Coconut Bundt Cake by Rachel

Summer is here!  Hooray!!

One of my favorite types of desserts for the summer is anything with coconut.  I recently bought a brand-spanking-new bundt pan and I was so eager to test it out.  So I combined my love for coconut desserts with the bundt cake pan and decided to make a coconut bundt!  It was delicious.

The recipe is a little more complicated and requires ingredients to be combined in separate bowls, but I promise you that the result is a fluffy and moist coconut cake that is a real crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients
Bowl 1:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Bowl Two
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 can of un sweetened coconut milk
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bowl 3:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Toasted coconut topping:
1/2 cup of sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp water

Salmon, Kale, and Mascarpone Spaghetti by Heather

I haven't gone grocery shopping yet this week, so this dish came together by combining whatever I had left in the fridge.  Yesterday, I had a delicious salmon and creme fraiche tartine at Tartinery, which just opened up inside Hudson Eats.  I love the combination of anything creamy with salmon, and I had just picked up from Gravlax from my neighborhood bagel shop.  I also happened to have some mascarpone in the fridge- so an idea popped into my head to make a pasta dish inspired by that tartine!  I apologize that I didn't take any pictures of this dish while I was making it, but it comes together so quickly and easily, I don't think you'll need the pics!

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup white wine vinegar (white wine is preferable if you have it)

zest and juice of 2 lemons

4 or 5 basil leaves, roughly torn

1/2 package spaghetti or linguine

3/4 cup mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

2-3 slices Gravlax (smoked salmon)

1 cup of pasta water (reserve after the pasta is cooked and add to the pasta at the end if you need more moisture in the sauce)

4-5 tbs. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Californian Turkey Chili by Heather

Brandon and I made this chili over the weekend, and it was awesome.  Brandon recently moved to San Francisco, and I was in town visiting for the weekend.  We've started a tradition, where very time I visit, we cook a Sunday meal together.  It's normally a bigger meal, so that he can enjoy the leftovers during the week.  We hadn't made chili in a while, and we wanted to incorporate some fresh veggies and flavors from California to make this version extra special.  The spice mixtures below are based on our preference- if you like things more or less spicy, play around with the measurements to suit your taste buds!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey (light and dark meat)
12 oz. can unsalted crushed tomatoes
12 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 ear corn, kernels removed
2 onions, diced (set aside 1/4 for garnish)
3 green onions, white and green parts diced
1/4 jalapeño, diced (you could also add a roasted poblano if you can find them)
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
6 good shakes of Cholula or your hot sauce of choice

Spices:
4 tbs. cumin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
at least 4 tbs.  chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:
shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
dollop of Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream)
1/4 cup diced cilantro
diced raw onion
hot sauce (we prefer Cholula)
avocado

Apricot Upside Down Olive Oil Cake by Rachel

My parents are in town and when they came to visit my apartment they brought over some beautiful smelling apricots with them.  I'm not a big fan of eating plain apricots- I personally prefer peaches when it comes to eating straight fruit, but apricots are great for baking.  They become a little more tart and tangy after some time in the oven which makes them great for cakes and pies!

I've never made an upside down cake before, but I love how moist fresh fruit can be on top of those cakes so that's what brought me here!

The story with the olive oil is an interesting one.  Recently a little bakery opened near my apartment and the lady that owns the bakery had lived in Italy for some time.  She's imported the olive oil from that little town into her bakery and my fiance brought a liter home.  It smells amazing and has a slight spicy flavor. I thought it would be great with my apricots.  I hope you do, too!  See the recipe below.

Ingredients

Topping
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2-3 fresh apricots, washed, dried and cut into wedges
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Cake
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3 tbsp good, strong olive oil
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

White Bean and Feta Dip by Rachel

Another dip from me!  I know I've been lagging behind in the recipes, but Heather is about to embark on a journey to Japan for the next couple weeks so I'll be taking that time to catch up! :)  In the meantime, enjoy!

Ingredients

1 can of cannellini beans
2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Whole Wheat Linguine with Kale, Yellow Tomatoes, and Ricotta by Heather

I just got the Meatless Cookbook by Martha Stewart, and had to make a version of their linguine with kale and tomatoes- the picture was so pretty!  Normally I find Martha Stewart recipes to be a little lacking in flavor, so I amped up with recipe with lemon juice, white wine and added some Greek yogurt to the ricotta mixture.  This recipe comes together in less than 20 minutes, so it's a great weeknight dinner option.



Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh, whole wheat linguine
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 pint yellow tomatoes (also known as zima tomatoes)
3-4 large lancinato kale leaves, roughly chopped
4-5 stalks broccolini (you can add more if you like), roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup white wine
2 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup ricotta (I used goat ricotta)
pinch of red pepper flakes

Balaboosta's Fried Cauliflower Recipe by Heather

Balaboosta is a great Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Restaurant on Mulberry Street in Nolita.  If you haven't been, I highly recommend you go!  If you don't live in NYC, you can enjoy this recipe at home, and it's just as good as the original.  You'll make a cauliflower lover out of anyone with this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the crispy cauliflower:
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 cup flour
5 cups canola oil
3 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the white wine vinaigrette:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbs. honey
1 tsp. dijon mustard
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Garnish:
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 parsley, chopped