Tag: Bake

Coconut Quinoa Granola

March 23, 2023 by pamflo

At the recommendation of a foodie friend, I recently had an outstanding breakfast cereal bowl at a hip LA restaurant called Urth Caffé. Even the name is fun. I’m not sure that I could recreate that scrumptious cereal bowl, but here is a solid recipe for some delicious granola. We enjoyed that breakfast so much that we went early again the next morning before flying home. Serve this crunchy granola over yogurt with a smattering of fresh berries, over ricotta cheese […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Nuts/Seeds, Snack • Tags: Bake

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Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 9, 2023 by pamflo

Ooey-goey, soft in the middle and crispy on the outside, the ultimate sweet treat! This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, it’s simple, delicious and makes about 3 dozen cookies. The dough freezes beautifully, so you can have fresh, warm chocolate chip cookies whenever you have a craving. Sometimes it’s a simple step that creates an outstanding cookie like using both white and brown sugar or using top quality chocolate chips. These cookies make superb ice cream […]

Categories: Chocolate, Cookies, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Italian Wedding Soup

February 23, 2023 by pamflo

Wedding soup actually means the “marriage” of meat and greens. There are many wonderful versions of this soup so feel free to vary it as you wish. I purchased a batch of my favorite turkey meatballs, rather than making them from scratch. Instead of the traditional step of simmering the meatballs in the broth, I baked them in the oven. I made the soup a day ahead in preparation for a birthday lunch. Once the soup was done cooking, I stored […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Healthish, Holiday Ideas, Lunch Ideas, Meat/Poultry, One-Pot Meals, Soup, Vegetables • Tags: Bake, Simmer

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

February 9, 2023 by pamflo

These crispy smashed potatoes are easy to make and a fun game day dish for your Super Bowl gathering. I like roasting small yellow potatoes as they crisp up nicely after baking and remain creamy on the inside. You’ll boil the potatoes until tender and once cooled you’ll gently smash them down using the flat bottom of a glass. Then you’ll roast the potatoes topped with olive oil and garlic powder. Serve warm with freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh herbs.

Categories: Appetizer, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Game Day, Gluten Free, Healthish, Side Dish • Tags: Bake, Boil

Raspberry Almond Clafoutis

January 19, 2023 by pamflo

A clafoutis is a classic French dessert made by pouring a sweet egg batter, similar to pancake batter, over fresh fruit. When the clafoutis is done the top gets golden brown and crisp, especially with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, while the inside is soft and custard-like. Although a clafoutis is typically made with cherries or summer stone fruit, I made my clafoutis for a family holiday brunch with raspberries and slivered almonds. A clafoutis is a perfect sweet treat […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Eggs, Side Dish • Tags: Bake

Root Vegetable Chips

January 5, 2023 by pamflo

If you’re looking for a healthier way to enjoy potato chips, it’s very simple to bake your own vegetable chips! I took a combination of sweet potatoes, turnips and beautiful red beets and sliced them incredibly thin with a mandolin. A mandolin is a very sharp flat slicing tool and the perfect way to get super thin uniform slices that cook evenly. Please use the safety guard provided, a cut-resistant glove, or a kitchen towel between your hand and the vegetable, […]

Categories: Chips, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Side Dish, Vegetables • Tags: Bake

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Flourless Almond Butter Pecan Cookies

November 10, 2022 by pamflo

Almond butter is the delicious paste that comes from grinding almonds into a nut butter. It is the glue, along with an egg, that binds these flourless cookies together. Almonds are high in antioxidants, low in carbohydrates, and a source of healthy fat and protein. You can use natural almond butter, commercial almond butter or you can make your own almond butter. There will be a difference in the texture so you’ll want to put some muscle into making a […]

Categories: Cookies, Dairy Free, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Holiday Ideas, Nuts • Tags: Bake

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Sheet Pan Chicken

October 6, 2022 by pamflo

Sheet pan meals are simple to prepare, easy to cleanup and delicious. This sheet pan bake is very flavorful and includes a full meal with proteins, vegetables and a starch. I love fingerling potatoes for their shape and creamy texture, yet russet potatoes are a good choice too. You can really use any protein that you want, nevertheless I prefer bone-in chicken thighs for their distinctive taste. Any type of sausage would work if you’re not a chorizo fan, although make […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Holiday Ideas, Meat/Poultry, One-Pot Meals • Tags: Bake

Chunky Apple Walnut Muffins

September 22, 2022 by pamflo

Apple season is in full swing! These incredibly moist, chunky muffins are a perfect way to bake with the amazing variety of apples that are available. My favorite baking apples are Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Granny Smith and Cortland. My muffins are dairy and gluten free, as I substituted gluten-free flour for regular all-purpose flour. With a combination of applesauce and coconut oil, I could cut back on the amount of granulated sugar used. Although adding chopped walnuts are optional, they add […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Low Sugar • Tags: Bake

Heirloom Tomato Galette

August 25, 2022 by pamflo

The farmers markets are in full swing and bursting with amazing fresh produce. The highlight for me are the ripe, colorful and juicy heirloom tomatoes. This tasty, savory tart is made with a simple crust combining butter and crème fraîche. The crust can be made a day ahead and refrigerated overnight. The filling is a delicious combination of heirloom tomatoes and manchego cheese, a popular Spanish sheep’s milk cheese with a tangy, nutty flavor. A slice of this galette served […]

Categories: Appetizer, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Lunch Ideas, Pies/Tarts, Side Dish, Vegetables • Tags: Bake

Banana Oat Bites

August 18, 2022 by pamflo

Using only 5 ingredients, these banana oat bites are easy, delicious and quick to make. These cookies are on the healthier side with no added sugar and perfect with your morning coffee or as an afternoon snack. Make sure to use a very ripe banana, as the banana along with the dates provide the sweetness. The cookies are bound together with oats and I used old fashioned oats for a chewier cookie, but quick oats work too.

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Cookies, Dairy Free, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Snack • Tags: Bake

Almond Tuile Cookies

June 30, 2022 by pamflo

There’s a popular ice cream shop in Cape Cod called the Polar Cave. The ice cream is delicious, but the “made to order” warm waffle cones are outstanding. The freshly baked waffle cones perfume the air as you’re waiting in line to enter the store. I wanted to create a lighter version of this experience at home and a thin, toasty almond cookie did the trick. These cookies are light, airy, gluten free and make a delightful dessert. The warm […]

Categories: Cookies, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Holiday Ideas, Nuts • Tags: Bake

Nutty Oat Bars

June 9, 2022 by pamflo

Crunchy on the outside but soft in the middle, sweet and nutty, and honestly a terrific and satisfying snack or breakfast! Many bars are either too sweet or not sweet enough, crumble when cut or too mushy. Nutritious and flavorful, this is the perfect bar. High in protein and calcium, amaranth is a gluten-free grain and an important food source in South America and Mexico. If amaranth is hard to find, sesame seeds or quinoa are a good substitute. Don’t […]

Categories: Bars, Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Nuts/Seeds, Snack • Tags: Bake

Morning Glory Muffins

May 19, 2022 by pamflo

There’s a great little place in Marston Mills on Cape Cod called Morning Glory Cafe. Although the cafe has a broad variety of breakfast and lunch items, their morning glory muffins are not to be missed. This is my best shot at creating a similar style muffin and I have to admit that these are really delicious! Whole wheat flour or a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour do the trick, but I used white whole wheat flour which […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Healthish, Muffins, Snack, Vegetables • Tags: Bake

Strawberry Rhubarb Polenta Crisp

May 5, 2022 by pamflo

Fresh strawberries can easily be transformed into a bubbly, fragrant and beautiful dessert. Strawberries paired with thinly sliced rhubarb stalks provide some extra tartness to this delicious crisp. Rhubarb is high in antioxidants, vitamin K and a natural laxative. A lightly sweetened crumbly topping made with quick cooking polenta, adds a nice crispy texture to each bite. I find the best way to enjoy this crisp is serving it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh chilled […]

Categories: Crisp, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Fruit, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Almond Coconut Meringues

April 7, 2022 by pamflo

Light, airy, melts in your mouth and gluten free! Meringues are surprisingly simple to make. The secret to crispy meringues are whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. You can either use a standing mixer with the whip attachment or a hand mixer. When I was in cooking school we had to whip the whites by hand — it builds muscle! The key steps are to whip room temperature egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar until slightly […]

Categories: Cookies, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake, Whip

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

March 24, 2022 by pamflo

This bread is a family favorite with the combination of ripe bananas and chocolate chips. It’s moist and delectable, and the scent will waft through your kitchen as it’s baking. Let the banana bread cool and serve it warm. The bread will freeze well, if you have any slices left! Let’s talk about flour, specifically about the weight of it. There is a difference between “2 cups sifted all-purpose flour” and “2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted”. Actually the variance is […]

Categories: Breads, Chocolate, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Snack • Tags: Bake

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Easy Challah Bread

February 24, 2022 by pamflo

This challah recipe is from a favorite cookbook, Zahav, by chef and restauranteur Michael Solomonov. His recipe is simple and reliable, producing a beautiful and delicious challah bread. The four basic ingredients in making bread are flour, yeast, water, and salt. Challah dough is enriched with eggs, oil and a little sugar to add some sweetness. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour and creates more gluten which gives bread the right structure and texture. This challah […]

Categories: Breads, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake

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Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chili

February 10, 2022 by pamflo

This dense, chocolaty and utterly delicious cake recipe is adapted from Eating Well magazine. This is a gluten-free cake with no flour in the batter and a secret ingredient of chipotle chili powder. I say secret ingredient because you might not detect the chili powder, but it intensifies the chocolate and the cinnamon flavors. I always recommend using good quality chocolate with at least 70% cacao. Guittard bittersweet baking wafers, which I enthusiastically recommend, are readily available in most markets. […]

Categories: Cakes, Chocolate, Crowd Pleaser, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Holiday Ideas • Tags: Bake, Melt

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Easy Egg Muffins

January 27, 2022 by pamflo

These egg muffins are easy to make and are like mini breakfast soufflés! They are the perfect healthy breakfast or a quick, delicious snack. Feel free to make them with any vegetables that you have on hand and jazz them up with jalapeños, sausage or bacon. I used a couple of sweet bell peppers, onions, leftover steamed broccoli and topped the egg muffins with shredded mozzarella cheese. Generously spray the muffin tin with non-stick spray or coat with butter or […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Eggs, Healthish, Snack, Vegetables • Tags: Bake

Blueberry Muffins

January 6, 2022 by pamflo

Packed with antioxidants and nutrients, fresh blueberries are perfect for these muffins. However, if fresh blueberries are unavailable frozen berries will work as well. When you buy fresh blueberries and can’t use them all, freeze them. Gently wash and pat berries dry, pick through to remove the stems and squashed ones. Place the berries on a sheet tray in one layer, and place in the freezer. Once frozen, store in a zip-lock freezer bag until ready for baking. The blueberries […]

Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Muffins, Snack • Tags: Bake

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Zest For Cooking

I love to cook and share my love of food!

Tag: Bake

Coconut Quinoa Granola

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Italian Wedding Soup

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Raspberry Almond Clafoutis

Root Vegetable Chips

Flourless Almond Butter Pecan Cookies

Sheet Pan Chicken

Chunky Apple Walnut Muffins

Heirloom Tomato Galette

Banana Oat Bites

Almond Tuile Cookies

Nutty Oat Bars

Morning Glory Muffins

Strawberry Rhubarb Polenta Crisp

Almond Coconut Meringues

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Easy Challah Bread

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chili

Easy Egg Muffins

Blueberry Muffins