I have wanted to move this blog to Word Press for a long time. Today my amazing IT guy made the change you can find my new and ever improving blog here Vanilla Carrots

This morning I met someone for the first who I had been emailing back and forth with all week. He told me that he thought it was funny that his spell checker wanted him to change my name to Vanilla Carrots. It took me back to seventh grade when my health teacher decided he would call me Vanilla. This morning I decided I wanted to call this recipe blog "Vanilla Carrots." There are just too many "Yum!"s in the blogosphere.

1 cup raw wild rice
5 1/2 cups low fat chicken stock or water
1 cup shelled pecan halves
1 cup yellow raisins
grated rind of one large orange
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
4 green onions thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Put rice in a strainer and run under cold water; rinse thoroughly.

2. Place rice in a medium-size heavy saucepan. Add stock or water and bring to a rapid boil. Adjust heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes. After 30 minutes check for doneness, rice should not be too soft. Place a thin towel inside a colander and turn rice into the colander and drain. Transfer drained rice to a bowl.

3. Add remaining ingredients and rice and toss gently. Adjust seasonings to taste. Let mixture stand for two hours to allow flavors to develop. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 6

Last week I made Red Velvet Cupcakes. They were some of the best cupcakes I have made. You can link to the recipe by clicking here

I have tried several lemon cupcake recipes and have never really liked any of them. After the recent success with Red Velvet Cupcakes I decided to attempt a revision of that recipe to create a perfect Lemon Cupcake. I tried it out today. They turned out really well.

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk with 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice stirred in
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine the milk and lemon juice and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat until each is completely mixed in.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.

Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl often. Scoop into a cupcake paper lined muffin pan about 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for one minute and then remove for pan and finish cooling on a cooling rack.

Filling
1 jar lemon curd

When the cupcakes have cooled completely fill a ketchup style squeeze bottle with lemon curd. Insert the tip into the center of the cupcake and squeeze slowly until the lemon curd comes just to the surface.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1-8 ounce package cream cheese
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine the ingredients together and pipe on cupcakes using a pastry bag and large star tip.

I really like fish tacos and because salmon is my favorite fish to eat, these should be especially good.

Makes 8 tacos

1 1/4 pounds salmon
Course salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 green onions thinly sliced
1 cup packed fresh cilantro
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
Eight whole wheat tortillas
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium carrots peeled into strips

Place the salmon in a microwave safe bowl and season with salt and pepper and drizzled with one tablespoon of lime juice.

Sprinkle the fish with the green onions and 1/2 cup of the cilantro.

Cover and microwave on high for 7 minute, or until the fish is cooked. Pour off any liquid and flake with a fork.

Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, remaining lime juice and cilantro in a small bowl. Season with salt and peper and set aside. Warm the tortillas and then arrange lettuce and carrots down the center of each tortilla, then top with salmon and drizzle lightly with sauce. Fold in half and serve.

Caramelized Walnuts
Dried Cranberries
Crumbled Blue Cheese
Lettuce
Spinach leaves
Sliced strawberries

Strawberry vinaigrette dressing

When I made the chocolate cream filled cupcakes in the previous post I just happened to have a jar of marshmallow fluff in my pantry. It appears that it is no longer available for purchase in Tokyo. I need some for some cupcakes I am making for a 2 year old's birthday this weekend. How did we ever live without Google?

3 large egg whites
2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

This will expand enough in a 4-quart mixing bowl to make you nervous so if you have a bigger bowl you should use it.

In a large mixer bowl, use a whisk attachment to combine eggwhites, corn syrup and salt. Beat for 10 minutes until thick.

Add powdered sugar at a low speed to thoroughly incorporate. Add vanilla extract and beat until well blended.

I have been experimenting with different recipes in preparation for the 200 cupcakes we will be making for Kristina and Brian's wedding favors on April 10. So this week I have been working on the chocolate ones. YUM!!!!