Tag Archive: Honey

Fennel Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Written on November 19, 2014 by in Side Dish

Fennel Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are one of my–like so many others’–favorite vegetables. Fennel? Not so much. It’s a vegetable I’m slowly growing to like that’s better sweet than savory.

These sprouts are a little sweet and a little salty; its a tasty balance that’s also healthy. This time of year you could probably also find fresh cranberries and make this recipe a little more natural, but I love eating the extra craisins while I’m cooking for something to chew on.

You can serve this hot or cold but I prefer it hot. It really depends what you’re eating it with.

Fennel Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6 Servings):

  • 4 cups Brussels sprouts, washed and halved
  • 1 fennel bulb sliced
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup craisins
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Toss the sprouts, fennel, oil, and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Lay the sprouts out in a pan or cast iron skillet.
  4. Roast for 30 minutes, then mix the sprouts with a utensil and roast for 15 minutes more.
  5. Once done, remove the sprouts from the oven. Sprinkle on the craisins and drizzle the whole pan with honey.
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Homemade Honey Walnut Cream Cheese

Written on November 12, 2014 by in Sauce

Homemade Honey Walnut Cream Cheese

People tend to think that when you’re gluten-free you spend your life missing all carbs. That’s certainly not true, but I definitely miss certain carbs like cinnamon crunch Panera bagels smothered in sweet hazelnut cream cheese.

Some things are hard to make at home(like bagels, unless you’re looking to give away an afternoon for amorphous doughballs). Other things are super easy; you can make this cream cheese in 5 minutes and actually be excited about a weekend breakfast at home.

Adding salt and vanilla might seem a little strange, but it helps round out the flavors of the honey to be salty-sweet and a little savory. Toasting the walnuts is well worth the effort for the overall flavor. This recipe works perfectly with full-fat cream cheese, low-fat cream cheese, or non-dairy alternatives. 

Homemade Honey Walnut Cream Cheese

If you’re not a fan of honey you can also use an equal amount of maple syrup. Try using peanuts instead of walnuts for a different flavor or just leave them out completely for a nut-free recipe and you’ll still have a delicious spread.  

Homemade Honey Walnut Cream Cheese

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 squares):

  • 1 block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

  1. In a large bowl, beat together the honey and cream cheese until well-mixed.
  2. Heat up a small pan over a low burner. Add in the walnuts and toss until they’re toasted.
  3. Add the walnuts, salt, and vanilla to the honey cream cheese and fold the ingredients in.
  4. Serve immediately or store refrigerated in an air-tight container. 
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Homemade Honey Roasted Cashews

Written on February 13, 2013 by in Snack

Homemade Honey Roasted Cashews

I’m not sure when but at some point nuts became one of the most expensive items in the grocery store. It’s a shame. They’re one of the healthy foods that are naturally delicious, but dressing them up never hurts.

These have become my go-to afternoon snack. They’re perfect for a slight sweet craving or to throw on yogurt or even a tofu stir-fry.

I’m not sure if the egg white is completely necessary for this recipe but I love the texture of the sugar on the cashews after they’re baked. You can spice these up easily by adding in some cinnamon.

Homemade Honey Roasted Cashews

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cashews
  • 1 Tablespoon egg white
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

    • Homemade Honey Roasted Cashews Roasted

Method:

  1. Preheat you oven to 325 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white, honey, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
  3. Mix the cashews with the wet ingredients until they are covered.
  4. Lay the cashews out on a non-stick surface in a single layer.
  5. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the edges begin to darken slightly, taking care not to burn them.
  6. Remove the cashews from the oven and let them cool completely.
  7. Break the cashews apart and store them in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Homemade Honey Roasted Cashews Yield

Purely addicting.

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Tri-Pepper Quinoa

Written on September 24, 2012 by in Entree

Tri-Pepper Quinoa

The easiest place to get inspired for recipes is the grocery store. Just going to the produce section and seeing the huge displays of vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables makes you want to eat that much more. My grocery store had a display of different colored peppers and I knew I wanted to use them for a recipe.

The colors fade from the peppers a little once you sauté them but it brings out a much sweeter flavor, too. They add the perfect touch with some seasoning to quinoa to make it a much more interesting dish.

Tri-Pepper Quinoa Peppers

If you want to dress this up, you can purchase some extra peppers, roast them until they’re cooked, and serve the quinoa inside the cooked peppers.

Tri-Pepper Quinoa

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3/4 salt
  • 1/4 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon honey(optional)
  • 1 15oz can chickpeas

Tri-Pepper Quinoa Olive Oil

Method:

  1. Combine the quinoa with the appropriate amount of water(about 3 cups unless the brand you’re using says otherwise) in a pot over the stove. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn off the heat. Leave undisturbed for 15 minutes.
  2. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over a separate burner.
  3. Sauté the onion and the peppers until they start to turn color and char a little.
  4. Add the salt and pepper to the vegetables in the pan and remove from the heat.
  5. Remove the lid from the quinoa and add in the chickpeas, honey, and sautéed vegetable. Mix well with a large spoon and serve hot.

Tri-Pepper Quinoa Finished Product

Biting into the peppers and onions reminded me of a meatloaf. If you’re not a vegetarian you can always leave the chickpeas out and serve this with some ground beef and I think it’d be excellent.

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Peanut Butter Cream Cheese

Written on August 31, 2012 by in Miscellaneous

peanut butter cream cheese

Last week I made another loaf of almond flour banana bread. It didn’t have any chocolate chips or walnuts or Nutella swirls so it definitely needed something to make it more decadent.

I was reminded of when I made a chubby hubby cheesecake last month and finally shared the recipe with the people I served it to: “You mean my whole family has been fighting over peanut butter and cream cheese?” Hey,what can I say? It’s a winning combination.

peanut butter cream cheese long

You can easily adjust the sweetness by adding more or less honey. I like it when it’s not too sweet so that you still taste the slight tartness of the cream cheese. Add a sprinkling of raw sugar for a little bit of crunch.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter*
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon(optional)

*If you’re using no-stir peanut butter, be sure to soften it in the microwave quickly before mixing.

Method:

  1. Mix together all of the ingredients.
  2. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator when not using. Let it soften at room temperature briefly before spreading because the cream cheese will harden when chilled. 

peanut butter cream cheese serving

I think I need to stock up on gluten-free bagels because this is too good not to eat every morning. It’s creamy and nutty—the perfect combination of the best two breakfast spreads.

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Honey Ginger Ice Cream

Written on August 10, 2012 by in Dessert

Honey Ginger Ice Cream

I can’t believe it took me almost a month and a half this Summer to break out my ice cream maker. Even though it doesn’t get as much use as most of my other kitchen appliances, it’s definitely my favorite. How can you not love anything that takes milk and spits out ice cream?

There’s a great ice cream parlor near the house I stay at in Maine that makes their own fun flavors. I made it there once this Summer before being reminded that full-fat dairy ice cream really doesn’t agree with me. Womp womp. I hear they have great ginger ice cream so I thought I’d make my own.

Honey Ginger Honey Drip

This ice cream has fresh and dried ginger for a strong punch of flavor. I always think of ginger and honey going together in recipes so it seemed like a good flavor to introduce here. If you’re vegan or don’t want to include it, you can easily swap it out for another 1/4 cup of sweetener.  

Honey Ginger Ice Cream

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6-8 servings):

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 15oz cans of coconut milk
  • 2 Tablespoons shaved fresh ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon ginger powder

Honey Ginger Ice Cream Serving

Method:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved.
  2. Pour the base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
  3. Move the freshly frozen ice cream into an airtight container and let it harden in the freezer for a couple of hours to chill completely.
  4. Before serving, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften.

Honey Ginger Ice Cream Honey

For an extra touch of flavor you can add some lemon zest into the base; I was a little worried that the three together might be overwhelming and hard to distinguish but now I’m dying to try it.

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Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad

Written on July 13, 2012 by in Entree

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad

I really love baked beans. Who doesn’t? What I don’t love is spending hours cooking them in a hot kitchen when it’s already 80 degrees outside. Why can’t people appreciate baked beans more in the winter when we’re all freezing? It’s a mystery.

Last week on the 4th I needed a vegetarian dish that could sit in a cooler all day. Immediately my mind jumped to baked beans, but as soon as I ruled out cooking those for 4 hours I remembered this old favorite.

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad Collage

I first posted this recipe over a year ago. The photos weren’t that good, the recipe wasn’t very clearly written, and my readership was drastically lower than what it is today, so I figured it’d be best to just give it a whole new post. And it definitely deserves one.

You can use three cans of any type of beans; I think the ones listed have the most neutral flavor so they take on the sauce well. To make this completely vegan, you can substitute maple syrup or agave for the honey.

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 servings):

  • 1 15oz can of chickpeas
  • 1 15oz can of pinto bean
  • 1 15oz can of cannellini beans
  • 1 onion, julienned
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for finishing(optional)

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad Onions

Method:

  1. In a large bowl, combine all of the different beans.
  2. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat.
  3. Add in the julienned onions and sauté for about 10-15 minutes until the onion has turned translucent and slightly crusty.
  4. Remove from the heat and add it in with the beans.
  5. Reduce the balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan to about half of its original volume by bringing it to a rolling boil for 5 or so minutes. If it over-reduces and starts to harden into a taffy, remove the pan from the heat and stir in some hot water to thin.
  6. Add the reduced vinegar, honey, salt and extra virgin olive oil if using to the beans and onions.
  7. Mix well until the sauce coats all of the beans. Serve hot or cold.

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad Yield

20 minutes for a tasty bowl of beans? I’ll take that.

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Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Written on June 11, 2012 by in Snack

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

I’ve never had much luck making granola bars until now. They usually turn out caky or crumbly and never hold together; I was just about ready to give up on making granola bars. This recipe has completely changed that around for me.

Not only are these delicious and gluten-free, they’re also no-bake and come together in about 10 minutes. I couldn’t think of anything more to ask for. The ingredients are simple, organic, and whole grain. It could easily be made vegan by swapping out the honey.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Collage

For the “dried fruit” we were out of the standard raisins or craisins, so I improvised and used chopped candied ginger. The flavor could not have been more spectacular. I generally love ginger and chocolate and the added bite held its own to the nuttiness of the bars.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 bars):

  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup honey**
  • 1 cup oats*
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate rice crisps cereal(I used Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal)*
  • 1/2 cup almonds, whole or crushed
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

*To make these granola bars gluten-free, make sure these two ingredients are certified gluten-free.

**Use 3 Tablespoons of agave to make these vegan.

Method:

  1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips.
  2. Stir in the almond butter and honey until smooth.
  3. Add in the oats, cereal, almonds, dried fruit, and salt and mix until everything is completely covered.
  4. Line an 8 x 8 baking tray with wax paper. Dump the batter into the pan and press down into an even layer.
  5. Refrigerate the bars until they’ve hardened—about 20-30 minutes.
  6. With a sharp knife, cut the bars in half horizontally and into quarters vertically into 8 2 x 4 bars.
  7. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Serving

I don’t see myself ever paying for granola bars again.

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Honey Almond Macaroons

Written on April 20, 2012 by in Dessert

honey-almond-macaroons

Cookie recipes can be hard sometimes. You need to preheat the oven, mix the ingredients in a certain order, chill and slice the dough sometimes—it’s usually more work than I want to do for a quick sweet fix.

I love macaroons since they’re about as easy a cookie as you can make and still have a satisfying dessert to bite into. As a bonus, they’re naturally gluten-free and have a healthy dose of fats and fiber. It’s even more fun when you make them extra big like they just came from a bakery and eat them warm.

You could try to make these with an egg substitute, but definitely use some sort of binder since the almond butter alone isn’t really enough to hold them together.

Honey Almond Macaroons

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen):

  • 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

honey-almond-macaroons-bite

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
  3. Either fill an ice cream scoop with dough and release as mounds on a lined baking tray OR roll balls of dough in your hands, flattening one side and placing it on the baking tray.
  4. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the outside has browned slightly.
  5. Remove from the oven and let cool.

 honey-almond-macaroons-vertical

These aren’t too sweet, so I like a little extra honey drizzled on top. They’d be perfect for dessert with some tea or coffee.

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Tropical Greek Yogurt Parfait

Written on March 22, 2012 by in Snack

tropical-greek-yogurt-parfait

It’s been a long time since I posted a dairy-heavy recipe. A long time. I stopped eating dairy for a while after watching foodie documentaries and getting all the info; I don’t think that was a bad choice, but recently my snacking choices have been less-than-healthy, and the idea of something tasty, high in protein, and–most importantly–tasty was too appealing to pass up.

I can’t believe how much I forgot I missed greek yogurt. Between pineapple and pomegranate Chobani and cherry Fage, I go through those 6oz containers like nobodies business. It’s becoming an expensive habit. It ends up being so much cheaper to buy the plain yogurt and flavor it myself. I don’t mind because it makes the flavor combinations almost endless.

tropical-greek-yogurt-parfait-spoon

Look for crushed pineapple—not diced or sliced—and one that has no added sugars in it to keep this naturally sweetened.

Tropical Greek Yogurt Parfait

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

  • 2 Tablespoons canned crushed pineapple
  • 6 oz plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut

tropical-greek-yogurt-parfait-2

Method:

  1. First spoon the pineapple into the bottom of a medium sized bowl.
  2. Then pile the yogurt on top.
  3. Drizzle on the honey and finish with coconut. Eat immediately or put back in the refrigerator for later.

tropical-greek-yogurt-parfait-spoonful

Honey-Pineapple-Coconut. I’m telling you, Chobani needs to get on that flavor.

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