Many Dirty Dishes

I don't go to work on Mondays and for the third week in a row, we made some muffins in the morning. Then, I marinated chicken for dinner, made a batch of the most wonderful ice cream and tried a new quinoa recipe as a side dish for dinner. Yeah, I'm kind of crazy. It was too much cooking (translate: too much cleaning up) for one day, even for me, but it all tasted great.

Maple Bran Muffins
This recipe is from a new cookbook I bought at Julienne restaurant in San Marino by the woman who created Julienne, Susan Campoy. It's a great book and you'll probably be hearing more about it from me, but go buy it!

I didn't read carefully that it made 10 "jumbo" muffins and I ended up with 18 regular sized muffins. By bedtime, there were only 5 left. This is one of the first bran muffin recipes I've made that's not from a mix/box and I really loved them. The recipe is exactly as it was written - I didn't make any changes. In the future, I might try lighter sour cream and some ground clove.

1 c. cake flour (oh, I guess I did make a change. I just used regular flour)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1 c. sour cream
3/4 c. sugar
4 extra-large eggs
3 cups wheat bran
3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 10 jumbo muffin cups (or 18 regular) with paper liners. Combine the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the maple syrup, sour cream, sugar, and eggs to blend. Stir in the flour mixture. Mix in the wheat bran, then the melted butter. Bake until a tester comes out with some crumbs and the tops are brown and crackle slightly, about 35 minutes (20-25 for regular size muffins).

Mango Sour Cream Ice Cream (4 servings)

I discovered this recipe on a blog that I sometimes read and before I served it to my husband, I told him it would change his life. If you haven't come up with a good reason to be my friend, here it is. I'll make this for you and you'll love it. For the last time, I promise Cuisinart doesn't pay me anything for talking incessantly about their ice cream maker.

Mango Sour Cream Ice Cream
from A Thinking Stomach

2 very ripe large mangoes
Several limes
Some sugar (between 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup, depending on the fruit's sweetness)
1 1/2 cups sour cream

To make the ice cream:
Peel the mangoes and cut the fruit off the pits. Place the fruit into a food processor with 1/4 cup sugar and the juice of one lime. Blend, pulsing the processor until the mixture is completely smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the sour cream until completely combined. Taste. Most likely at this point you will need a touch more sugar; remember, that ice cream should be a little on the sweet side, since once it is frozen, it won't taste as sweet. Add sugar as necessary. Does it taste bright enough? If not, add more lime juice. Stir again to make sure to combine all ingredients, and place the mixture in a covered container to chill (in both senses of the word) for a few hours before pouring into your ice cream maker. From here on out, follow the directions your ice cream machine provides.

Risotto-style Quinoa with Asparagus (4 servings)

I adapted a recipe from Cook4Seasons and it was my favorite quinoa so far. Quinoa (say keen-wah) is a whole grain, good if you're eating gluten-free, low-glycemic, or candida diet. It's a good change for us from the cous cous and brown rice we've been eating recently. The fresh parsley, lemon rind, and asparagus tasted like spring to me.

1 TB butter
2 TB olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped leek (can also use onion)
1 cup quinoa
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 TB grated lemon zest
1 TB fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c. shaved good quality Parmesan cheese

Heat butter and olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek; sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add quinoa and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add wine; cook until liquid is almost absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add 1 ½ cups broth; cook 10 minutes. Add asparagus and simmer until quinoa and asparagus are tender, stirring often and adding more broth a little at a time as needed, about 7 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and stir until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Season to taste w/ salt & pepper. Garnish with lemon zest, parsley and the shaved parmesan.