Thursday, May 25, 2017

Curried Broccoli Salad

There are plenty of raw broccoli salad recipes out there, but I like this one best. It's got curry powder and a sweet/tangy thing going on that I can't resist. A lighter version can be made by substituting olive oil for the mayonnaise and increasing the apple cider vinegar. It's even further variable because it can be loaded up with other options such as dried fruit, nuts, and raisins. Once I even threw a 1/2 cup of trail mix in and everyone loved it! This winter when we were RVing it down in Florida, it was my standard pitch-in offering. And, embarrassing but true, once I had such a bad craving for it, I actually made it in the motor home while Roy was driving 70 plus mph! 


Ingredients:



3 broccoli crowns, cut into bite sized florets
1/4 cup finely diced red onion

Any or all of below:

1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried raisins
1/4 cup dried golden raisins
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup pecan pieces
!/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup pepitas 
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup each of dried apple pieces 


Combine together in large bowl.


For the Dressing:


1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

*Lighter dressing: sub 1/2 cup olive oil & 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar for top 2 ingredients


Mix together until smooth.


Pour dressing over broccoli mixture to coat.


Place in a serving bowl and enjoy.




Saturday, May 13, 2017

Say Hello to the Queen!



The other day I was scrolling through WordPress Reader, looking at posts of blogs I follow, when a "suggested" one popped up. It was actually a political rant from England, but it mentioned a dessert I'd never heard of before: Hello to the Queen. The narrative suggested that it was well known so I Googled it. It turns out it's a dish that served in the touristy places where backpackers in India hang out. I searched a bit and found it mentioned in a handful of blogs. The consensus seemed to be that once a guy from Israel asked for all the ingredients in this sundae  - only in huge amounts. He put it all together and gave it a grand name. Other travelers thought it looked pretty good and so it became a common request along the hiking circuit in India. As far as I could tell it always has a base of a broken up Digestive brand biscuit or a graham cracker square, followed by warm chocolate sauce, caramelized bananas, vanilla ice cream, and finished with whipped cream. I read that some include chocolate chips, nuts, and even marshmallows - so I think anything goes.  It's so easy kids can make it if an adult helped them with the caramelized bananas.  Below is a no frills recipe for caramelizing the bananas as well as the steps in assembling this super easy glorified banana split. P.S. This was the most visited post I ever had- it got over 10 thousand hits - Ha!


Easy Caramelized Bananas  



Place 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and a couple bananas that have been cut in half and then lengthwise into a stick proof skillet. Gently give just a stir or two while the butter and sugar melt over medium high heat.  



Let the banana pieces sit undisturbed in the melted mixture for about 5 minutes a side or until they are lightly browned. Be careful when turning the banana piece over so it will stay together. 


Directions for Assembling Hello to the Queen:









Break up a Digestive biscuit or graham cracker square in the bottom of each serving bowl.





Drizzle one tablespoon of  warm chocolate sauce over the biscuit.




Add two caramelized banana slices to each bowl.





Set a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.




                 

 

 Heap on the whipped cream.





Drizzle another tablespoon of chocolate sauce over the top and dig in!