I think I may have just made the best pesto I’ve ever tasted. So let me tell you all about it. Just wow.
PISTACHIO MINT BASIL PESTO 1 cup basil, loosely packed 1 cup mint leaves, same
1 large clove garlic (or two smaller cloves) 1/4 cup Wonderful Honey Roasted pistachios 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano juice and zest of one lemon
Add all ingredients to food processor bowl. Process till smooth.
It IS that easy being green! 💚How freakinG adorable are these?! 🍅
Tonight, I cubed a thick slice of deli ham, added the cutest little tomatoes I’ve ever seen, some tiny fresh mozzarella balls and tossed with pasta and a few tablespoons of pesto. And dinner was served — quickly and deliciously!
It’s the beginning of a heatwave, amici! Stay cool and enjoy low-effort fresh meals like this one! ♥️🍃
When life gives you lemons, it’s the perfect time to make these soft, pillowy treats. Let’s bake our own sunshine, shall we? 🌞 It’s easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy! 🍋
LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES
Zest of 1 lemon 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup Mazola corn oil 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rub lemon zest into granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add oil and stir.
Blend in one egg at a time, then add lemon juice and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then stir into lemon mixture.
The dough’s much easier to handle chilled. Just pop it in the fridge for an hour or so.
Roll 2 tablespoons of dough (I use my silver cookie scoop) in a heaping 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, then a heaping 1/4 cup of powdered sugar.
Bake on parchment for 10 minutes total. I bake two sheets (no, not to the wind 😝), then at the 5-minute mark, swap top to bottom, bottom to top, and turn each sheet back to front. You’re good at math — that leaves five more minutes, then it’s cookie time!
How many do they make? I keep forgetting to count, so you tell me! 😹 No, seriously, you’ll get 20 delightful lemon crinkles.
Hiya! I’m still here — and happily still baking. 😻 Hope you are, too.
Here’s a new favorite — my *mostly* vegan banana bread. Mostly vegan, completely delicious.
KATTY’S MOSTLY VEGAN BANANA BREAD
4 very ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup corn oil
1/4 cup oat milk (I love Oatly)
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/4 cup chocolate chips (here’s why it’s mostly vegan, surely there are vegan cc’s, too)
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2-3 tablespoons Baker’s coconut (optional)
Mash bananas with bourbon. Stir in vanilla and sugars. Stir in oil and oat milk. Combine dry ingredients separately. Add to wet. Before wet/dry ingredients are combined completely, add chocolate chips.
Portion into oiled mini loaf pans. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and a bit of cinnamon. Even a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top is nice.
Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes. Enjoy! And see you again sooner! 🐈⬛
I think I did it again!I made a true pumpkin version of my CCCs. They keep their crispy outside/chewy inside texture, but add the flavors — and even a touch of color — of fall. Yes, even a bit of bourbon. 🥃
KATTY’S PERFECT PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (CCCs)
1 stick butter (salted), softened 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon cloves 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup turbinado sugar ¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon bourbon 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree 3/4 cup chocolate chips sea salt to sprinkle as a finishing touch
Cream the butter and the sugars until light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Combine egg yolk, pumpkin, bourbon and vanilla. Mix with butter/sugar just till incorporated. Scrape down the bowl again.
Sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices into a separate bowl. With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients. Mix only until combined: do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.
If you can wait (!), refrigerate the dough overnight, or better still, for 24-36 hours. People say it makes ’em better.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven. I used an ice cream scoop to portion the dough. Space them 2 inches apart. I made 19 big, beautiful cookies with a remainder of dough that didn’t quite make one more. But tasted so yummy raw! Shhhh. Our secret.
Now that you have light, airy focaccia in your recipe repertoire, how about some creamy, fussy hummus to dip with it? I made hummus differently years ago. Here’s the new, improved ultra-creamy version. It just takes a few more steps. And it’s worth it!
CREAMY, FUSSY HUMMUS 2 15.5 oz. cans chickpeas – reserve liquid from one can, then drain and rinse all the chickpeas 1 tablespoon baking soda 1 teaspoon epazote 2 cloves garlic, pressed zest and juice of two lemons (this gave me more than 1/3 cup, but less than a half cup of juice) 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 cup tahini 2 tablespoons lemon olive oil, more to garnish when you serve 3 tablespoons reserved liquid from the chickpeas can (aquafaba) 2 ice cubes
Zest and squeeze two lemons. Press two cloves of garlic into the lemon juice. This’ll take a bit of the bite out of the garlic.
Meantime, cover the chickpeas with water in a pan, add the baking soda and epazote. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Then drain the cooked chickpeas and rinse with cool water.
Add the chickpeas back to the pan. Add garlic, lemon, zest, salt, cumin, tahini, olive oil and reserved liquid from the can. Use a stick blender to whip into creamy deliciousness. Once well blended, add one ice cube at a time and whip it up some more.
When you plate the creamy, fussy hummus, drizzle with a bit more lemon olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Serve with veggies, focaccia or crackers to enjoy. Cheers to good health and even better taste!
So many things to make and dip into — and in walks focaccia to say, “I can help with that!” I recently baked someone else’s recipe, then used it as a template for my own dough. It’s so easy and so good! Let’s do it! FOCACCIA 1 cup warm (not hot) water 1 teaspoon light brown sugar Dissolve sugar into warm water. Then add: 1.5 teaspoons yeast Give the yeast about 15 minutes or so to activate. While you wait, combine: 1 1/4 cups bread flour 1 1/4 cups 00 flour (I use King Arthur 00 pizza flour) 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
At the 15-minute mark, add: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Then add the combined dry ingredients and stir till a sticky dough forms. Shape it in your hands for a minute or so to form a ball, then coat with olive oil and let rest in a bowl large enough so it can double in size. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for the next couple of hours.
When it’s time to bake, generously coat a 12″ cast iron skillet with olive oil, then turn the dough into the pan. Pat it into the pan so it covers the bottom. Use your fingers to dimple the surface, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Add whatever other toppings you like.
So far, I’ve just added rosemary, but you could add tomatoes, olives, onions, peppers. Some people get creative and elevate focaccia to an art form! Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rise another 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes after the final rise. Slice, find something tasty to dip into (hummus, anyone?) and enjoy.
Trying to stay cool? I’ve got just the pink drink for you — lavender pink lemonade! Next time, I’m doubling the recipe. It’s so damn good!
KATTY’S LAVENDER PINK LEMONADE
Simple syrup: First. make a simple syrup: 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water Stir, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add: 1.5 tablespoons dried lavender peels from 2 lemons (washed, no kidding, HA HA) 3 raspberries, smooshed 2 strawberries cut into small pieces (I used a potato masher to smoosh them further in the pan) Let this steep in a covered pan for 45 minutes or so. Meantime, get a pitcher and …
Juice 4 large lemons. This yielded 1.25 cups of lemon juice for me. Pour juice over a sieve into a pitcher. Once simple syrup is ready, pour it over a sieve into the pitcher. Add three cups of cold water. Combine and enjoy over ice!
Stay cool, amici! The summer of 2022 is one for the books for sure — one I look forward to closing! >>^..^<<
Remember those turkey burgers Oprah once raved about? I fondly remember a funny thread about turkey burgers that were moist and didn’t suck on the (now defunct) food lovers’ site, Chowhound. Having made these, I recommended them. The original poster kept complaining about how turkey burgers are dry and lack flavor. Well, these are moist and delicious! That guy should’ve listened! HA HA.
If you’ve ever searched for the famous recipe online, you’ll note it calls for FOUR POUNDS of turkey. That’s likely more than most of us need to make. So, using that recipe as a starting point, I skinnied it down to use just one pound. Perfect for “now and later” burgers for you and a friend (or your mom, same diff).
I meant to buy a Granny Smith apple, as the original recipe calls for. As is my way, I went to the store and forgot to buy one — and didn’t realize till it was time to make dinner! So I substituted a donut peach. I think apple, peach or pear would all work nicely in the recipe. So whatever you feel like finely chopping a half cup of, there you go.
KATTY’SFANCY TURKEY BURGERS adapted liberally from a much more famous recipe And you get a turkey burger! And YOU get a turkey burger!
1-2 teaspoons (who measures? enough to coat the bottom of a small pan) avocado oil — could also use olive oil or corn oil 1 scallion, thinly sliced 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 1/2 cup donut peach*, chopped the same size as the celery (*or Granny Smith apple or pear) 1 pound ground turkey 1 teaspoon sea salt black pepper 1 teaspoon Cholula chipotle hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choice) zest of one lemon juice of just a quarter of the lemon 1 tablespoon Major Grey’s chutney (barring this, you might add apricot or mango jam — you’ll just miss the ginger component) handful of parsley, finely chopped
Sautée scallions, celery and fruit (peach, apple or pear) in bit of oil over medium heat till softened. Remove from heat and let cool a bit as you gather the rest of the ingredients. Combine turkey, salt, pepper, hot sauce, lemon juice, zest, parsley and chutney with the sautéed ingredients from the pan. Don’t overmix. Divide into four equal portions, then form patties. Cook over medium heat about 3.5 to 4 minutes per side.
In case you’re not following Katty’s Kitchen on social media, you may have missed I’m on a path toward better health and lower cholesterol. While I didn’t think it would be quite as delicious as it turned out to be, I’m happy to tell you I was so wrong! So, if you didn’t think turkey burgers were your thing, try this recipe. Even my mom said, “We don’t have to eat hamburgers” after we had these. Cheers to happy, healthy eating! Stay cool, amici!
Inspired by seasonal fruit and fellow gin drinkers, I shook up my own satsuma mandarin sour. Vermont’s Barr Hill Gin, with botanicals of juniper and raw honey, makes it extra special EXCELLENT. While satsumas are in season–winter, the season of our discontent–look for fruit with leaves still attached. This shows they’re not just picked and handled with care, but also fresh and of the highest quality. You can store them at room temperature or in the fridge.
SATSUMA MANDARIN SOUR 1 oz freshly squeezed satsuma mandarin (about one piece of fruit, you can cut off the ends for a garnish) 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon) 1/2 oz honey syrup (a 1:1 ratio of water to honey–my favorite variety is acacia from Smiley Honey) 2 oz Barr Hill Gin
Combine in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, strain, enjoy–orange you glad you did? AH AH AH!
My mom has proclaimed these cookies “better than snickerdoodles.” She’s not wrong. Try them!
EGGNOG SNICKERDOODLES Adapted from the New York Times
For the cookie dough 3 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1 large egg plus two yolks, at room temperature (tip: place eggs in warm water as you gather ingredients) 2 tablespoons rum (I used Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum–highly recommend!)
For rolling 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, 1 3/4 cup sugar and the Kosher salt on medium high till smooth and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes total. Stop and scrape down a few times during this cycle to ensure everything’s evenly incorporated.
Set mixer to medium. Add each egg/yolk one by one and combine thoroughly before adding the next. Add rum. Beat another minute or two.
Set mixer to low. Add flour mixture gradually, in 3-4 batches. Beat till combined. Set dough aside for about 10 minutes before prepping to bake.
In a small bowl, combine nutmeg, cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar for rolling. I used a scoop just under 2 tablespoons (1 oz) to portion the dough.
What size scoop?
This size scoop! >>^..^<<
Roll each cookie in spiced sugar. Transfer to cookie sheets, three across. Bake for 7 minutes, then switch racks/positions and bake for 7 more. They’ll be slightly puffed. Let cool on the cookie sheet a bit before moving to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 32 delicious cookies–AH AH AHHHH!
That’s 3 + 29 delicious cookies. Nevermind the apples!!!
Katty's Kitchen 