Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

This raspberry buttermilk cake was another stellar recipe from one of my favorite blogs these days.  Since D has been working what seems like consistently for weeks now, our friends and neighbors took pity on us, and had the kids and me over for dinner the other night.  Since I don't like to show up empty handed, and since I've been dying to try out this recipe, it was the perfect excuse. 

The cake did not disappoint.  It literally took about 10 minutes to put together, and with about 25 minutes of total baking time, it couldn't have been much easier.  The cake was slightly sweet, but certainly not overly so, and I added only about 2 tbs of the called-for raw sugar sprinkle.  Next time I might go even more heavy-handed on the lemon zest because lemon seems to compliment the sweet fruit so well. 

The best part about this cake is its diversity.  I'm sure that it'll taste wonderful with a mixture of berries, peaches, plums, or even sliced apple in the fall.  A great basic recipe for loads of experimentation:) 

Black Bean Burgers

I'm always on the hunt for a good homemade vegetarian burger, and when I stumbled across a recipe for black bean and pepperjack burgers in the latest Fine Cooking Magazine, I was excited to try them out!  I was sticking to the recipe at first, but I found that the mixture was WAY too sticky (no pun intended), so I ended up adding about another 1/4 c of rolled oats after all the pureeing.  I also added 3 chopped scallions (instead of one), and added slightly more cheese than the recipe called for.  After all the mixing, I placed the bowl of bean-mush into the fridge for 15 minutes to allow it to firm. 

D and I both agreed that these were hands-down the best vegetarian burger I've made yet.  Oftentimes, I find that the bean burgers I make taste great, but tend to be slightly mushy, or completely fall apart during eating.  You could most certainly slice this burger without a problem.  Little L picked up her half, and happily munched away...no mush, and no falling burger pieces.  The flavors were excellent, and the burger had a perfect, little crunchy crust.  Topped with some tomato and avocado slices, and these hit the spot on a hot day.  Another winner...

Spinach and Three Cheese White Pizza

D is notorious for saying that he "hates white pizza", so I just about fell off my chair when he told me that he wanted to try a recipe for spinach and three cheese white pizza from the latest Cooking Light Magazine.  I enjoy white pizza, so I was game to give this recipe a go. 

Although before tasting this pizza D kept saying, "I don't think I like white pizza", he decided that he had changed his tune, and was happily munching away after his first bite!  J and L were equally protesting trying their pizza, but after a few mommy tricks, both of them were enjoying it as well!  This pizza was full of flavor, but not overly rich.  I made sure to roll out my pizza dough SUPER thin, so it was almost like a flat-bread.  The only real change I made to the original recipe was to mince the four cloves garlic (instead of slicing), and I left out the additional minced clove that the recipe called for.  When we're not feeling like a "red" pizza, this one will certainly show up again!

Spinach Basil Pesto

4 c baby spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
1 c basil leaves, rinsed and dried
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 c olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
cooked pasta (of your choice)
3/4 c grape tomatoes, halved

Place the spinach and basil into a food processor.  Process until the volume has reduced (only a few seconds).  Add the garlic, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese, and continue to process.  While the machine in running, add the olive oil through the pour spout until a thick pesto paste is formed.  Season with salt and pepper.  Toss well with pasta and tomatoes.

Lately, there hasn't been much time for blogging, and many of the meals I've been making have been very quick, and likely repeats of meals already seen here on What's for Dinner.  Life has a way of getting in the way of things like dinner and blogging, and with a lot of new projects on my horizon, I can't promise that the posting will be consistently more frequent!

This being said, last night I made a great, easy meal that the entire family loved.  It was pasta night, and I had planned on making a basil pesto, but the seasons and markets had other plans for me because I couldn't find a large amount of basil anywhere!  I did find a small bunch, and I had some baby spinach, so I thought I'd play around.  This pesto was absolutely delicious.  I could tell D was skeptical before tasting because he made some comment about not having enough basil, but after one taste, I could tell he was sold.  This pesto was nice and thick and clung to the noodles, it had a small hint of basil, but wasn't overpowering, and the tomatoes added a nice textural component and sweetness.  Both kids LOVED this pesto, which made this momma smile!  Another stellar meal around these parts...

Tomorrow I plan to bring dinner to some friends who just had a new baby.  I was going to make basil pesto for them as well, but the basil problem persists.  So, I'm going to do a caprese salad (basil leaves, fresh mozzarella cheese sliced, and large tomatoes sliced drizzled in olive oil), an arugula walnut pesto pasta, and a chocolate stout cake for dessert.  Good thing I have a planned dessert ladies night, otherwise I might have wanted to stay for dinner;) 

Honey Cashew Chicken and Rice

Things have been a bit hectic around here lately.  We had some family in town this past weekend for J's school birthday party.  Then, it was right back into the work week, with no time for any R&R. 

Last night's dinner was a new recipe from the latest edition of Cooking Light Magazine.  This honey cashew chicken with rice was really delicious!  I cheated a bit and used a bunch of the chopped veggies that were left over from J's party.  We had peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower all ready to go, which really saved me a lot of chopping time!  While I was cooking up the chicken and the veggies I put some brown rice into our rice cooker to get that going.  By the time the meal was prepared, the rice was just finishing up, so I couldn't have asked for better timing!  The only major difference from the actual recipe was that I added the vinegar-honey sauce and let the chicken and vegetables cook in the sauce for at least 5 minutes. 

The kids seemed to enjoy the meal, although I was heavy handed with the sriracha, and I think that it was a bit too much for little L!  J ate it right up though, so that made me pretty happy!  And, that boy loves cashews!  (Just for safety's sake, I always chop his cashews up pretty finely, so that there's not so much of a choking hazard!)  D was a fan of this on as well.  Happy mom, happy family:)

Crispy Tofu with Hoisin Dipping Sauce and Asparagus

Tonight's dinner was a new recipe from the latest edition of Fine Cooking Magazine.  This crispy tofu with hoisin dipping sauce and asparagus was an instant family favorite.  The consistency of the tofu was absolutely perfect.  It was super crunchy on the outside, and soft, but not mushy on the inside!  The dipping sauce was sweet and had an underlying heat, but certainly wasn't too hot for the kids to enjoy.  And, we all know how much this family loves asparagus...

The idea of dredging the tofu in the corn starch before the breading was brilliant.  It really dried out the tofu so that the breading was able to adhere and form a true crust.  At first J was skeptical, but after telling him that the tofu was "kind of like chicken fingers", he gave it a go, and actually said it was "tasty"! 

D, who isn't always a tofu lover really liked this meal.  He even said that "your dad might like this one", and my dad's known for saying that his "body doesn't digest the stuff";)  And, true to Fine Cooking form, it said it would take 30 minutes from start to finish, and it didn't take a minute more!

What's For Lunch;)

2 c shredded lettuce, of your choice
1/4 c sliced cucumber
1/4 c sliced tomato
2 tbs dried cranberries
2 tbs cheese, of your choice
1 1/2 tbs chopped nuts, of your choice

Dressing of your choice

Today's dressing:
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 tbs cider vinegar 
1 heaping tbs Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste


It's really beginning to feel like spring these days.  The mornings are starting earlier, and the nights are ending later.  And, seasonal fruits and vegetables are just starting to pop up into my head and into the grocery stores.  Because of this, I've been in the mood for lots of vegetables lately, and I've been enjoying salads for lunch.  It's such a wonderfully healthy and easy thing to make, and it always hits the spot! 

My lunch today had some red leaf lettuce, walnuts, colby-jack cheese, and a mustard vinaigrette dressing.  Yesterday's lunch had some walnuts, dried cranberries, really delicious (and stinky!) blue cheese, and a balsamic dressing.

I'm excited for the farmers market season to begin because I can only imagine all the delicious salads I'll be able to enjoy for lunch!  I have some frozen edamame which will make an appearance soon. along with my favorite feta cheese...the possibilities are endless, and I'm glad to be increasing my vegetable intake!  My only word-for-the-wise with a salad meal is that unless you've got a lot of protein (cheese, beans, nuts, etc), you may find yourself feeling hungry an hour or so after lunch...so pile on the protein, and don't be shy about enjoying with a nice piece of bread!

Sweet Potato and Cucumber Japanese Rice Balls

Sticky Rice
1 c sushi rice
1 1/4 c water
3 small dried wakame seaweed flakes
1 tbs Japanese rice vinegar

Place the rice in the water and soak for at least 30 minutes.  Place rice and water into a rice cooker, and cook.  Let it steam an additional 15 minutes after it clicks off, to ensure that the rice will be sticky enough.  Stir in the vinegar, and set aside to cool.


Maple Sweet Potato
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl.  Toss with maple syrup and oil.  Spread onto a baking sheet, and bake for about 40 minutes, turning once midway.  The sweet potatoes are done when they are soft and somewhat caramelized.


Sweet Potato and Cucumber Japanese Rice Balls
sticky rice
maple sweet potato
1/4 c finely diced English cucumber
sesame seeds
crumbled dry seaweed

Take a 6" diameter piece of saran wrap, and place over the palm of your non-dominant hand.  Spoon about 1-1 1/2 tbs of rice onto your covered palm.  Place a piece of sweet potato or a small amount of cucumber onto the rice.  Cover with another 1-1 1/2 tbs of rice.  Form into a ball, twisting the saran wrap tightly around the ball to shape.  Roll the rice ball in sesame seeds and the crumbled sea weed.  Serve with some soy sauce for dipping.

Since the kids love sushi so much, I thought that it would be fun to try out a similar idea, and sneak some veggies into them while I was at it!  In the past when I've made sushi, I've had trouble getting the rice to be as sticky as it is in Japanese restaurants, so I asked a Japanese friend for some advice.  She suggested pre-soaking the rice, cooking it a bit after it's finished, and adding the dried seaweed.  Thank you M for your suggestions!  It totally did the trick.

Although these rice balls seem somewhat complicated to make, they really were quite simple.  I made the sweet potato in the afternoon, and while that was cooking, I stuck the rice in the rice cooker.  Everything was cooled in time for dinner, so it was fairly easy to form the balls.  The sweet potato was delicious.  I gave J some to eat while I was making the balls, and he asked me for "more candy"!  Clearly he liked it, and clearly he doesn't eat much candy;)

D was impressed with how professional these rice balls looked, and the kids seemed to enjoy them.  D and I actually had a giggle over a moment of silence that was created by the kids eating their meals contently!

On a separate note, you might have noticed that I've been MIA from the blog lately.  We had a nice trip to visit my family, and then I've been busy working on self-publishing my first cookbook!