STRAWBERRY CREAM TART

Strawberry season has arrived in Eastern North Carolina, and I am loving it. The California strawberries can rot in the stores for all I care, I have nice, ripe, juicy and sweet local strawberries. (No offense intended to Californians; it's just that, by the time we get your strawberries, which have been picked before they fully ripen, they are not so great. Local produce is always the best. If I lived in California, I'd be waiting for California strawberries.)We had company for dinner last night, and I made this yummy strawberry cream tart for dessert. The recipe is actually a combination of several recipes, with my own twists and turns. The only complaint I have about this dessert is that it's hard to get the crust out of the pan. I don't own a tart pan with a removable bottom. Maybe I'll try a different crust next time -- one that has more butter in it. Still, even with the difficult crust, this was delicious and the crust was tender and sweet, once it came out.

Strawberry Cream Tart
Crust:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup self-rising flour
2 Tbsp. fat-free half and half
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Strawberry Glaze:
1/2 pt. fresh strawberries
1/4 cup superfine sugar (you can put regular sugar in a food processor)
1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. Smart Balance buttery spread (or butter if you prefer)
Strawberry Topping:
1-1/4 pints fresh strawberries
2 Tbsp. Triple Sec or Creme de Almond
Cream Filling:
3 oz. Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese)
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/3 cup lite sour cream, very cold
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease bottom and sides of a 10" tart pan. Make crust: Put all ingredients in work bowl of food processor and pulse till dough comes together. Press onto bottom and sides of pan. Prick dough all around with a fork, as below:

Bake 10-15 minutes, or till light golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack.

While crust is cooling, prepare strawberry topping: Wash and hull strawberries. Toss with liqueur and let stand while preparing other ingredients.

Make strawberry glaze: Wash and hull strawberries. Cut them up and put them in a saute' pan. Crush them with a potato masher, add remaining ingredients except butter. Over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, bring to boiling. Mixture will be thickened and translucent. Strain; add butter; cool.

Prepare cream filling: Put cheese and sugar in work bowl of food processor (or medium mixing bowl) and pulse (or beat with electric mixer) till well combined and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and pulse (or beat) till whipped and thickened.

Assemble tart: Spread cream filling on bottom of cooled crust. Drain strawberries and place them on top of cream filling. Spoon or brush glaze over each strawberry (I used a pastry brush).

Refrigerate for several hours to thoroughly chill. Yield: 6-8 servings

TAKE 5 COOKIES

If you like Take 5 candy bars, you are going to love this cookie recipe. It was invented by Carrie Fields, who sent it to the cookiemadness.net food blog. Carrie called her recipe "Mom and David's Faves", but I changed the name to "Take 5 Cookies." I've never had a Take 5 bar, but the recipe intrigued me, so I finally made a half-batch just to see what these would taste like. I decided to use Kraft caramel bits inside the cookie instead of melting them and using them as a glaze on top, mostly because of laziness. These cookies are very good. They're very peanut-buttery, soft and crumby inside, and have a nice crunch and chewiness because of the pretzels and caramel bits. They're not crisp on the edges, but you can't have everything. The cookies bake up high and don't spread much at all.

Take 5 Cookies (half-batch)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar (I used 1-1/2 tsp. Stevia)
2 Tbsp. dark corn syrup
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla (I used pure vanilla extract)
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (I used sea salt)
1 cup chocolate chunks (I used 1/2 cup Hershey's Special Dark + 1/2 cup milk chocolate)
1 large fistful salty pretzel sticks, lightly crushed (I broke them)
3/4 cup caramel bits

Preheat oven to 325F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In medium bowl, combine butter, sugars, syrup and peanut butter and stir with a spatula or heavy spoon till everything is well combined and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again till smooth. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and beat till incorporated. Stir in half the chocolate, pretzels and caramel bits. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared sheets, allowing 2-3 inches between cookies. Add 3-4 pieces of chocolate, 3-4 caramel bits and some pretzel pieces on top of each mound of dough. Bake for 15 minutes, or til cookies are lightly golden around edges. Let cool on baking sheets about 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 21 cookies (Double this recipe for 42 cookies)

OLD-THYME GREEN BEANS

Want to add a little flavor to your green beans? Try this recipe for fresh or frozen. If you're not a fan of thyme (like my hubby, Guy), don't worry. When you put sprigs of thyme in the pot, you'll only get a mild thyme flavor. Remove the sprigs when the beans are done.

Old-Thyme Green Beans
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped sweet onion
1 tsp. chopped fresh garlic (optional)
½ lb. fresh or frozen cut green beans
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
½ tsp. sea salt
3 fresh thyme sprigs
optional: 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley and 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

In 2-quart heavy pot, sweat the onions (and garlic, if using) in the oil over medium heat, about 3-4 minutes. Add the beans, broth, salt and thyme sprigs. Up the heat; bring broth to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook beans 5-7 minutes, or till they’re done the way you like them. Before serving, remove the thyme stems. These are great as is, but if you want to bring them over the top, sprinkle the beans with the parsley and lemon juice.
Yield: 2-3 servings

BETTY CROCKER BAKE LIFE SWEETER WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The results are in, and I didn't win the popular vote or the grand prize. Thanks to everyone who voted for me. I was surprised with the grand prize winner: the cinnamon swirl cookie. It kind of resembles a cinnamon bun, and they're supposed to taste like snickerdoodles. I bet they're good. The popular vote went to the Chocolate Peanut Butter Dreams cookie, which looks like an easy and good recipe. Well, all 15 recipes are winners; they all look interesting, and I can't wait for next year to try again. (Hope they discontinue this voting stuff though; it's a pain for all concerned.) Thanks again.

ARTICHOKE HUMMUS

My hummus jar was empty today -- boo hoo. It was time to come up with a new hummus recipe. I thought I'd try my own concoction, and artichokes were on my mind. A pantry check turned up 1 can of quartered artichoke hearts which I decided to marinate before making the hummus. I guess it's no surprise that I liked this hummus, because I like all hummus. (Is the plural hummuses or hummus?) How long will it take to run out of hummus ideas? It will be fun to find out. In the meantime, here's another recipe for my favorite snack, hummus:

Artichoke Hummus
1/4 cup marinated quartered artichoke hearts *or marinate your own, see below
1 heaping cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. tahini
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 nice dashes of ground red pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. paprika
1-1/2 to 2 Tbsp. marinating liquid from jar

*To marinate the artichokes, in a quart-size jar, combine the following:

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. McCormick Basil-Garlic Seasoning Blend
2 nice cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
13.75 oz. can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Refrigerate for 1 hour or more before making hummus.

When ready to make the hummus, spoon out 1/4 cup artichoke hearts from the jar, taking as little liquid as possible, and place the hearts in the work bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients, except the marinating liquid. Pulse till everything is mashed up and fairly smooth, about 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of work bowl. Add enough marinating liquid to make a smooth hummus. Taste and make any flavoring adjustments that are needed. (This was perfect for me, but you might like more cumin or more paprika, or even some sea salt.) Yield: 1-1/2 cups

If you're wondering what to do with the rest of the artichokes, try them on a green salad. And the marinating liquid makes a great salad dressing, so you really can use up everything.

GINGER CHICKEN WITH BROCCOLI

Neither Guy nor I are big on Oriental food, but I decided to try a recipe I found on this website: http://www.inthemoodforfood.com/. Since we don't like heavy soy flavors or too-sweet sauces, I cut the soy sauce in half and reduced the honey. Amazingly, we both liked this dish. It's not terribly saucy, just right, and the flavors are perfect -- not too sweet, not too much soy. It's fairly simple and pretty quick, so this is definitely one I will make again. Oh, and that's the leftover lemon-parsley rice with some frozen French-style green beans and baby peas in the pic above.

Ginger Chicken with Broccoli
INGREDIENTS: 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. boneless chicken (I used breasts)
1/2 large onion, sliced into thin rings
2 cloves garlic, minced (1-1/2 tsp.)
1 Tbsp. lite soy sauce
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 lb. broccoli crowns, trimmed and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup scallions, sliced

DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat oil in a large heavy pan over medium heat. Brown chicken (about 6-7 minutes) and set aside.
2. In same pan, add garlic, ginger and onions and cook for about 6 minutes or till lightly browned. 3. Add soy sauce, vinegar and honey and cook for about 3 more minutes.
4. Add broccoli crowns and cook until slightly tender (about 5 minutes).
5. Add chicken back into pan and stir together.
6. Stir in your scallions and serve. Yield: 2-3 servings

LEMON-PARSLEY RICE

Here's the recipe for the lemon-parsley rice that went with the nice chicken roast of a few nights ago. We had about half the rice left over, so last night I added some frozen green beans and peas to it and we had it with a nice chicken stir-fry (recipe to follow). I'm not a fan of white rice -- there's really no nutritional value to it and it raises blood sugar super fast. But Guy doesn't like brown rice. Although this tasted great, I only ate a small portion.

Lemon-Parsley Rice
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Jasmine rice
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3-4 saffron threads (optional -- you can leave this out if you don't have saffron)
1-1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Saute' rice and garlic in oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add salt, saffron and water. Bring to a boil, stir once, cover and lower heat. Cook rice according to package directions (usually about 15-20 minutes) without additional stirring. (Additional stirring makes rice gummy and sticky). Turn heat off when rice is done and allow to sit 5 minutes. Before serving, fluff rice with the zest and parsley. 4 servings, unless you really like rice, then 2 servings.