Category Archives: VERY CULINARY

Cooking with Cathy – Brunch on a Budget

Many different dishes

Spring Brunch Party on a Budget By Cathy Addoms We have begun the “lookout” for Spring this month of March. Daylight Savings Time starts on the 10th, Ash Wednesday was the 6th, Saint Patrick’s Day is the 17th and Spring starts the 20th. Seems like such a busy month but it really is a quiet […]

Pick a Tropical Fruit for your Vegan Dessert!

Pineaple as the best choice for Food Blog

Most original Vegan desserts were simple sweet fruit cut and presented for dessert. In today’s world, fruit are still some of the best and healthiest desserts available. Often the sweetest treats are tropical fruits! The most popular tropical fruits are Pineapple, Bananas, Guava, Papaya and Mangos. PINEAPPLE: Fully ripe pineapples are slightly soft to the […]

Espresso – Extracting the Essence From the Bean + Café con Leche

Different esspresos

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee! In Maimi’s Little Havana it’s a Way of Life! How to make espresso. (Please do not write it or call it expresso!) Espresso is made by quickly forcing hot water and steam through finely ground and firmly compressed coffee bean granules. The principle has been around for hundreds of […]

Brazilian Coxinha – Chicken Croquette with Hot Sauce

Margaritas and beans

Little Brazil Restaurant, Collins Ave, Miami North Beach, FL  What is a coxinha? The coxinha Is a Brazilian dish (pronounced co-shee-nya) is a popular food in Brazil, consisting of a dough shaped in the form of a chicken leg and usually filled with shredded chicken and deep fried. It is served at parties, bars, street […]

A Miami Cuban Diner – Pulled Pork, Yellow Rice, Black Beans & Plantains w/ Garlic Sauce + a Cubano Sandwich

black beans and onions

Cuban food is everywhere in the Miami area and that is a good thing! Finding a good Cubano sandwich in 99% of the United States is a difficult task. The typical Diner in Miami is a Cuban Diner, run by Cuban immigrants and the comfort food served in these Diners are a luxury and a […]

Denver’s Nutty Crunchy Salads

  “A HEALTHY NUTTY CRUNCHY SALAD.” VERSION 1 This adaptation of salad is crunchy from the nuts and seeds, slightly sweet from the coconut, and fresh-tasting from the greens. A restaurant we once frequented had a mango chicken salad. We wrote down how we remembered it to be, got the ingredients, and recreated this “masterpiece […]

Fine Dining: Cheese Souffle – When You Want to Impress Your Guests

Cheese Souffle at the Food Blog

Now… this is one dish you must make once or twice for yourself before you invite guests over with the intention of impressing them. This is epicurean, gourmet and top shelf all rolled into one dish. A cheese souffle is only a side dish, yet one of the most difficult dishes for any cook or chef to […]

Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies

Sweet-Potato-Cookies

These deliciously tender cookies are perfect for sharing this holiday season. Curated Content: The recipe is adapted from Alisa Fleming’s Maple Pumpkin Spice Cookies recipe in Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein­Free Living. Recipe makes about 36 cookies Ingredients 2 cups all­purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sweet potato puree (can sub pumpkin puree) 1 cup packed brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar for less sweet) ½ cup melted coconut oil or neutral­tasting baking oil 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions Instructions 1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. 3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sweet potato, brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla with a hand mixer or whisk until well combined. 4. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the sweet potato mixture. The dough will be rather sticky. 5. If time permits, refrigerate the dough for 1 hour to make it a bit more manageable. If using coconut oil, it will firm up quite well. 6. Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. 7. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Evenly sprinkle the mixture on the cookie dough tops. 8. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the tops take on a golden hue. 9. Let cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 10. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or put the cookies in plastic freezer bags and freeze to enjoy later.   Notes Pecan Topper: For the festive touch of pressing one-half pecan into the top of each ball of dough before baking. The pecans toast up nicely. Flavorful Add­ ins: Fold ½ cup to 1 cup of cranberries, raisins, dairy­free chocolate chips, or chopped nuts into the dough after you stir in the dry ingredients. Cinnamon­Sugar Sprinkle: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture atop each ball of dough before baking.   Curated Content for ARTSandFOOD® […]

Cooking With Cathy – Winter Specials for Cold Days!

Potato Soup Tomato Soup

  Cooking With Cathy Jan/Feb 2019 By Cathy Addoms   We have always lived in an area of the country that has real and long winters. I like winter and the special comfort a flavor-filled soup and a “zippy” sandwich can give you. These three soups are not that common but not difficult and are […]

Don’t Gain Weight, Eat This French Leek Soup!

(Art: Courtesy of frenchwomendontgetfat.com) By Mireille Guiliano * Dr. Miracle, the family physician who helped me wake up and recover from my weight gain, was something of a gourmand. He gave me a number of recipes, but none more important than the one he gave me for the first, and only, “tough” weekend. On reflection, it […]