Cookbook author Donna Roe

Zona Lorig and I met Donna Roe for lunch at her new home with her new hair style. We almost didn't recognize her! She is up and walking and doing very well.

Donna continues to promote Tastes & Treasures cookbook, buying 5 more to give to friends. She did a fantastic job co-authoring the cookbook. Zona was also very involved with the editing and the two ladies worked very closely to create this lovely book filled with history, photos and recipes from early Arizona.

Red Velvet Birthday Cake

Good friends getting together over lunch at Chelsea's Kitchen with Red Velvet Cake - It was so rich we shared it. But Zona Lorig and Joan Robinson and myself agreed it was worth it until I found out it may have 1700 calories!!!! must be the tons of frosting they used.
Celebrating Birthdays can be so decadent!

Red Velvet Cake
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

    * 1/2 cup shortening
    * 1 1/2 cups sugar
    * 2 eggs
    * 2 tablespoons cocoa
    * 1 1/2 oz red food coloring
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 2 1/2 cups flour
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla
    * 1 cup buttermilk
    * 1 teaspoon soda
    * 1 tablespoons vinegar

Preparation:
Cream shortening; beat in sugar gradually. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Make paste of cocoa and food coloring; add to creamed mixture. Add salt, flour and vanilla alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Sprinkle soda over vinegar; pour vinegar over batter. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake in 3 8-inch pans or 2 9-inch pans for 30 minutes at 350°.

History:
Although the details are sketchy at best, red velvet cake is not as Southern as many like to think. The story, which began circulating some time in the 1940s, claimed that Manhattan's elegant Waldorf-Astoria granted a diner's request for the recipe, then a short time later sent her a bill in the amount of $100. The angry woman, apparently with revenge in mind, then began circulating the recipe along with the story. Another "baked" legend with the same storyline is the $250 Chocolate Chip Cookie, also known as the Neiman-Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filled Muffins

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filled Muffins

Ingredients for Filling: 


4 oz. fat-free cream cheese 

2 1/2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)

1 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract



Ingredients for Muffins:
2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin

1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)

1/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)

1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups, or spray it with nonstick spray.



To make the filling, in a medium bowl, combine cream cheese with Splenda, and stir until smooth. Add egg substitute and vanilla extract, and stir until uniform.



To make the muffins, in a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.

 In medium-large bowl, combine remaining muffin ingredients, and whisk until uniform. Add to the flour mixture, and stir until just mixed and smooth. (Batter will be thick.) 

Evenly distribute half of the muffin batter among the cups of the muffin pan, and smooth out the surfaces. 



Use a spoon to form an indentation in the surface of each cup of batter, large enough to hold about 2 tsp. filling. Evenly distribute the filling among the indentations. 

Evenly distribute remaining batter among the cups, and smooth out the surfaces.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 16 - 18 minutes. 



MAKES 12 SERVINGS
Thanks to HungryGirl.com for recipe and stats

Serving Size: 1 muffin (1/12th of recipe)
 Calories: 120 
Fat: 0.5g
 Sodium: 240mg
 Carbs: 23.5g 
Fiber: 3.5g
 Sugars: 5.5g 
Protein.
HG Alternative: If made with an equal amount of granulated white sugar in place of the Splenda, each muffin will have 145 calories, 30.5g carbs, and 13.5 sugar.

Salmon Croquettes

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has several great salmon recipes. My favorite is Salmon Tostada on page 32 from historic El Tovar at the Grand Canyon.

This recipe calls for canned salmon but we had leftover from the grill and it worked very well.


Salmon Croquettes
Ingredients:
1 can (1 pound) salmon, drained and flaked
1 cup corn kernels, canned or cooked
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash ground black pepper
3/4 cups soft bread crumbs 

Direction:
Combine flaked salmon with corn kernels, beaten eggs, ketchup, onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Shape mixture into 12 patties. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy skillet; fry salmon croquettes for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until croquettes are golden brown.
Serves 6. If desired, serve with cucumber sauce or cheese sauce.

Pesto and White Bean dip

Easy delicious dips are wonderful for last minute guests. Tastes & Treasures cookbook has several recipes for dips and appetizers.  Here's a good one too.

Pesto and White Bean dip

Ingredients:
2 cans white beans
1/2 cup pesto
squeeze of fresh lemon
salt
pepper to taste

Directions:
Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor. Top with chopped fresh basil.
Serve with pita chips, crackers, and sliced vegetables.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Here's a treat using some delicious wild blueberries.  This recipe makes a blueberry compote with a simple shortbread-like base and a delicious graham crumb crumble topping. Another freezer-friendly recipe to make in advance of your seasonal festivities.

For the shortbread base, combine:

3/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Press into the bottom of a greased and parchment paper lined 9x9 inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add the blueberry compote and crumble topping.

Blueberry Compote Filling

2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)1/2 cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 rounded tablespoons corn starch

Bring the berries and sugar to a gentle boil. Mix the corn starch with the water and add slowly to the boiling berry mixture stirring constantly. Boil gently for 1 additional minutes stirring constantly.

Graham Crumble Topping
In a large bowl toss together:
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar

Using your hands, rub thoroughly through the dry ingredients:

1/2 cups butter, cut in small cubes

Press the crumble mixture together in handfuls so that it holds together and break off chunks of crumble all over the top of the prepared blueberry compote filling. Press down very lightly and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until the top is golden brown. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares or bars. Freezes well.

Kale and Quinoa Salad

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has some unique salads.  Historymaker Eddie Basha gave us Tabouli Salad found on page 130.  

Kale is the popular new vegetable so try something new like this Quinoa and Shredded Kale Salad recipe.

Quinoa and Shredded Kale Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled (prepared according to package directions)
1 cup red or green grapes cut in half
1 1/2 cup shredded kale
3/4 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Shaved Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine quinoa, grapes, kale, feta, and almonds. Mix until well combined.
Add olive oil and lemon juice and toss to fully coat.
Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, top with fresh shaved Parmesan cheese and enjoy!