I have never won a contest and I don’t plan on entering one anytime soon. But my friend Mary Bilyeu is one of those very talented folks who is not only a great cook and baker, but she also has a knack for winning those cooking contests that encourage you to be creative with a sponsor’s product. Mary has won (or been a finalist) in more cooking contests than I can count, she is such a winner! Last May, she was featured on the CBS New Early Show presenting her prize winning Cappuccino Cupcakes which took the top prize in the Taste of Home national recipe contest. Check it out at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/24/earlyshow/living/recipes/main2850080.shtml

Recently, she brought yet another honor to Ann Arbor as the first place winner of the Near East Recipe Contest with a dessert using plain couscous. I’ve reprinted it below, I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Toasted Almond Coconut Pudding

Submitted by Mary Bilyeu of Ann Arbor, MI

Bilyeu’s recipe won over the judges with its subtle flavors, unexpected texture and versatile taste when served either warm or chilled.

• 1 can (13.5 oz) lite coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups water, divided
• 1 package (10 oz) Near East Original Plain Couscous
• 3/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1/4 C cornstarch
• 1 t salt
• 2 C half and half
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 t rum extract
• 1/2 t almond extract
• 1/2 C sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/2 C sweetened, shredded coconut, toasted

1. In 2-quart microwave-safe bowl, combine coconut milk and ½ cup water. Cook on HIGH 5 minutes until boiling. Stir in couscous. Cover bowl and let stand.
2. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt and remaining 1 cup of the water in 2 ½-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When mixture begins to thicken, reduce heat; whisk in half-and-half. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Place eggs in small bowl and whisk in ½ cup of hot half-and-half mixture. Pour egg mixture into saucepan and continue to cook custard 1 to 2 minutes until very thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in extracts.
4. Fluff couscous; pour custard over and stir to combine, breaking up any lumps. Transfer to serving bowl.

8-10 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes

NUTRITION INFORMATION: 1/8 of recipe Calories 400, Calories From Fat 140, Total Fat 16g, Saturated Fat 8g, Cholesterol 75mg, Sodium 360mg, Total Carbohydrates 57g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Protein 10g.

©Copyright The Quaker Oats Company, 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Now that we are finishing up our Thanksgiving weekend, it’s time to go through the post holiday ritual of putting away all the winning recipes and trashing the less successful ones. One of the new desserts we tried this year that received rave reviews was a pudding cake. If you haven’t had pudding cake before (is that possible?), this is a good one to try to initiate you to the pleasure of this classic comfort food. It’s a no fail dessert and it is dairy free for those of you on special diets. This gingerbread version was new to me, but it will now become a standard since the kids liked it so much. It yields a moist spicy cake with lots of syrupy pudding underneath. Give it a try.

Gingerbread Pudding Cake Bon Appetit December 2007

6 serving

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (I used margarine)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons beaten egg (from 1 egg)
• 1/2 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Whipped cream (or non-dairy vanilla ice cream or topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter 8×8x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in egg. Stir molasses and 1/2 cup water in 1-cup glass measuring cup. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 2 additions alternating with molasses mixture, beating to blend between additions. Transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle brown sugar over.

3. Stir 1 1/2 cups hot water and melted butter (I omitted butter) in 2-cup glass measuring cup. Carefully pour over top of batter (there will be lots of liquid on top of cake). Bake until gingerbread is cracked on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Scoop warm pudding cake into shallow bowls. Serve with whipped cream.

Hi folks,

It’s been a long time since I’ve written. August was so busy. Now that school has started we are enjoying the return of our usual routine. I’m looking forward to offering you healthy, quick cooking, meal kits very soon. I’m sure you will enjoy the innovative new menus loaded with bright, tasty foods, especially the new Mediterranean entrees. Look for new side dishes we’ve developed using the bounty of late summer and early fall produce. As always, you can expect the finest quality fresh ingredients with emphasis on local produce and products.

In going through my recipes, I discovered a little treasure that I had forgotten about. Many years ago there was an article in Cooking Light magazine that described simple snack cakes that you can quickly make from scratch in a single bowl. These cakes are so simple to make because you don’t need to cream butter and sugar separately and then mix dry ingredients separately, etc. Using this special recipe, you basically just mix everything together in the specified order and in about 10 minutes your cake is in the oven. Only one bowl and one whisk to clean up. The downside is that they have a pretty high fat and sugar content. I have successfully replaced the eggs with egg substitute. Next I’ll try replacing some of the butter with canola oil or applesauce. If anyone experiments and comes up with a good ‘lite’ modification to the recipe, please send it to the blog so we can all try it.

Though I love to cook, I’m not usually an enthusiastic baker, but there is something about the start of school that always inspires me to bake for my kids. If you’re looking for a quick ‘scratch’ snack cake recipe this is the one for you. I’ve given the chocolate cake recipe below, but the article had several other recipes, that I’d also be happy to share if you’re interested [Blueberry-Pecan Cake; Spicy Molasses Cake; Black and White Cake; Rum Raisen Applesauce Cake; Pineapple Upside Down Cake].

Enjoy a wonderful week,

Ellen

Devil’s Food Cake Excerpted from Cooking Light (p. 104, 2001).

Makes one 8×8 cake

• 2 t all-purpose flour
• 5 T butter
• ½ C Dutch processed cocoa
• 1 C packed dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ t baking soda
• 1 ½ t vanilla extract
• ¼ t salt
• ¾ C all-purpose flour
• ½ C hot water
• 2 t instant coffee granules
• 1 T powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350º degrees.

Coat an 8×8” square glass baking pan with cooking spray, dust the pan with 2 t flour.

Place butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until butter just melts. Add cocoa, stirring well with a whisk. Add brown sugar, stir well until mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring with the whisk with each addition until smooth. Stir in baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Lightly spoon ¾ C flour into dry measuring cups, leveling with a knife. Gradually add flour to the bowl, stirring just until blended (do NOT over stir). Combine hot water and espresso. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350º for about 25 minutes or until cake tester is clean. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

I thought I’d use this blog to share quick prep recipes and other helpful cooking and food tips.  One cookbook that I am using for some of my summer recipes is Peter Berley’s book:  Fresh Food Fast (Regan Books, 2004) Copyright 2004 by Peter Berley. 

Check it out, it’s a pretty book for your collection.  I think that you will find it has some wonderful recipes using common ingredients in creative ways.  It is organized by season, so you can be sure to use Michigan fresh produce that is readily available now and LOCAL.  The book even gives you shopping lists, if you’re the organized type (not me!). Speaking of LOCAL, I’ve been trying to use as much local produce in our meal kits as I can find at a reasonable cost.  If you are also getting into the ‘local’ movement, you will find the Local Harvest website an invaluable resource for tracking down local products:  http://www.localharvest.org/ 

Here is a recipe from Berley’s book that I think you will enjoy as a great summer dessert using Michigan blueberries.  Don’t let the ‘Soufflé’ scare you away.  There are no egg whites to beat, and nothing to fall!  It’s an easy, guaranteed winner you will make often.  I made it with raspberries and it was terrific.   I dusted it with powdered sugar when it cooled and it was beautiful.  Don’t try this with low fat ricotta or eggbeater, it takes all the life out of it. 

Lemon-Ricotta Soufflé with Blueberries

From Fresh Food Fast by Peter Berley (Regan Books, 2004) Copyright 2004 by Peter Berley.

½ C sugar

6 large eggs

grated zest of 1 lemon (buy a microplane zester, you will love it!)

1 pound of whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 pint blueberries 

1.  Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375.  Butter a 9-inch pie plate or baking dish.  Set aside 1T of sugar.  2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, remaining 7T of sugar, and lemon zest.  Add the ricotta and whisk until smooth.

3.  Pour the mixture into the pie plate and bake for 15 minutes.  Top with blueberries, sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, and bake until just set, about 15 minutes more.  Serve warm or chilled. 

Enjoy,

Ellen