Broccoli with Corn, Garlic and Lemon

March 22: We Love Broccoli Day

Highlander’s Mum made it her mission to prepare balanced meals for the family as much as possible. Vegetables were frequently included as a side dish. She encouraged Highlander to continue healthy eating habits when he grew up, moved away and lived on his own. So she gave him a cookbook, Healthy Home Cooking, as a bachelor gift. Since he loves broccoli, Highlander mixed it with corn, garlic and lemon by following one of the recipes in the cookbook. He also prepared it for his finicky wife, Islander, who came to love the color contrast and taste of this vegetable mix as well. Declare your love for broccoli today with this dish!

Recipe

(Adapted from Healthy Home Cooking by the Editors of Prevention Magazine)

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Peel the lemon in three wide strips. Slice the strips thinly to yield about one tablespoon of zest. Reserve half the lemon for its juice. Fill a large skillet with half an inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil over the stove top. Cook the broccoli, turning occasionally, for about three minutes. Add the corn and cook everything for another minute.

Drain the cooked broccoli and corn in a colander. Transfer to a serving bowl and keep warm. Slice the garlic cloves into thin pieces. In a small skillet, saute the garlic in the oil over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix in the lemon strips. Squeeze about a tablespoon of lemon juice into the skillet. Remove from heat and pour the garlic oil mixture over the broccoli and corn.  Serve hot and fresh as a side dish.

Notes

• Thanks to Mum for the cookbook.
• “We Love Broccoli Day” is observed on March 22, according to the calendar on the site Holidays for Everyday.

Lavender Macarons

March 20: World Macaron Day

Lately, lavender and light purple have been a popular color palette at weddings we have attended. Brides have also incorporated lavender in their bouquets. The color purple is regal and romantic, magical and mysterious. The flower lavender symbolizes devotion and its fragrance can calm those “nuptial nerves.”

Lavender is a lovely hue as well as an interesting herb to sweetly spice up our macarons. We also filled them with a floral-fruity dark chocolate ganache made from the Dagoba brand organic chocolate bar flavored with lavender and blueberries. This macaron mix matches the MacAttack Challenge #17 with the theme for “Sugar and Spice and Everything Fruity.”

Make lavender macarons with lavender-blueberry dark chocolate ganache as favors for bridal showers and weddings or for World Macaron Day celebrations.

Recipe

For the lavender macarons (Italian meringue method)

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar, granulated white (we used C&H brand)
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Hawaiian Vanilla Company brand)
• purple food coloring (we used Wilton brand’s violet concentrated gel icing color)
• dried lavender (we used AKL Maui brand culinary lavender)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage).

Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Mix in the vanilla. Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar until the consistency “flows like magma.”

Tint the macaronage with purple to make a lavender shade. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet.

Sprinkle a few dried lavender on top. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs. Make the filling.

For the lavender-blueberry chocolate ganache filling

• 2 bars (2 ounces each = 4 ounces) Dagoba brand dark chocolate lavender-blueberry flavor
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

Break the chocolate bar into small pieces to melt. Heat the whipping cream and add to the melted chocolate. Stir until smooth. Let cool to thicken.

Whip the ganache to a spreadable consistency. Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe in the filling and sandwich the macarons together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the filling set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

• Learn more about the meaning of lavender and other colors from About.com’s Desktop Publishing topic.
• Learn more about the symbolism of lavender and other flowers from Wedding Themes and More.
• Mahalo (thank you) to Lisa L. for the vanilla extract from the Big Island of Hawaii.
• Search our site for more macaron recipes. Or click on our MacAttack page to see our macaron entries. Happy World Macaron Day!

Oatmeal Scotchies

March 18: National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Highlander’s Mum would often bake cookies as afterschool snacks for her seven kids. Oatmeal cookies were a favorite among them. She often mixed in raisins but sometimes would include butterscotch chips in the batch instead. Perhaps it was an ode to Mum’s Scottish heritage, if not just for the cookies’ name, that she baked oatmeal “scotchies.” They are a sweet treat for snacktime and for National Oatmeal Cookie Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Very Best Baking)

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked
• 1 2/3 cups (11-ounce package) of butterscotch chips

Directions

Cream the butter with the white and brown sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Gradually add this dry mixture to the the wet batter. Blend until smooth. Stir in the oatmeal and butterscotch chips.

Place 1 ½ – inch rounds on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving space for the cookies to expand. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let set on the cookie sheet for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to a crisp.  Yield: Approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Notes

• National Oatmeal Cookie Day is also listed as a food holiday on April 30. See our blog recipe post then for oatmeal raisin cookies.