Organic Banana Pancakes

On this rainy Sunday in Arizona, nothing sounded better than Banana Pancakes and a lazy day with my husband and bulldog…  and I think I just may have made the most incredible pancakes ever! They are naturally sweet with the banana and honey, super soft, fluffy and filling… Like I said, perfect for a much yearned for lazy day 🙂

Ingredients

(serves 3.. 2 if you are super hungry)

3/4 Cup Organic Whole Wheat Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Organic Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

3/4 Cup Organic Coconut Milk (you may also use regular milk)

1 Medium Organic Banana

1 Organic Egg

3 Tablespoons Honey

3 Tablespoons Organic Butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

To make it simple…In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl combine the wet ingredients and mash the banana into the same bowl. Then mix all ingredients together! Heat your griddle or pan with a small amount of butter and pour the desired size of batter. (wait to flip until you see those cute little bubbles form)

Serve with sliced banana, maple syrup and more butter!! YES more butter 😉

Lastly.. enjoy YOUR lazy Sunday!

Organic Buttermilk Biscuit Bread

 

 

There is nothing better than a buttery Buttermilk Biscuit! (well.. almost 😉

Needless to say, I am OBSESSED with buttermilk biscuits.. My absolute favorite buttermilk beauties are from The Morning Glory Cafe at The Farm at South Mountain. So whether I need to use up left over buttermilk or get my craving for “The Farm Biscuits,” this is what I have come up with in bread form! It’s dense, buttery, perfect for a Sunday brunch and amazing topped with honey butter!

Ingredients

2 Cups Organic AP Flour

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 Cup (scant) Organic Sugar

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Organic Egg, beaten

2 Cups Organic Buttermilk

1/4 Cup Organic Sweet Cream Butter, melted

Directions

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan. In a bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. Then add the egg and buttermilk to the sugar mixture. In another bowl Combine the flour, baking soda, sugar and salt. Whisk well, then combine the flour and sugar mixtures. Bake 45-60 minutes. Test with a toothpick… when it comes out clean its done 🙂

Enjoy warm and topped with honey butter! (my favorite)

 

 

Organic Chocolate Cake with a Strawberry Acai Buttercream

I just got these fabulous cookbook, “Organic and Chic,” By: Sarah Magid. I was so excited to find this because I LOVE her philosophy being Organic and local as possible! This is completely up my ally… I must admit though, the only little thing that I was disappointed about was the food coloring she uses. It is the generic “chemical” kind. But for my recipes I want ALL of my ingredients to be as pure and chemical free as possible. Therefore, I have discovered this amazing naturally made  food coloring by “India Tree.” I paid $19 for it, but to me it’s worth it 🙂

 I made the Pink Macarons with an Organic Strawberry Acai Buttercream I had left over buttercream so I wanted to make a cake… and Since I love ANYTHING Chocolate, I made Sarah’s “Easiest Chocolate Cake…”

Ingredients

(This is the recipe cut in half for a smaller cake)

1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic AP Flour

1 Cup scant Organic Cane Sugar

1/2 Cup Organic Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/2 Tablespoon ALMOND EXTRACT (This is a change I made; Original recipe called for Vanilla Extract)

1/3 Cup Organic Canola Oil

1 Teaspoon Organic White Vinegar (Apple Cider is what I used)

1 Cup Cold Water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 35o degrees F. Butter and flour a 8 or 9-inch round cake pan. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the extract, oil, vinegar, and cold water. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, 

being careful not to overmix. The mixture will be quite wet, but this is okay. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-24 minutes.

Allow cake to cool then frost it with the Strawberry Acai Buttercream.

Pink Macarons with an Organic Strawberry Acai Buttercream topped with Fleur De Sel

FINALLY! Successful Macarons!!

It took 3 times and it finally worked… I learned from all this that “Patience pays off!” Initially it was the whole “waiting” thing that I failed at during the first 2 attempts. But I did it and it worked.

I followed this specific Strawberry Macaron Recipe but of course I changed just a few things...

When making the Macarons I completely ommited the “Strawberry Flavor” because I only wanted the strawberry to come from buttercream. The food coloring I used is made by “India Tree.” It completely natural food coloring made from Vegetables. (AWESOME!!) I also sprinkled to tops on the Macarons with a coarse Fleur De Sel. Now the buttercream, instead of using Vanilla I used 1 teaspoon of Acai Berry Powder. Then, I substituted the heavy cream with Organic Sour Cream to give it a little more tang since its super sweet from the powdered sugar.

Im so excited about these little cuties and I hope you will be too!

BIG HUG for this one 🙂

Chewy Lavender Almond Crisps with Honey Whipped Cream

 I have a confession… This recipe was not intentional (at all).. It was my “mess up,” when attempting to make Macarons for the first time. Now I will admit they are obviously not Macraons… but they are seriously AMAZING! They still have the chewy yet crispy texture and incredible flavor from the Lavender. Since these are completely flat, I decided to try to make them work with some short of buttercream or something. So I decided to make a Honey Whipped Cream because honey paired with Lavender is gorgeous!! So when I list the ingredients and directions please laugh along because it will not be accurate. Hopefully my next post will be real Macraons, but for now you get this.. The mess up that became a modern invention of goodness!

Ingredients

(For REAL Macarons)

1 Cup + 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Almond Flour

1 Cup + 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic Powdered Sugar

4 Organic Egg Whites

Pinch of Sea Salt

1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic Sugar (I used Coconut Sugar)

*Directions

1. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat Mat.

2. Blend the Almond Flour with the Organic Powdered Sugar in a food processor to make a fine powder (or sift together, discarding any large crumbs and adding a bit more Almond Flour and Powdered Sugar to compensate). Then sift the mixture through a strainer until it’s as fine as you can get it. This keeps crumbs from forming on the macaron tops as they bake.

3. With a wire whip attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt. Add the granulated sugar. Beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks and your meringue is firm and shiny.

4. Pour the beaten egg whites onto your Almond Flour mixture and gently fold them in, using a rubber spatula. Move your spatula from the bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, using your other hand to rotate the bowl. Now hit the spatula against the rim of the bowl until the batter falls in a wide ribbon when you raise the spatula. When you can’t see any crumbs of Almond Flour and the mixture is shiny and flowing, you’re ready to start piping.

5. Fill your pastry bag with a number-8 tip (I didn’t have one so I used a plastic bag and just cut the corner to make a hole) and fill with batter. Start by squeezing out a small amount of the mix onto a parchment lined baking sheet to form a 2 1/2 inch circle. Be sure to leave 1 inch of space between macarons so they will not touch each other while they bake. Let the piped macarons rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

6. Bake for 14 minutes.

Let the macarons cool completely before taking them off the parchment. Press the bottom of the cooled macaron shell with your finger, it should be soft.

*If you follow this recipe and directions perfectly, you really should come out with Macarons 🙂

…Here’s the mistakes I made from the directions (I’m guessing)…

I made the batch and had to leave, so I left the mixture in the plastic bag and left it in my fridge. (You may laugh at me) and came home hours later and baked it. When I “piped” the mixture, it just oozed out! So thats when I knew it was a mess up so I literally poured it all over my Silpat Mat. I baked it for the appropriate time and allowed it to cool, then I used a square cookie cutter and make my shapes.

Top with homemade Honey Whipped Cream.

There you have the mess up that wasn’t one 😉

Banana Bacon Cupcakes with a Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

I think Elvis was nothing short of a Genius! Famously known, his favorite sandwich was a grilled Peanut Butter Banana and Bacon (with sometimes honey added.) I, like Elvis, LOVE LOVE LOVE Peanut Butter! Seriously obsessed… I eat it every day either slathered on toast, added to a smoothie, as a cookie or now a cupcake! And this amazing little cupcake would not be complete without all of the special ingredients 🙂

Cupcake Ingredients

1 Cup Organic Flour (I used Whole Wheat but I suggest using All Purpose)

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/2 Cup Canola Oil

1/2 Cup Vanilla Bean Sugar

1/4 Cup Organic Sour Cream

2 Organic Eggs

2-3 Bananas, well ripened and mashed

6 pieces good quality Bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

 In a large bowl, add the oil and the sugar. Beat with a hand-held mixer until combined. Add the sour cream and the vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined. Add the mashed bananas and chopped bacon, being careful not to over mix. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 way full. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops turn golden-brown and when a toothpick, inserted in the middle of the cupcake, comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and let cool before frosting.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/2 Cup Organic Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Organic Cream Cheese

3/4 Cup Organic Peanut Butter

Directions

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and peanut butter. Mix well with a hand mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time. When the cupcakes are cooled top them off with this delicious frosting and garnish with sliced banana and bacon pieces.

(I only used half of the frosting recipe because I don’t like a lot of frosting..)

Organic Vanilla Bean Sugar

Did you know that the flavor of Vanilla is derived from the ripened fruit of a tropical orchid? Vanilla planifolia, the only orchid in the world that produces an edible fruit!

The subtle yet seductive aroma of Vanilla has been known to be an aphrodisiac; has a calming, soothing effect on the central nervous system and tummy upsets; And reduces or prevents drowsiness by invigorating and uplifting the spirit.

Therefore, whether you are feeling down or looking for LOVE, go Vanilla!!

Here is the simplest recipe for your new invigorating sugar…

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon Organic Vanilla Bean Powder or 1 whole Vanilla Bean Pod (Dried out)

2 Cups Organic Sugar

Directions

Blend in a food processor until well mixed. Store in a glass jar with a lid for optimal freshness.

That’s it! Simple as that!!

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

The last time my husband and I had Rhubarb was in Paris and his Aunt had made a homemade Rhubarb Marmalade… it was insanely good! Since I have been craving that sweet tart flavor I had to make this beautiful vegetable one of my favorite ways, Galette. My favorite thing about any Galette, is how organic and free flowing it looks (and you can pick which edge has the most crust… wink wink).

Ingredients

Dough

1 3/4 Cups Organic AP flour

1/3 Cup Organic Sugar

1/4 Cup Semolina Flour

1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt

1/2 Cup cold Organic Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 Cup Organic Cream, Milk or Half & Half

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling

2 1/2 cups sliced Organic Strawberries

1 cup chopped Rhubarb

1/3 cup Organic Sugar

3 Tablespoons Arrowroot Starch

1 Organic Egg, beaten

2 Tablespoons Raw Turbinado Sugar

Directions

1. To make the dough, combine flour, sugar, semolina, and salt in a processor; pulse 2-3 times. Add butter and pulse 4-5 times, or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With the processor running, slowing pour the cream through the chute, processing until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough ball and adhere any remaining pieces of dough to it, then wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before rolling out.

2. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

3. To make the strawberry rhubarb filling, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and toss gently, making sure that the arrowroot is coating the fruit. Set aside.

4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Starting at the center of the dough, roll out, forming a 14-15-inch wide circle. Place the dough with parchment paper on a baking sheet. Add the fruit mixture to the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the border over the filling, overlapping where necessary and pressing gently to adhere the folds.

5.  Lightly brush the edge of the dough with the egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  You don’t need to use the whole egg, just enough to brush the edge of the galette.

6. Bake for 1 hour, or until crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for 

at least 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note-you can make the galette dough in advance. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Try serving the galette with vanilla ice cream for an extra special dessert.

Serves 6

Recipe was adapted from here I just changed some ingredients 🙂

Organic Açaí Berry Cupcakes topped with Roasted Cocoa Nibs

With my rising obsession with Cupcakes, I am adapting “Anti-Aging and Healthy” ways to completely indulge in these sweet treats… Therefore, the well known Superfood, Açaí, was next on my list! I paired the cakes with Roasted Cocoa Nibs, so it would compliment the taste of this luscious berry and it turned out AMAZING!!

So what is Açaí?…
Açaí is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. It contains a remarkable concentration of antioxidants that help combat premature aging, with 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine. Also, Açaí has the synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health. As well as an almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.

To make these lovely little cakes you will need:

1 1/2 Cups Organic AP Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt

1/2 Cup Organic Cream

1 Tablespoon Organic Açaí Berry Powder

1 stick Organic Butter, unsalted & room tempurature

3/4 Cup Organic Sugar

2 Organic Eggs

For the Frosting:

1/2 stick Butter

1 Cup Organic Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Organic Cream

1/2 teaspoon Açaí Powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low, add half of dry ingredients, followed by the cream and Açaí. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

Frosting:

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixture, beat the butter, powdered sugar, milk and Açaí until smooth.

The frosted Cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.

Your taste buds, body, health and skin will LOVE the benefits of these decadent cakes!!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with a Vanilla Bean Chocolate Ganache

Guinness is one of my FAVORITE beers. So I couldn’t wait to pair it with chocolate in this exotic cupcake! The Guinness hits your palate subtly but lingers in your mouth like a taste of wine. Its deep coffee-cocoa flavor is a perfect match with the chocolate and vanilla bean ganache. So if you enjoy a good brew you will LOVE these little cakes!!

Ingredients (makes 12 cupcakes)

1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Organic Sugar

1 Cup Organic AP Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt

6oz (half a bottle) Guinness Stout

1/2 stick Organic Butter, unsalted and melted

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Beans

1 Large Organic Egg

1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Organic Sour Cream

Ganache

4oz Dark Chocolate, Valhorna 70%

4oz Organic Heavy Cream

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Beans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, vanilla beans, flour, baking soda and salt.

In another medium bowl, combine the Guinness and melted butter. Beat in the egg. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Dived the batter equally between 12 lined muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pan. Bake another 12 minutes until risen and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on a rack or in the muffin tin.

To make the Ganache

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and cream together. Once melted, stir in the vanilla beans. Set aside to cool. Once cooled at room temperature, dip the cupcakes into the ganache and sprinkle with cocoa powder to finish!