the last bite

In my personal opinion, the most important part of a meal is almost always dessert. While the first bite of your meal sets the tone for the rest of the meal, it's that last bite that you take at the end of your meal that leaves you with the memory of the meal. No matter how good or bad your meal was, if you end on a high note, you'll always remember it that way. Often, people discount or discredit dessert, but if you're dining with me, you'll always get dessert. Nothing is better than ending your meal on a sweet note. I love having something sweet at the end of every meal, and especially when I have friends over, I always make dessert (plus, it gives me an excuse to bake something new and share it with others so I don't eat it all myself!)

Last weekend, my roommate and I had some of our friends over for dinner. My roommate and I are both adventurous in the kitchen, as are many of our friends. For dinner, we had a trip to Mexico --fish tacos, fresh guacamole, spiced Spanish potatoes, fresh tomato and corn salad, and more. It was so incredibly delicious that I knew I had to make something awesome to end the meal on a high note. My roommate decided to make chocolate filled strawberries (think chocolate covered strawberries, but inside out), and I knew i wanted to go with something fresh and citrus-y to top off our amazing Mexican meal. Not making something with chocolate is a big step for me, but I am always trying to expand my expertise and make all of my guests happy.

This pound cake turned out pretty much perfectly. It was just perfectly browned, incredibly moist, and full of flavor. Served with whipped cream and a few chocolate filled strawberries on the side, and you have the most delicious dessert south of the border. Both decadent and fresh at the same time, this was the perfect way to end our meal. Try making this recipe, and I promise, it will be good to the last bite.

Orange Pound Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups gf flour mix (ap flour would work nicely here as well)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tsp fresh orange zest
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt

light and fluffy butter and sugar gives the cake major volume!

perfectly baked

moist and delicious

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until very light and fluffy (about 8 minutes)
Scrape down the bowl and beat for 1 more minute
Add the vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest
Add in the eggs one at a time until all combined
With the mixer on low, add the salt and then gradually add in the flour, scraping down the bowl as needed
Pour the batter into a 4 1/2x 8 1/2 inch loaf pan, buttered and floured
Bake for 65 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the center
Let cool on a wire rack
Slice and enjoy!!

the perfect last bite.

team usa

I have to admit, I love the Summer Olympics. I am totally a sucker for every single last bit of Olympic coverage- from the family sob stories, to the pre/post game coverage, to the incredibly feats of strength, speed, and stamina of the Olympic athletes. In summers past I have been away at camp and I was never able to watch the entire two weeks of wonderfulness, but this summer I was watching the Olympics in full force. I couldn't be a bigger fan of team USA-there is something so exciting about athletes putting their all into representing your country. I made sure to tune into all of the events from the crazy (decathlon), to the graceful (gymnastics), to the extreme (Olympic marathon), to the plain weird (doubles synchronized swimming?!). The most amazing part of it all, is that no matter the extreme or crazy levels of the event, every single athlete really puts in their all to achieve greatness. Whether it was making a PR (personal record), breaking an Olympic record or a world record, achieving a great milestone for a country, or winning a gold medal, there were so many special moments in this summer's Olympics.

From day one at the opening ceremonies, I was hooked. One of my friends hosted an Olympic-themed dinner at her apartment. So many countries were represented by the incredible amounts of food that were made by all of the guests. Team France showed up in baked brie, Team Greece represented in Greek salad, Team Mexico was represented in black bean burgers, Team Israel represented by bourekas, and the list goes on. I volunteered for Team USA and opted for making dessert (shocking, I know!)

decorations courtesy of 1 amazing teacher's students!

I chose to make red, white, and blue fruit salad, with blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream. I also decided to make red velvet cupcakes with red, white, and blue cream cheese frosting--what could be more American than that?! Needless to say, they were super delicious and represented team USA very well. They were a great asset to the opening ceremonies, and definitely set the tone for the rest of the Olympics for the USA! While I'm sad that they're over, there's always another games in four years--See you in Rio!!

go america!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (regular ap flour will work here too)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tbsp red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

amazing red batter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder
With your electric mixer on medium speed, mix together the sugar and oil until combined
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully mixed into the batter
Mix in the food coloring and vanilla, scraping down the sides to fully combine
Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients
In a small bowl, stir the baking soda and vinegar together
Add to the batter and mix for 10 seconds
Scrape down the sides and pour batter 3/4 of the way into 24 lined cupcake tins
Bake for about 20 minutes and allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting

baked in silver...

but with gold medal taste!

12 oz softened cream cheese
8 oz (2 sticks) softened butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
blue and red food coloring (color to your preference)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together on high until smooth
Add the sugar in small batches at a low speed until fully combined
Mix frosting on high until light and fluffy
Add food coloring as you like (a few drops should do the trick if you separate it into smaller batches to dye!)
Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!!

beautiful and delicious!

see ya in Rio!!

a fresh fiesta

As you well know, I love the farmer's market. This time of year I basically do all of my produce shopping there. Everything is simply so sweet and fresh, I just can't get enough. Plus, everything is incredibly reasonably priced and as fresh as you can get. A word to the wise, be sure to go on an empty stomach! Seriously, every time I go to the green market I must eat an entire salad, with a fruit salad on the side. This week some of the most delicious things I tasted were amazing heirloom tomatoes, sweet cherry tomatoes, yummy sauteed peppers, berries (blue, black, and rasp!), the first apples of the fall season, and the sweetest most amazing peaches, nectarines, and plums I have ever had. No joke, I seriously ate a ton. There are also tons of bread and cheese samples, jam and cracker samples, and even lamb merguez samples (to the delight of my boyfriend).

One of my favorite things to buy this time of year is sweet summer corn. Not only is it amazingly delicious when roasted or grilled, but it is so delicious eaten fresh. I absolutely love tossing it in at the end of a saute, topping a salad off with it, or making some delicious corn salsa. Right off of the cob, there is something so delicious about sweet yellow-white corn.

The best thing about it this time of year is that you can get it so inexpensively at the farmer's market. Some places have it for $1 an ear or even 50 cents an ear, but at my favorite stands you can get 5 ears for $2! Best deal ever. I'm so happy that corn has stayed so inexpensive at New York and New Jersey farms this summer, since all around the country corn prices have been sky rocketing. Sadly, due to the incredible drought that has been wreaking havoc on the crops across America. Unfortunately this means rising grocery, meat, and corn prices. While lately there has been some rain, much of the crops across the nation were killed off by this summer's extreme heat wave. I am very thankful, and happy for the tri-state area farmers, that their crops were able to survive. So many people's livelihoods depend on their delicious crops they sell weekly, which another one of my favorite reasons to buy local.

The other night, I had three wonderful girls over to my apartment for dinner. All three spent their summers interning in the city in between their sophomore and junior years of college. I loved having them here, and this was one last time of us getting together. While I'll miss them in the city, I know they'll be back to visit! I decided to make an amazingly fresh and delicious meal, highlighted by all of my amazing produce from the green market, and topped off with some fresh corn. Check out the local produce near you, and have a fiesta for yourself!!

Fresh Corn and Summer Squash Tacos

1/2 large onion, chopped
2 medium sized summer squash, chopped into 1 1/2 inch long matchsticks (any type will do- I used patty pan here)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
2 large ears of corn (taken off the cob)
8 soft corn tortilla shells
1 large heirloom or beefsteak tomato
1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1-2 cups fresh guacamole (ours was made by one of my amazing guests!!)

deliciously fresh

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium high heat
Add the onion to the pan and allow to cook for a few minutes before adding the squash to the pan
Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika
Once cooked for about 7 minutes, add the corn and cook for 1 more minute before removing from heat
Warm the tortillas in a different saute pan over medium-low heat until they begin to warm and the sides begin to curl slightly
Remove tortillas and build your taco (see a few pictures for inspiration!)
Enjoy!

build your own taco

fiesta in your mouth!