Cooking the 'Tapas and Apps' menu

Another completed In-Home Cooking Class.

This wonderful group gathered  together to celebrate
a birthday. The menu that they chose was the
"Tapas and Apps" menu which consisted of:

Vietnamese summer rolls
Mozzarella cheese egg rolls w marinara sauce
Roasted garlic cheesy pull apart bread
Veggie Dumplings  and
Strawberry and basil crostinis

 

 

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Enjoy lunch at work. Catered style.

Let's Cultivate Food caters lunches for offices!
Individually wrapped boxes of delicious, healthy food.

If your office or department has at least 8 people and would
like to have food delivered to you in the comforts of your work area...

just let me know!   oh!  fruit and herb drinks are included.
AND little sayings on the boxes are free of charge!  haha.
I'm proud to say that every quote thus far has been a different quote!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

I come 'berrying' gifts...

Cranberry Orange bread or you can make muffins...
whatever style pan you want and have!

Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of sugar or alternative
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of orange juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
1/2 orange zest
2 TBSP of canola or veggie oil
1 egg
3/4 - 1 cup frozen cranberries (thawed)

bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes on the middle rack in the center
to get even baking heat all around these muffins or bread.

These have never disappointed anyone who has tried them.
Great for breakfast, brunch, or dessert...
what more could  you ask for..  yum!


Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food

Happy last day of August!

Although technically it's still summer-ish
I always have the mind set that once September
rolls around- it's pretty much Fall.
Well, at least the beginning of it for sure.

Most school's are back in session, pretty soon
many tv shows will be airing their Fall season openers
and the leaves will be changing colors as the days get
shorter and shorter.

Hey, summer of 2014- it was pretty good.
I participated in 3 different Food Festivals
along with catering company lunches and dinners.

I look forward to the Fall and all things apples,
pumpkins and hearty Autumn veggies!

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 31 of 31 days

Bang Bang Cauliflower

Ever have bang bang shrimp?

I am a self pronounced  'flexitarian'.
What the heck is a flexitarian?  It's when you're
not a fully committed vegetarian but you love
vegetables enough that you can totally go for
all veggie days but you also need other days
where all you want is BBQ  galore!

Cauliflower is great to eat in place of chicken
because it is a super hearty veggie where you can
deep fry or saute or steam or boil or bake and
it stays together without falling apart and
keeps great flavor.  yum!

Take the head of a cauliflower and cut it into a quarter (for 2)

and cut the quarter into small bite sized florets.  You can just bake it 

in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes or you can batter it just like chicken 

or shrimp.  I like to cook things on the quicker side because there are

just too many things to do and not enough time in the day!

I like to boil the cauliflower first for about 5-7 minutes so it gets

a head start in the cooking and getting a little softer.

Then, I strain the cauliflower florets in a strainer and then let it sit

on some paper towels to get the excess water off.

I mix the sauce which is Frank's hot sauce 

(to your liking of spiciness) and 2 TBSP of melted butter and 

1 heaping TBSP of mayo to thicken the sauce a little.

Then I lay the cauliflower on a baking tray and bake it until 

it gets a brown hue and charred on the tops.  

350-375 degrees for about 15 minutes.   

Even the meat lovers will enjoy this!

You can simply use ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 29 of 31 days

Tofu Tikka Masala

Tofu Tikka Masala is a great alternative to
Chicken Tikka Masala.  It's made exactly the same way
as the chicken dish is.

Chicken Tikka Masala ------->   recipe
(simply substitute the tofu with the chicken)

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 28 of 31 days

Cheese Stuffed Strawberries

An easy healthy snack I'd like to share with you today

is a cheese stuffed strawberry. These are great for a snack,

an appetizer or dessert or even a simple palate cleanser 

in between dishes during a multi-course dinner.

Take a handful of strawberries (medium to large) and cut them in half. 

Next, take a little teaspoon and scoop the center out a little. 

The center of a strawberry isn't completely solid so it's pretty effortless.

For the picture above, I trimmed the stems.  

You can stuff feta cheese crumbs in the center and add a sprinkle of coarse

sea-salt or you can add blue cheese crumbles and some peanut (or any nut)

with a drizzle of honey.  The sweetness of the honey goes well with the already

salty blue cheese while the feta feta cheese isn't as salty so the sea-salt gives

a nice contrast in flavor.  You can just leave the stems on (picture below)

instead of trimming them off as well.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 27 of 31 days