick, tasty salad! It went perfectly with our pizza, and the colors were beautiful.

I think that tonight for dinner, we will toss the leftovers with some quinoa and maybe a grilled chicken breast. It is so easy and versatile, who wouldn't want to try this?

Lemon Poppy Seed Almond Muffins

I loooove lemon! Lemon truly makes me feel happy and springy. There is nothing like it to brighten your day, to add a skip to your step. Adding lemon to your muffins is doubly happy. My husband always jokes with me about muffins...he quotes me in a high pitched voice saying "all I want is a muffin"!

Truly, all I want is a muffin.

Lemon Poppy Seed Almond Muffins

1 3/4 Cup Sylvan Border Farms AP GF Flour

1 Tbsp ground Flax Seed

1 tsp Baking Soda

3 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Xanthan Gum

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Poppy seed

1/4 Cup melted Coconut Oil

1/3 Cup Agave Nectar

2 whisked Eggs

1 Cup Plain Yogurt

Zest and Juice of 1 large Lemon

Splash of Almond Extract

Chopped Toasted Almonds (Optional)

Leftover Tart Lemon Pulp (click link for recipe)

Method: Preheat oven to 350 f. In separate bowls, mix the wet ingredients and the dry. Gently add the wet into the dry and fold in the toasted almonds. Using a lunch lady scoop, drop balls of batter into pre greased muffin tins. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on top. De-pan and let cool slightly on a cooling rack.

Using a knife or the back of a spoon, spread chilled Tart Lemon Pulp over the tops to add a shine and a real zip of flavor. Don't skip this, it really makes a lovely finish!

*To quote The Sandlot..."and then, you stuff!" Enjoy! :)

"Quite possibly the best pancakes I have ever tasted"

During the week, I do some part time office work for my in-laws to earn some extra money and help them out with their home based business. My mother in law is usually home while I am working, so we are usually chatting about our latest recipe finds and food in general. Some days, more food gets made then work gets done :) The other day my mother in law found a recipe in our newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News for some great pancakes that neither of us could stop thinking about. The salad that we had made for lunch started out sounding good, but ended up being more of a disappointment as we continued to think about these pancakes.

Both of us ended up making them over the weekend--hers made following the recipe as she can have gluten, and mine with a few tweaks and changes to accommodate my diet. It was amazing to compare the two finished products...they looked and tasted exactly the same! I never thought I would be able to say this, but for a few moments, I actually forgot that I was eating gluten free.

My husband hates pancakes, but as we sat down and ate them, my husband with a surprised look on his face said "These are quite possibly the best pancakes I have ever tasted". Score!

Lemon Lovers' Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

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1 Cup Sylvan Border Farm GF General Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp Agave Nectar OR 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Cup Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese

1 large Egg

2 large Egg Whites

1/2 Cup fresh squeezed Lemon Juice

the zest of one Lemon

1 Tbsp Canola Oil + Oil for the pan

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Preheat a skillet or electric griddle to medium heat or about 325*f. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar if you choose to use it. In a separate bowl, whisk together the agave nectar (if not using granulated sugar), ricotta, eggs, lemon juice, zest and canola oil. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. The batter will be super thick. Using a lunch lady scoop (the ones with an ejector handle) or a spoon. Gently spread the batter out-it will be thick. Let it cook until golden on the bottom, then flip them. You wont see bubbles coming through to the top like you would making regular pancakes. Cook on the second side until golden brown. They will be super fluffy and light.

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Blueberry Sauce

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1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed, of course!)

2 tsp Cornstarch

2 Cups Blueberries

1/3 Cup Sugar or 1/4 Cup Agave Nectar

2 Tbsp H2O

1/4 tsp Salt

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Mix lemon juice and cornstarch, set aside. Bring blueberries, salt, H2O, and agave/sugar to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon/cornstarch and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

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Holy momma, these will knock your socks off!