cooking

Tender Mercies, Ice Cream Edition

September 29, 2011 By Ruth H. Leave a Comment

I am the first to admit that frozen dairy products are a weakness of mine. Especially if they start with a Coldstone and end with a Creamery. And even more especially if they are homemade by my dad, brother, or mother-in-law. This is why I had to move across the country. Because I have no self control.

Anywho, thanks to Pinterest, I can now have my ice cream and eat it, too. And not feel one single bit guilty. See, I discovered this pin (exhibit A in the trial where I prove that I actually intend to do things with my pins):

See where it says 1 banana + 2 tbsp cocoa? I decided if it really was that simple, it must be tried.

After all, do you know what two flavors of ice cream I mix together every single time I visit Coldstone Creamery? That’s right, chocolate and banana. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Healthy in Holland Tagged With: cooking, diet tricks, dieting, healthy eating, healthy treats, ice cream, low-fat treats, Pinterest, recipes

International Food Fun – Week 2

August 24, 2011 By Ruth H. 1 Comment

I embarked on Week 2 of my goal to fix something new! interesting! exciting! international! for dinner with high hopes. Not only was I planning to make something I’d never made before, it’s origins were going to be completely exotic. To top it all off, it was going to be incredibly healthy–no frying involved. Hold on to your hats, folks.

My inspiration? This picture from a recipe I discovered on Pinterest.

New? Check! Interesting? Absolutely! Exciting? For sure–that sauce is called chili sauce! International? All the way from Vietnam! Healthy? With vegetables, seafood, and rice, it better be! [Read more...]

Filed Under: A Taste of Holland Tagged With: asian food, cooking, dinner, easy meals, healthy meals, international food fun, Pinterest, recipes, spring rolls, vietnamese

International Food Fun – Week 1

August 17, 2011 By Ruth H. 4 Comments

With the beginning of a new school year, I have challenged myself to fix one new or unusual food for my family to try each week. I decided to raise the stakes a little higher and make that new food some kind of international dish. We have some picky eaters at our house, so I admit I’m not anticipating a lot of cheering and support from the crowd for this decision. For week 1, I eased the rest of the family into new taste experiences by–ahem–completely breaking the rules. I made something that I have made in the past (only once, and it’s been quite a while) and that originated in the United States. It may not be international, but it is intercultural: Navajo Tacos.

Navajo tacos are a fun twist on traditional taco fare. Granted, they take a little more time to fix than the ones most of us are familiar with, and they aren’t exactly easy on the cholesterol, BUT they make great party food. And we were, um, celebrating our last day of summer before school began, the night we ate these. Here is the way you make them. [Read more...]

Filed Under: A Taste of Holland Tagged With: cooking, dinner, ethnic food, family dinner, family food, food for kids, indian tacos, intercultural food, international food fun, navajo tacos, picky eaters, recipes, tacos

Fresh from the Garden

July 25, 2011 By Ruth H. 3 Comments

Our garden got a late start this year. Luckily, we have a friend who willingly shared the bounty of his garden. He delivered a bag of fresh vegetables.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: A Taste of Holland Tagged With: cooking, Endeavor, garden, recipes, side dishes, summer, summer vegetables, vegetables

Birthday Breakfast

July 15, 2011 By Ruth H. 3 Comments

Today is an important day at our house. We’re celebrating Lily’s birthday! (You can read more about Lily and her birthdays here, here, and here.) Lily’s birthday celebration is traditionally planned by her siblings, Endeaver, Justone, and Superkid. This year, they wanted to have a special breakfast, and requested a very yummy treat.

I made these chocolate crepes for the first time last week, when we were visiting my sister. They were such a hit that we all wanted to have them again. What better day than today? (Recipes are after the pictures, below.)

I’ve learned that crepes are easier to make on an electric griddle, rather than a small frying pan.

You can make more of them at a time, and they are easier to flip. I get a nice circle by pouring the crepe batter onto my griddle with a 1/3 cup measure, and gently guiding the batter into a circle with the bottom of the measuring cup. The wonderful thing about crepes is they don’t need to be perfect to be tasty.

Once the crepes are on our plate, we drizzle on some high-quality chocolate syrup (we used Sander’s Swiss Dark Fudge)

add a few berries

and lots of heavy whipping cream.

Then we roll them up

and drizzle on more syrup and top that with more berries.

So good. But do you know what is even better than chocolate syrup on these luscious crepes?

Buttermilk syrup.

Trust me when I say that you have not truly lived if you haven’t tasted buttermilk syrup. It is divine. It will change your life. (And your waistline, if tasted too frequently.) And it really is a cinch to make.

Try it on chocolate crepes with raspberries.

And cream. (Many thanks to my food stylist, Endeavor.)

Roll the berries and cream up in those crepes and drizzle buttermilk syrup all over them. Try to avoid pouring the buttermilk syrup straight into your mouth.