Fresh Express salad challenge!

When I saw the Fresh Express Salad Challenge [from Foodbuzz], come through my inbox, I knew I had to enter!  Why?

1. I am a salad freak.
2. The winner receives $1,000 towards travel expenses for the Foodbuzz Festival in less than 3 weeks!!

I was excited to actually think about creating a complete salad recipe.  My typical mentality with salads is to throw any + all veggies + beans onto the salad, then top with a quick homemade dressing.

My first instinct was to create a fall-like salad. 

Enter the butternut squash, which is delicious and is extremely tasty after being roasted. 

I peeled the skin off [least favorite part!] then sliced into rounds and got to cubing.  I’ve been feeling the rosemary lately and thought it would compliment the butternut squash along with garlic, salt + pepper.

I needed a bit of contrasting flavor now, so enter the red onion.  While this sucker is pretty potent when raw, sautéing it in a pan mellows it out, into something quite nice.

Presentation was on my mind at the beginning of this salad making adventure as well.  Chopped red onion gives nice contrast, but rings of red onion will look much fancier.  You all know how I like to get fancy. :)

After roasting at 400* for 40min, the butternut squash is fluffy, creamy, and fragrant. 

Time for a simple dressing that will contrast with the savory toppings but not weigh the salad down.

olive oil + balsamic vinegar + apple cider vinegar + honey + salt

Salad completion!

See, I told you the red onions look better in circle form ;)  I sprinkled some of my roasted garlic + rosemary pumpkin seeds on top as well.  Because “crunch” is a necessary part of salads! 

This was enjoyed on top of a fluffy, crisp bed of Fresh Express Spring Mix.

Besides crunch, salads also need a little cheese.  Goat cheese sounded like the perfect match!

Thanks to Foodbuzz + Fresh Express for putting on this challenge, and for the fabulous coupons that I have shared with friends + blog readers.

Lunch tiiiiiiime :)

Roasted Butternut Squash + Rosemary Salad [serves 2-4]

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled + cubed [medium size]
• 2T olive oil
• 1T rosemary, chopped fresh
• 1t garlic powder
• 1/4t salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• goat cheese
• crunchy topping [like roasted pumpkin seeds]

1. Roast butternut squash with 1T olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper at 400* for about 40min, turning once or twice.
2. While squash is roasting, cut onion parallel with the ends, to create circular cuts about 1/2” thick.
3. Over med-low heat, sauté onion rings in 1T olive oil for about 5min per side.
4. Let squash + onions cool for about 5min before topping on salad.
5. Top lettuce with squash, onions, cheese, and pumpkin seeds.
6. Pour on dressing.

Honey Balsamic Dressing [1 serving]

• 1T olive oil
• 1T balsamic vinegar [4% acidity – sweet + thick]
• 1/2T apple cider vinegar
• 1t honey
• pinch of fine grain sea salt

1. Whisk together and pour on salad.

~Ashley

recipeez.

And now for the recipes that go along with my previous post.

Banana Cake [adapted from Mom’s Who Think]

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups cane sugar + 1t
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/2t fine grain sea salt
• 1/4t aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1t vanilla
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3 ripe bananas

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease + flour a 9x13” pan or [2] 8-9” cake pans.
2. In a sauce pan over medium heat, roast the bananas with 1t of sugar for about 5min, stirring/mashing frequently.
3. Puree the bananas until smooth.  [use a smoothie maker, blender, hand blender, etc]
4. Set in the fridge to cool.  When cooled, stir the baking soda into the bananas and set aside.
5. Cream the butter, sugar + eggs until fluffy, in a large mixing bowl.
6. Sift the flour once or twice into a medium size bowl, then add the salt, cinnamon + baking powder to the flour and stir.
7. To the creamed mixture, add the milk and flour mixture, alternating, starting + ending with the flour.  Beat on med-low until just incorporated after each addition.
8. Stir in the vanilla and bananas until just combined.
9. Bake 8-9” pans for 25-30min and 9x13” pan for 35-40min. [toothpick test the cake]
10. Cool on a cooling rack for ~10min, then flip the cake out onto the cooling rack until fully cooled.

[5,000-7,000’ altitude changes]

• I added 2T extra of the buttermilk
• Increased oven temp to 365*
• Lessoned the baking soda to 1/2tsp.

I changed quite a few things around with this recipe.  First, I used King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend.  Cake flour really is where it’s at when it comes to cake baking.  You’ve got to give it a shot!  I upped the vanilla a lot.  It only called for 1/4t, which is how much I put in my oatmeal, LOL.  I think 1tsp was adequate.  I added cinnamon which I think pairs really well with banana.  I didn’t want it to stand out so I kept it at 1/2tsp.  Instead of just pureeing the bananas, I thought caramelizing/roasting the bananas would help to bring the flavor out, as mine were not super ripe.  You might not need to do this if they are very ripe.   I also changed the milk to organic low-fat buttermilk.  When a cake/bread recipe calls for milk [and I’m not trying to use a non-milk product] I almost always choose buttermilk.  It sounds like it must be loaded with buttery fat but really the low-fat is super thick about 120cals + 2.5g of fat for a 1c serving.

How did the banana cake taste?  I was a bit nervous that it would be too much like banana bread or be too strong with the banana flavor, but it was perfect!  The cake was extremely moist and if this make sense…it was fluffy but not airy.  It wasn’t heavy at all…it was just right and the banana flavor was spot on.  Pureeing the banana is a crucial part to making the cake I think.  It adds to the moisture and is more evenly distributed in comparison to banana bread, where sometimes there are still some chunks.  I do not want banana chunks in my cake!  I will definitely make this again and probably not change the recipe much.  Although, if making just banana cake [not paired with the vanilla] I would add more cinnamon :)

Va Va Vanillllaaaa CAKE!

I got this recipe from the back of the King Arthur Cake Flour box and only changed a few things.

• 2 3/4c cake flour
• 1 2/3c sugar [I lessoned the sugar to 1 1/2c]
• 1T baking powder [see note below about baking powder]
• 3/4t salt
• 3/4c unsalted butter, softened
• 4 large egg white, 1 egg
• 1c full-fat vanilla yogurt or whole milk [I used 1c buttermilk]
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1t almond extract [I lessoned this to 3/4t and next time would take it down to 1/2t, this should really be optional]

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease + flour a 9x13” pan, [2] 8-9” cake pans or cupcake pan [for 20-24 cupcakes].
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients on low for 2min.
3. Add softened [not melted!] butter and mix on medium until crumbly.
4. Add egg white and beat until combined.  Add egg and beat until combined.  [scrape the bowl down as needed]
5. Whisk the milk + extracts together.  Then add 1/3 at a time to the dough mixture, beating 1-2min after each addition + scarping the bowl.
6. Pour the batter into the pan[s]. 
7. For 8-9” pans bake for 25-30min.  For the 9x13” pan bake for 23-26min.  For the cupcakes back for 20min.  Toothpick test!

[5,000-7,000’ altitude changes]

• I added an extra 3T buttermilk
• I used 2.5t baking powder
• Set the oven to 365*

How did the vanilla cake taste?  Well, minus the slight baking powder problem the cake tasted great.  It was definitely moist but a tad too dense, although not necessarily in a bad way.  I think once I lower the baking powder it will help a lot.  The flavor was awesome.  I am glad that I lowered the almond extract to 3/4t and next time I might even lower to 1/4-1/2t.  Almond extract is really strong and this is a vanilla cake!  I might play around with adding vanilla beans next time too.  This might have been the best flavored vanilla cake I’ve ever had!!  I can’t wait to play with the recipe more.

*baking powder* The 1T seemed like a lot of baking powder for this 1 cake, even at a lower altitude.  The reason you lower the leavening agent in a higher altitude is because the gases will release earlier causing the cake to rise faster, so the outside will cook quicker and brown faster, leaving the inside raw.  I have heard to decrease the powder by 15-25% when at a 5,000-7,000’ altitude.  By decreasing to 2.5t instead of 1T that lowered it by about 16%, however I don’t think that was enough.  The cake did seem to rise too quickly and it was denser than I was hoping for with a thin line [running through the cake about 1/8-1/4” thick] that was not fully cooked.  Any suggestions on this?  Next time I think I might only put in 1 rounded tsp of powder.  On the Mom’s Who Think blog, they seem to usually use a combo of powder + soda, like with the banana cake.  Suggestions?

Rich + Creamy Butter Cream Frosting…the way it should be ;) [adapted from here]

Personally I hate butter creams that are loaded with powdered sugar and made with shortening [instead of real butter].  I want to enjoy the frosting and not go into a sugar shock overload.  To each their own…but if you feel the same, try this out!  Not to mention, powdered sugar is full of corn starch…you know my whole issue with over processed corn products speech ;)

[will frost [2] 8-9” cakes, 24 cupcakes, or a 9x13” cake…if you like a lot of frosting, 1.5x or 2x it to make sure!]

• 1c unsalted butter, softened
• 1c pure cane sugar
• 4T all purp flour
• 1t arrowroot [optional, will help thicken more, can also sub tapioca starch]
• 1c milk
• 1t vanilla extract

1. Over medium heat, in a small saucepan, cook the milk, flour + arrowroot, stirring frequently with a whisk.  Watch carefully so this does not burn!
2. Cook until a very thick paste-like consistency is reached.  It takes about 10-20min depending on your stove!
3. Let cool to room temp [fridge/freezer helps!]
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar + butter until the sugar has almost completely dissolved and the mixture is fluffy, 3-5min.
5. When the milk mixture has cooled, combine together and beat again until fluffy. 
6. Beat in the vanilla and refrigerate at least 30min to help stiffen the frosting.

Cinnamon Honey Buttercream

• 1c unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2c pure cane sugar
• 1/2c + 2T honey
• 4T all purp flour
• 1t arrowroot
• 1/2t cinnamon

1. Follow directions 1-3 above.
2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter + honey until the sugar has almost completely dissolved and the mixture is fluffy, 3-5min
3. Follow directions 5-6 above.

I normally use sucanat instead of pure cane sugar, which adds a nice complex caramel flavor to the frosting.  I didn’t want to do that with this frosting because I thought there might be too many different flavors going on.  Just keep in mind that when using the sucanat you’ll have to cream the butter + sugar longer because the crystals take longer to dissolve.

For butter cream, this is a winner in my book!  It definitely extremely creamy and thick with a mellow sweetness.  I looooved the honey + cinnamon addition.  You could really taste the honey flavor come through and well, I’m obsessed with cinnamon. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

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CO Bloggers!  Don’t forget to RSVP to the blogger meet-up THIS Saturday!

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Aaaand a big thank you to Katie + Kelli for passing along the Beautiful Blogger award to me a few days ago.  Much appreciated! :)  Their blog idea is totally cute!  They are best friends that went to college together but now live in in Connecticut + Colorado.  They switch off on the blogging, which is so much fun!

Time for bed!!  Lots of kitchen work tomorrow making ota.bars for the charity bake sale winners!

~Ashley

cake.bake.day.

Here is the full documentation of the cake making day.  My apologies for no post yesterday!  We had out of town guests, spent all day at the mountain, went out to a late/long dinner + exhaustion set in.  I had over 200 photos to go through for this! :)

Natalie bought me this tea mug for my bday last year.  I luuurve it.  So pretty!  However, there was coffee inside.

I am loving the Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Granola they sent me!! Slightly sweet + lots of crunch!

I love the texture of fresh ground PB.

Thanks for the granola BRM!!  I don’t even think I’ve tried a Bob’s product that hasn’t met or exceeded my expectations.  I use a lot of their stuff!!

I cannot wait to try this flavor!!

Are you scared to see banana in the mix here??  Don’t be…trust me

Bought these for the first time the other day.  They are pretty tasty!  I would give them a 7-8/10. 

• 3” diameter
• chewy
• good texture from oats + chocolate
• not too sweet
• about 130cals, 2g protein, 2g fiber [appx, don’t have the box in front of me]

A good little snack to hold me over til lunch.  I keep cookies out of the house 95% of the time.  Chris won’t really eat them and I don’t like temptation.  I’m usually good just breaking a little square off a dk. chocolate bar once or twice a day.

I looked over recipes all morning try to decide what to make.  I wanted it to be something fun!  For some reason “banana cake” popped into my head.  But then what to pair with it?  Well, I decided cinnamon + honey go well with banana, so I would try to create a cinn/honey buttercream.  I couldn’t decide if I wanted the other layers to be vanilla or dk. chocolate.  I decided on vanilla, thinking the chocolate might overpower the other flavors.

I really wanted the banana flavor to come through so I pan roasted them with about 1tsp of sugar. 

I mashed them up bit but was planning on pureeing them for a smooth consistency.  If I was making banana bread, I would leave them in the chunky form below.

This hand blender is one of my FAVortie new kitchen appliances.  I use it all of the time and it works perfectly.  It’s a Cuisinart and was only $24 with a coupon for Bed Bath + Beyond.  I use it for salad dressing and soups the most.  It’s great for smoothies or pureeing anything else as well.

hmmmm, WHY do I have this?

Cuisinart is my favorite!  This was the first time using my stand mixer and I loved it.  It was so easy to use!

greased + floured cake pans

Banana cake

Time for lunch!  Stonyfield sent me a bunch of coupons to stock up on Oikos!  These little guys come in a 4pak and are a new flavor along with Caramel I have talked about before.  Both are really really tasty and not too sweet.  The chocolate + caramel flavors don’t have a fake taste at all. 

Topped with BRM coconut granola!  You can tell by the color that the chocolate isn’t too intense.

Lunch: apple + AB, oikos chocolate + granola, sunshine burg + ketchup + cheese

thick.

Time for the vanilla cake!

Both batters tasted EXcellent!     

Buttercream frosting time.  I like the recipe I use because it doesn’t call for 8c of powdered sugar.  The sweetness is not overwhelming at all.  It is a creamy buttery frosting with cane sugar, not powd. sugar.  I subbed out half the sugar for honey.  You could definitely taste the honey when it was done.  I also added cinnamon.  It was my favorite frosting that I have ever made!

va va vanillllaaaa [my fav…i know, boring right?]

frosting.yum.

Carving away at the cake.  I ate half of what I carved away ;) it was so so good!  I really like both recipes that I settled on.  You could definitely taste the vanilla cake which I liked.  The banana flavor didn’t overpower the vanilla.  The banana cake had a great texture.  The vanilla was a little more dense, but I think I ran into an altitude baking issue with it.  I will definitely be playing with the vanilla recipe more, to get the texture right, because the flavor was spot on!

Hmmm…why did I carve some of the cake away?

I dyed some of the frosting orange + green and filled up 2 sandwich bags with it.  I cut a tiny corner from each bag and easily piped on the letters.

I ground walnuts and pressed them into the part of the cake that I carved away.  Then, I pushed in chocolate chunks.

I planned to have her name wrapping down the side.  But what is the chocolate chunk part about?

It’s a rock climbing wall with an overhang of course!!!!  Laura is really into climbing right now, so I wanted to do something fun with that idea and the cake.  Aaaand that is what the Polly Pocket was for.  Although, it was a “beach” themed Polly, so I have to use a sharpie marker to draw pants on her!  hehehe ;)

polka dots around the sides

The chocolate chunks are supposed to be the climbing holds.

Laura gave a BIG “ohhhh my goshhhhh” face when she saw the cake :)

so.purdy.

chug.a.lug.

Laura stole my camera.

Trav made Laura a super creative card on a Mary Poppins record sleeve.  It was adorable.

We ate at BJ’s on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder.  They have delicious deep dish pizza.  I had a small cheese and was stuffed after 2 pieces…and also knew the cake was coming!  Leftovers will be eaten today :)

Attack!!!!! 

I was so glad the cake made it in one piece!  It slid a little but didn’t do any damage!

Travis thought this would be fun, haha.

Laura got them all!

As Travis had to spin the cake around for her….

Her friends sang a super cute + hilarious rendition of “Muskrat Love,” personalized just for Laura!

nom nom nom

The recipes will be on the next post!  Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday…it’s snowing in Denver!  Tomorrow I’m making ota.bars for the 2 winning bidders from the Haiti Relief bake sale that went on a week or so ago.  FUN!

Byeeee

~Ashley