Author: Lindsey Young

Recipe proves you don’t know ‘lentil’ you try

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date August 6, 2020

Lentil meatballs in curry sauce is a delicious meatless meal with a rich sauce and lots of great, rustic flavors.

Well, I did it to myself again. I noticed a lonely bag of 60-cent lentils sitting at my local grocery store, and I decided to bring them home and figure out what to make with them.

I mean, 60 cents? Who can resist such a bargain?

I’ve only made lentils once before, for a soup, so I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to buy more, but then, of course, I doubled down and chose what appeared to be a pretty involved recipe to use them in.

But let me tell you what: it was so worth it. This was so delicious, so if you’re ready to undertake a cooking adventure with me, I’d encourage you to give this a shot.

The recipe I tried comes from a blog named after its author, “Bianca Zapatka.” You can find the original post at https://biancazapatka.com/en/lentil-meatballs-curry-sauce/. I added some more spices to my version.

Lentil Meatballs in Curry Sauce

Lentil meatballs in curry sauce is a delicious meatless meal with a rich sauce and lots of great, rustic flavors.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword coconut milk, curry, gingerbread, lentils, meatless, red bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, vegan

Ingredients

Meatball Ingredients

1 cup dried lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons dried coriander
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs

Curry Sauce Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil or use olive oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated (or sub 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger)
2 teaspoons cumin
4 teaspoons curry powder
3 large tomatoes diced
1 cup water
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons red chili flakes

Instructions

Cook the lentils according to package directions. (Don’t worry if they get a little mushy—you’re going to process them anyway.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
For the meatballs, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until it’s soft, and then add the garlic and remove the skillet from the heat when it browns slightly.
Add all of the meatball ingredients to a food processor or blender and process to a coarse consistency. There will probably still be some whole lentils in there, and that’s perfectly fine. Taste the filling and add any more spices, if necessary.
If the mixture is too wet to hold together, add more breadcrumbs until it reaches a consistency where it will. Set the mixture aside for about 10 minutes to let it cool down before handling it.
Have a bowl of water handy and shape the mixture with wet hands into about one-inch balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. They can be fairly crowded but not touching. Brush them with some additional olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, turning them halfway through.
While the meatballs cook, start on the curry sauce. Using the same skillet as before, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook them until soft.
Add the garlic, ginger, cumin and curry powder, and stir to combine. Once the garlic is slightly browned, add the tomatoes, water, coconut milk, salt and chili flakes.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Place a lid on the skillet and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until it’s smooth. Pour the sauce back into the skillet and let it cook for a few minutes to thicken a bit, and taste it to see if it needs more seasoning.
When the meatballs are finished, drop them into the skillet with the curry sauce and then serve over cooked rice with some pita or naan bread on the side.

I added quite a bit more spice to my version, because I like spicy curry sauce. If you’re more in the mild camp, I’d encourage you to look up the original recipe and follow those amounts a bit more closely.

This was such a great meatless meal, because you honestly don’t notice that there isn’t meat in it. The “meatballs” aren’t meat-like in consistency at all, but they have great flavor. They’re a bit like a soft hushpuppy.

And while Joey was pretty skeptical watching me cook my lentils, he was totally on board once dinner finally hit the table. My forays into discount shopping sometimes freak him out a bit.

But now I still have half a bag of lentils to try to use. We’ll have to see what I come up with next.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 6, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags coconut milk, curry, ginger, lentils, meatless, onion, red bell pepper, spicy, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian

Uncategorized

It’s ‘butter’ to double check ingredients

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 30, 2020

Coffeecake donuts come together quickly and bake in only about 10 minutes. They're perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk.

One of the habits my mom taught me when I was first learning to bake is to go back through a recipe before popping something into the oven.

Giving each ingredient a once-over to make sure nothing was left out is a good idea, since you inevitably realize you forgot something when the mixture has already been in the oven for several minutes.

Normally, I follow her advice. I skim through the ingredients, creating a mental checklist to make sure I didn’t mess anything up. Of course, I also tend to get in a hurry and forget from time to time.

Such was the case this weekend when I went to quickly bake a batch of donuts for some house guests before they headed out of town.

The donuts were out of the oven, cooling in the pan, when my friend opened the microwave to reveal a little bowl of melted butter that should have been mixed into the donut batter.

The good news: they were still delicious, so I’m going to share this recipe with you even though I didn’t completely follow it correctly.

This recipe comes from the blog “Baker by Nature.” You can find the original at https://bakerbynature.com/coffee-cake-donuts-with-vanilla-glaze/. I added a ton more cinnamon to the recipe and left off the vanilla glaze, because I didn’t think the donuts needed even more sugar and calories.

Coffeecake Donuts

Coffeecake donuts come together quickly and bake in only about 10 minutes. They're perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword baked, cinnamon, coffeecake, donuts

Ingredients

Topping Ingredients

2 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces
1/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Donut Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream I substituted non-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 1/2 tablespoons butter melted
1 egg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a six-well donut baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
In a small bowl, cut together the topping ingredients until it’s well combined into small crumbs.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, sour cream, butter and egg until just combined.
Spoon the batter into the donut pan, distributing it evenly between the wells. Now evenly sprinkle the crumb mixture over the the tops of each donut.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until the donuts spring back when you touch them lightly (mine ended up taking 12 minutes).
Let the donuts cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then gently remove them and serve.

These were really, really good, and I was glad I decided to skip the extra glaze. They were perfect without it.

And even though I left out the butter, they were still tasty. I’m guessing they would have been a bit moister if I would have put it in, but you could probably get away with leaving it out, too, if you wanted.

I learned yet again that it’s important to go over my ingredients list before popping something into the oven. As ever, my mom is always right, even if I did end up with some delicious donuts.

This piece first appeared in print on July 30, 2020.

Tags baked, cinnamon, coffeecake, donuts

Air Fryer Appetizer Side Dish

Fryer lets you ‘air’ in the side of less oil

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 23, 2020

Air fryer potatoes are seasoned simply and made using very little oil.

When I first moved out on my own, one of the first items I acquired for my kitchen was a deep fat fryer.

I’m a sucker for anything fried, but I could eat French fries every day and never get sick of them. Joey makes fun of me, because if there is any kind of variation of fries on a menu, he knows I’m probably going to get it.

Philly cheesesteak fries? Yep. Chili cheese fries? Of course. Fajita steak fries? Yes, please.

Of course, using a deep fryer on the regular is a pretty terrible idea, so my well-loved appliance finally went in the donation pile in September. It was time to say goodbye and not give into deep frying temptation.

But then I got my hands on an air fryer, and while I have managed to stay away from the French fries for the most part, getting to make “fried” foods with very little oil has been extremely appealing.

This week, Joey and I were collaborating on a meal. He was cooking the main dish, and I took on our side. After glancing a few times at the bag of yellow potatoes on our counter, I decided it was time to use the air fryer, but since Joey was making pork chops, I figured fries weren’t quite fancy enough, so I turned to the Internet.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “40 aprons” by Cheryl Malik. You can find the original at https://40aprons.com/air-fryer-potatoes/. I changed up her seasonings a bit.

Air Fryer Potatoes

Air fryer potatoes are seasoned simply and made using very little oil.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Keyword air fryer, garlic salt, potatoes, rosemary

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary

Instructions

Cut the potatoes into about one-inch pieces. You don’t need to peel them unless that’s your preference.
Toss the potatoes in the oil and seasonings until they’re well coated and add them to the basket of the air fryer.
Cook the potatoes on the “fry” setting at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring the potatoes halfway through. Once the potatoes’ outsides are browned and they are fork tender, remove them from the air fryer and serve immediately.

Making these potatoes was really simple, and the flavors and texture were out of this world. The potatoes were soft and creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. It was awesome. Plus, it was so much quicker than making them in the oven, and it didn’t heat up my whole kitchen in the process.

This recipe will definitely be going into my recipe box to make again sometime, and even though they weren’t French fries, they still earned my vote.

I guess I’ll just have to admit I don’t just have a French fries obsession—it’s probably just potatoes in general. But, just like with my deep fat fryer, I’ll have to keep myself in check to keep myself eating healthy.

This piece first appeared in print on July 23, 2020.

Tags garlic salt, potatoes, rosemary

Cookies Dessert

It’s time to get salty about your sweets

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 16, 2020

Salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies combine the sweetness and gooey-ness of chocolate and caramel with the saltiness of pretzels and are a perfect pairing for a glass of milk.

Years ago, when Jimmy Fallon was on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream came out with a flavor called “Late Night Snack,” which was inspired by the show.

The combination was “vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters.”

Being slightly ice cream obsessed, I tried it out, despite the seemingly weird combination, but it was amazing.

I thought about that ice cream recently when I ran across this week’s recipe, and it got me to thinking about that flavor combination. Why is it that sweet and salty go together so well?

So, of course, I looked it up and found a great article from Debra Ronca at “How Stuff Works.”

“Salt isn’t just a nutrient, either,” she writes. “It’s a flavor enhancer. So, it stands to reason that if you mix sugar and salt, the salt enhances the sugar flavor. Chefs call this flavor layering, and the right mix—not too sweet and not too salty—gives your brain a positive biological response.”

If you’re like me and love the combination of sweet and salty, you’re not weird—it’s science. And, if you’re in my camp, then you definitely want to try the cookies I made this week.

This recipe comes from the blog “Two Peas and Their Pod.” You can find the original at https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/salted-caramel-pretzel-chocolate-chip-cookies. I added a little extra vanilla in my version.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Salted caramel pretzel chocolate chip cookies combine the sweetness and gooey-ness of chocolate and caramel with the saltiness of pretzels and are a perfect pairing for a glass of milk.

Course Dessert

Keyword chocolate chips, cookies, pretzels, salted caramel

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt or sea salt
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pretzels chopped
about 11 ounces chewy caramels
about 36 pretzel twists whole
coarse salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth, and then beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pretzels.
Scoop the dough in about two tablespoon scoops and place a caramel piece in the center of each scoop, forming the dough completely around the caramel. (Cut your caramels into about half-inch pieces if they’re the long kind.)
Place the dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them about two inches apart and press a whole pretzel into the top of each cookie and sprinkle each lightly with salt.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool until they are set up enough to remove from the baking sheet and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. (Some of mine were oozing caramel, so I cooled them upside down.)
Store cookies in an airtight container.

Holy moly were these good. They did take quite awhile to set up, and even though I thought I had the caramel very well covered by the dough, it still leaked out of the bottom of almost all of the cookies a bit, so be prepared when you start removing them from the baking sheet.

I had to take these to the office, because Joey and I were going to demolish the whole batch by ourselves if I didn’t. We still ate an embarrassingly large number of them.

As much as people looked at me strangely when I talked about potato chips in ice cream, I still had quite a few takers for these cookies, so maybe times have changed, or maybe there are a lot more secret lovers of salt and sugar than I thought.

This piece first appeared in print on July 16, 2020.

Tags pretzels, salted caramel

Appetizer Main Dish Side Dish

This will make you ‘patty’ yourself on the back for a dinner well done

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 9, 2020

Jamaican beef patties are full of authentic flavors without the hassle of traditional techniques.

A few weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in a good friend’s socially distanced wedding, and in preparation for the big day, I did something I have never done before: get a manicure.

I opted for French tips—a layer of very light pink on the bottom and white for the ends of each nail. It ended up being a pretty decent experience, and I especially appreciated the level of cleanliness and mask wearing the nail salon used.

So, for the last few weeks, I’ve had fancy fingernails, something that’s definitely different for me. I’ve also been amazed at how well they’ve held up. Well, that is until this week’s recipe, when I gave them the ultimate test: exposure to turmeric.

I don’t know what the name for a manicure with light pink on the bottom and orange-ish yellow on the tips is, but I’m sure it isn’t French.

The good news? This recipe was so worth it.

This comes from the blog “Host the Toast.” You can find this recipe at https://hostthetoast.com/3-bite-jamaican-beef-patties/. I didn’t change much outside of using heaping spoonfuls of the listed spices.

Jamaican Beef Patties

Jamaican beef patties are full of authentic flavors without the hassle of traditional techniques.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Caribbean, Jamaican

Keyword ground beef, habenero, onion, puff pastry, Scotch bonnet

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
2 green onion stalks chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 Scotch bonnet pepper or habenero pepper finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 rounded teaspoons thyme
1 rounded teaspoon all spice
1 rounded teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup beef stock
1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
1/2 to 1 teaspoon turmeric

Instructions

Set the puff pastry out about an hour before you’ll need it to let it thaw.
In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onions and pepper until everything is soft and cooked through.
Add the beef, thyme, all spice, curry powder, salt and pepper, stirring regularly until the beef is cooked through. If there is excess fat in the pan, drain it off before the next step.
Mix in the breadcrumbs and then pour in the beef stock. Mix to combine thoroughly. If the mixture is very wet, add more breadcrumbs, and if it is very dry, add a little more beef stock or water. The goal is for the mixture to hold together well but still be moist. Remove the beef mixture from the heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and prepare a muffin tin by spraying it with cooking spray.
Place the pastry sheet on a floured surface and roll it out to expand it by a couple inches on all sides. Sprinkle the entire sheet with turmeric and rub the turmeric around on the sheet to get a good coating.
Cut the sheet into 12 even pieces, and place the pieces, turmeric side down, into the muffin cups. You’ll want to make sure there is some dough hanging over the edge of each cup so you can pull it around the filling and seal it.
Divide the meat evenly into each cup, and then seal each one by pulling the sides of the dough up and pinching them together. If it is not sticking well, try using a little water along the seams.
Flip the sealed beef patty over so the seam is on the bottom.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the beef patties are golden brown.

I actually opted for two habenero peppers for my version, because the ones at my local grocery store were so small, and they were a perfect amount of heat.

We loved these, and the spice combination was fantastic. To go along with our Jamaican beef patties, I decided to slice up a ripe plantain, fry it in some oil and sprinkle it with salt. It was fantastic.

So, my days of fancy nails are over, I’m afraid, although it’s a slow process for me to figure out how one removes gel nail polish, which is apparently much different than the polish I grew up with.

But at least while one set of fingers soaks in acetone, the other can be holding onto a delicious treat.

This piece first appeared in print on July 9, 2020.

Tags all spice, Caribbean, curry powder, green onion, ground beef, Jamaican, onion, puff pastry, thyme, turmeric

Bread Breakfast Dessert

Bread perfect for leftover that was driving me nuts

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 2, 2020

Blueberry pie quick bread, as the name suggests, is a quick recipe that uses fresh blueberries, although frozen will also do.

I have had this block of leftover almond paste just sitting in the back of my refrigerator for weeks.

Every time I would open the fridge, I would just stare at the container, knowing I needed to use it up but not being 100-percent sure how.

But then there were beautiful, fresh blueberries sitting in the produce department at the grocery store, and I knew what I had to do.

So, if you’re wondering, the star in this week’s recipe, for me at least, is the almond paste, because that meant I finally got it out of my fridge and out of my head,. But let’s face it: the blueberries are really king, and this was so, so good that I may have to buy more almond paste and start the whole cycle all over again.

This recipe comes from the blog “Bunsen Burner Bakery.” You can find the original at https://www.bunsenburnerbakery.com/blueberry-pie-bread/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Blueberry Pie Quick Bread

Blueberry pie quick bread, as the name suggests, is a quick recipe that uses fresh blueberries, although frozen will also do.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword almond paste, blueberry, quick bread, sweet bread

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients

2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen, thawed and drained
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Bread Ingredients

1/3 cup butter melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk I used skim
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Crumble Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons butter melted
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup almond paste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
To make the pie filling, combine the filling ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture thickens. Remove it from heat and set it aside.
For the batter, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs and milk, and then beat in the rest of the bread ingredients until it is smooth. Fold in the blueberry filling and pour the batter into the prepared pan. (Leave the mixture swirled rather than mixing it completely for a pretty finished look.)
In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumble, mixing with a fork. Break the mixture into pieces and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the bread.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a moist crumb but not unbaked batter.
Cool completely in the pan before removing. Slice it, and then store the bread in an airtight container.

The original instructions say to only let this cool 10 minutes before trying to remove it from the pan, but my bread broke in half when I tried, and I was lucky enough to get it to adhere back together before I tried again. So even though it’s really, really hard to wait, I’d recommend letting it cool completely.

This bread was full of gorgeous berries, and the almond flavor really paired nicely, as well. If you don’t want to do the crumble on top, you could easily skip it, or I’d recommend finding a cinnamon crumble topping from a Dutch apple pie recipe and trying that, instead, if the almonds don’t sound good.

I’m sure that empty spot in my fridge will soon feature another puzzle of a leftover for me to solve, but for now, at least I finally got that one checked off my list.

This piece first appeared in print on July 2, 2020.

Tags almond paste, blueberry, quick bread, sweet bread

Main Dish Salad Side Dish

Making a cold version of tacos isn’t mission im’pasta’ble

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 25, 2020

Taco pasta salad has lots of taco flavors—from fresh spinach and tomatoes to cheese and salsa—while being versatile enough to be served cold, warm or hot.

I was unloading some groceries a few evenings ago, and Joey came to inspect what I was pulling out of the bags.

Noting that there was a salsa I don’t normally buy, a container of tomatoes and a box of pasta, he immediately asked what new recipe I was trying for dinner.

After being the guinea pig for this column for eight years, he knows an experiment when he sees one.

“It’s a pasta salad,” I told him.

His eyebrows raised. The word “salad” generally comes with things he hates—mostly raw onions and mayonnaise.

“No. This is a taco pasta salad,” I quickly amended.

His eyebrows did not go down. He was not convinced, but he said he’d trust me on this one and waited, eying me suspiciously from the dining room, while I put together my new concoction.

I found this idea when I was looking for a good summer dinner dish, and this recipe is actually a combination of two others, one from Beth Pierce over at “Small Town Woman” and another from Rebekah Garcia at “Amanda’s Cookin’.” And then I added in my own ideas to make one, delicious pasta salad. You can find the two inspiration recipes at https://www.smalltownwoman.com/easy-taco-pasta-salad/ and https://amandascookin.com/taco-pasta-salad/.

Taco Pasta Salad

Taco pasta salad has lots of taco flavors—from fresh spinach and tomatoes to cheese and salsa—while being versatile enough to be served cold, warm or hot.

Course Main Course, Salad

Keyword cheese, ground beef, pasta, salsa, summer, tacos, tomatoes

Ingredients

8 ounces rotini pasta or another small pasta, like macaroni
1 pound ground beef
10 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes halved
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces sharp cheddar cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces pepper jack cut into 1/2-inch cubes
15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup loosely packed fresh spinach leaves cut into ribbons
10-14 ounces mild guacamole salsa or your favorite kind

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain it, rinse it, and set it aside.
In a saute pan, cook the ground beef over medium heat until it is cooked through, breaking it apart as you go. Thoroughly drain all the grease from the pan.
Add the halved tomatoes to the hamburger, stirring regularly, until they begin to release their juices slightly—about three to five minutes—and stir in the taco seasoning and salt and pepper. Once the seasonings are well combined with the meat and tomatoes, remove the mixture from heat and let it cool a bit as you prepare your other ingredients.
In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, beef mixture, cheese cubes, beans and spinach, along with about 10 ounces of salsa. Stir until the salsa coats everything well, and give it a taste. If it seems too dry or needs more flavor, add more salsa until you get your desired consistency and flavor.
Serve immediately at room temperature, serve cold out of the fridge, or heat the mixture in the microwave to serve warm.

On our initial eating of this, we had it at about room temperature—basically the temperature it was when I finally finished mixing it all together.

For leftovers, I ate it cold and loved it. Joey warmed his up and also thought it was pretty good. It would also be delicious to serve it with some avocado cubed up in it, but I think that might be best for serving it cold or room temperature rather than heating it up.

I don’t think I totally sold Joey on the notion of taco pasta salad, but I’m going to vouch for it being pretty darn good. It had some great taco flavor but was also a cool, summer dish, which was really nice for a hot day.

I also thought this would be a nice one to use for a barbecue or picnic, since it doesn’t matter too much if the dish stays cold or gets warm.

I probably should be a little insulted that Joey doesn’t fully trust me after all of these years, but after some of my recipe fails throughout our relationship, I can’t say that I blame him. I think I’d be inspecting any grocery bags coming into the house, too.

This piece first appeared in print on June 25, 2020.

Tags cheese, fresh spinach, pasta, salad, salsa, summer, taco, tomatoes

Cookies Dessert

Butter cookies have toddler tickled pink

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 18, 2020

Pinkalicious cookies are made with a cake mix base, with butter and cream cheese added for a rich, soft cookie.

My folks recently invited all of us over for hot dogs and hamburgers on a Saturday afternoon. We hadn’t all been in the same room since the stay-at-home orders began, and with things opening up and gathering sizes expanded, it seemed like a good time for the seven of us to socialize just a bit.

As I have been doing throughout the quarantine, I sent a video message through my sister to my two-year-old niece, asking her what I should bring for lunch.

The video I received back wasn’t quite what I expected, but I was ready for the challenge.

“Dessert, Lindsey,” she said.

“A dessert? What kind of dessert,” my sister prompted.

“Ummm…pinkalicious,” she said with a grin.

My sister pushed a little more on what kind of pink dessert she meant, and she said “pinkalicous” was another word for pink cookies.

Who knew?

Well, when the niece asks, the aunt must deliver, so this week, I’m sharing with you what was originally called “Gooey Butter Cookies” but has now been deemed “Pinkalicious” in our family.

This recipe comes from the blog “Lil’ Luna.” You can find the original post at https://lilluna.com/recipe-tip-of-the-week-gooey-butter-cookies. I added quite a bit of pink food coloring to get the color I wanted, doubled the vanilla and used sprinkles on some of the cookies in my version.

Pinkalicious Cookies

Pinkalicious cookies are made with a cake mix base, with butter and cream cheese added for a rich, soft cookie.

Course Dessert

Keyword butter, cake mix, cookies, cream cheese, pink, powdered sugar, sprinkles

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 egg
1 box yellow cake mix
pink food coloring to desired hue
powdered sugar or sprinkles for coating cookies

Instructions

Beat the butter, vanilla, cream cheese and egg until the mixture is fairly smooth. Beat in the cake mix and then mix in as much food coloring as you desire.
Chill the batter for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and while the oven is preheating, roll the cookie dough into about one-inch balls and then roll them in a bowl of either powdered sugar or sprinkles. Place the balls about two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown.
Let them cool for a bit to set up before transferring them to an airtight container for storage.

Well, if you’re wondering how these turned out, these were absolutely fantastic. They’re soft and flavorful, and even the grownups were pretty happy to eat some “pinkalicious.”

I actually thought they were even better after sitting in my Tupperware overnight than they were straight out of the oven.

And, after sending the leftovers home with my sister and brother-in-law, I got another video message of my niece, cookie in hand.

“Thank you, Lindsey,” she said into the camera, making me absolutely melt.

My sister accused me of spoiling my sweet niece, but I’m pretty sure that’s my primary job as her aunt. And, if you’re wondering, the toddler decree was that the cookies coated in sprinkles were the best ones.

I don’t know if I’ll always be able to accomplish every kind of food that comes out of her little imagination, but I’m sure going to try.

This piece first appeared in print on June 18, 2020.

Tags butter, cake mix recipe, cream cheese, pink, powdered sugar, sprinkles

Dessert

Amazing cake recipe is raising the ‘barb’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 11, 2020

Rhubarb cake is sweet and moist and features the flavors of coconut and cinnamon along with fresh rhubarb.

A couple years ago, my folks moved into a house that had a huge garden of rhubarb in the backyard.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if that was an even trade for missing out on the mulberry trees I used to be able to exploit at my childhood home, but I’ve been meaning to figure out what to do with rhubarb since they moved in.

So, a couple weekends ago, my mom helped me chop off a bunch of long stalks, and I brought them home to see what I could do. After letting them sit in my fridge for a bit, I decided to try a cake from my recipe box that I’d never made before, one from my paternal grandma and one I can’t remember the last time I got to have.

And it was awesome.

The recipe I’m sharing this week comes from my grandma, Tillie Miller. I can’t tell you where she got it originally, but it was my grandpa’s favorite, and I think she made it long enough that it became her recipe. I did add a little extra cinnamon and vanilla in my version.

Rhubarb Cake

Rhubarb cake is sweet and moist and features the flavors of coconut and cinnamon along with fresh rhubarb.

Course Dessert

Keyword cake, cinnamon, coconut, German frosting, moist, rhubarb

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

1 cup rhubarb diced finely
2 cups sugar divided
2 cups flour
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 cup milk with about 1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup coconut
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped nuts I used walnuts

Instructions

Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the rhubarb in a bowl with 1/2 cup sugar and set it aside while combining the other ingredients. (If you’re worried about how sour your rhubarb is, give it a taste before adding the sugar. Mine was especially tart, so I added a few extra tablespoons of sugar just to be sure.)
Beat together the flour, remaining sugar, oil, egg, sour milk, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla until well-combined. Mix in the rhubarb.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
When the cake is almost done, combine all of the ingredients for the frosting in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the butter is melted and everything is well-combined. Pour the frosting evenly over the cake while it is still warm.
Store the cake in an air-tight container.

Despite having a particularly tart crop of rhubarb, this cake was sweet and delicious, with tons of fruit flavor along with coconut and cinnamon. We really enjoyed it, and my dad gave it his stamp of approval, too, so I think I did OK.

I tend to avoid rhubarb a lot of the time, since I’m not a big fan of sour fruits, but I really liked this. It had fantastic flavor.

I guess this means I might need to harvest a few more stalks from my folks’ garden this summer to try some other new recipes. I apparently like rhubarb more than I thought. I’m still really missing that mulberry tree, but a big slice of cake on my plate is helping me get over it.

This piece first appeared in print on June 11, 2020.

Tags cake, cinnamon, coconut, fresh fruit, German frosting, moist, nuts, rhubarb

Main Dish

Have dinner ‘tortellini’ figured out this week

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 4, 2020

Pesto chicken tortellini and asparagus uses some pre-made ingredients to allow quick cooking with fresh and colorful vegetables.

Over the course of our marriage, Joey and I have developed a special ritual, where each of us tries to be the first one to ask, “What do you want to eat?” before every meal, as though the person who asks first is absolved from having to do any choosing.

I mean, the answer is nearly always, “I don’t know,” but we still try it every meal, every day, with very few exceptions.

He was a little shocked last week, then, when I said, “Hey, don’t worry about dinner tonight. I have an idea.”

I knew he was going to be stuck at the office late, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to try a new recipe and hopefully have it ready for him when he got home.

Well, let me tell you, it was a huge hit, and if you or someone you know is cultivating a vegetable garden this summer, this is a great recipe to try out.

This comes from the blog “Julia’s Album.” You can find the original at https://juliasalbum.com/one-pan-pesto-chicken-tortellini-and-veggies. I added garlic salt and more pesto to my version.

Pesto Chicken Tortellini and Asparagus

Course Main Course

Keyword asparagus, basil pesto, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, tortellini

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless chicken thighs or breasts cut into strips
garlic salt to taste
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained and chopped, divided
1 pound asparagus stalks cut in half
3/4 cup basil pesto
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
1 cup cheese tortellini fresh or frozen

Instructions

In a large skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Season the chicken with garlic salt and add it along with 1/4 cup of the sun-dried tomatoes to the pan, sauteing for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Transfer the chicken and tomatoes to a plate, season the asparagus with garlic salt and add it to the pan (add a little more oil, if necessary). Also add the other 1/4-cup of sun-dried tomatoes.
Cook for another 10 minutes until the asparagus reaches your desired doneness (I like mine very tender, so I added about four tablespoons of water and put the lid on the skillet to steam cook it for a bit, too.)
While the asparagus cooks, cook the tortellini according to package directions and drain.
Remove the asparagus from the skillet, and cover it to keep it warm.
In the skillet, add the chicken, pesto and tomatoes. Stir continuously to allow the chicken to reheat and let the tomatoes release some juice.
Add in the tortellini and stir to combine.
Serve the chicken mixture along with a serving of the asparagus.

This had amazing flavor and was gorgeous on the plate. I also really liked that, while it looked complicated, it used enough pre-made ingredients that it was easy to put together. It was also awesome as leftovers later on, which I always appreciate about a recipe.

Joey was extremely grateful to have dinner on the table when he got home and to not have to endure yet another discussion about what we wanted to eat.

The only problem is now that I’ve shown my ability to choose a meal, I have to be extra quick about being the first to ask Joey what he wants to eat. Otherwise, it may become my job every day, and I just don’t think I’m ready for that responsibility.

This piece first appeared in print on June 4, 2020.

Tags asparagus, basil pesto, chicken, fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tortellini