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Raspberry Zinger Lemonade

April 29, 2016 Colleen Stem
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I am channeling all my summer time feels here in hopes for warmer weather. As of yesterday there was still a pile of snow outside of my house and I am still leaving every morning in a hat, mittens, and a winter jacket.

I want t-shirts and shorts, I want sandals, and I want to set my winter jacket on fire (not really, but kinda).

This cold weather has crept back into my soul and I needed something to remind me that there will be warmer days to come and I will soon be bitching about how hot I am and blah blah blah.. you know how it goes.

So I make lemonade. This lemonade as inspired by my favorite tea as of late, raspberry zinger. It's a nice and tangy tart and really tasty. I make great big jar of it at night and add a little squeeze or two of lemon to it for that little extra zing. I figured if it tastes good hot, it will taste great cold, which in fact, it does. It taste really freaking good. And it just occurred to me that there is probably a little subliminal inspiration from Beyonce in wanting lemonade, so thanks for the B.

Anyway, it's suppose to me nice and seasonably warm this weekend. Maybe bust out your lemonade game and try a batch of this one.

The stuff. Lemons, a raspberry zinger tea bag, honey (or any sweetener you like to use) water and ice.

Bring some of that water to aalmost boil and pour it over the tea bag (make sure you stick the bag into a jar or pitcher)

While the tea is steeping, juice the lemons. And a personal preference, you can strain out the pulp or not. I use the strainer to catch the seeds but then stick the pulp back in cause I like pulp. All up to you.

While the tea is steeping and still hot, add in any sweetener that you want to use. ( I used a little honey) Stir until that sweetness is all dissolved.

And after the tea has had a good steep, dump the brewed tea into the pitcher with the lemon juice then add in the really cold water. Stir it all around.

Add acouple thin slices of lemon to make it all fancy anda few big chunks of ice to make it super cold

Refreshing, crispy, tangy with a touch of sweet....Perfect for all those warm summer days to come (hopefully)

Have a great weekend people.

-C


Raspberry Zinger Lemonade

Makes 5 cups

  • 1 raspberry zinger tea bag( I used Celestial Seasonings)
  • 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (3-5 lemons, depending on size)
  • Anywhere between no to 1/2 cup of sweeter (can use sugar, honey or maple, I like a touch of honey)
  • 4 cups water (2 hot, 2 cold)
  • ice

Place tea bag in 2 cups of hot water (can be done directly in a pitcher) Add in the sweetener while its still hot and mix until completely dissolved. Let steep for about 10 minutes.

Remove tea bag and add in the lemon juice, 2 more cups of cold water and mix, Top with ice and garnish with a few more lemon slices if your feeling fanciful.

Serve in a glass full of ice with a wedge of lemon and a smile on you face.

In Vegan, Sweets, drinks, Dairy Free, brunch, 5 ingerdients or less Tags Raspberry Zinger Lemonade, Lemonade, tea, raspberry zinger, fresh, drink, summer, pink lemonade, vegan, gluten free, fruit, beyonce, Celestial Seasoning
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Carrot Cake with Salted Date Sauce

March 26, 2016 Colleen Stem
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As a kid, my favorite holiday was Easter. Every year my parents would fill up brightly colored plastic baskets with handfuls of neon colored plastic "grass" and top it with all sorts of candy, coloring books, bubble, and sidewalk chalk. They were beautiful and amazing.  It was like getting a basket of fun and a bunch of sugary candy to keep you going to have all that fun all day long. And the egg hunts. Plastic eggs full of candy hidden all over the house ans yard. We would all have our emptied out baskets running around full of excitement, ready to take out any sibling in our path just to be the one to get the next egg. We were ruthless and I am pretty sure every year someone would end up crying. Now, as an adult, I am not allowed to participate in the egg hunt. (but I still try to make my sibling cry)  Nope, now I get to hide the eggs and sit back and watch the new generation of littles tripping each other and stealing eggs from one another. The carnage!

And also at Easter there is cake. Is there a rule that says you have to make carrot cake for Easter? I think there must be because it is when everyone and their moms busts this cake out. And everyone's carrot cake it the best because they made it the right way, like with raisins or pineapple or walnuts. There are so many things that can be added to this cake that it's a little overwhelming. So I made a carrot cake that was mainly about the carrots. Nothing added, no nuts raisins or coconut (although you could add i if you wanted) and it's made into a pretty bundt cake, which in turn makes mine the best.

This here cake was destined for tomorrows Easter table. I made it with no nut produces cause the nephew has the deadly nut allergy. But when I went and made the date sauce, I kinda let that slip and used almond milk. Oops. So now I have a whole big carrot cake sitting on the counter with it's destiny shattered. So sad, but I think its will survive cause the mris really into it and has already eaten a few pieces. I figure that because it's a carrot cake, he can eat a few more. It's almost like eating a vegetable....almost. And now I need to make a new cake to bring over or I might just stop at the store and buy some oreos on my way over tomorrow. The littles will like that.

The stuff. A bowl containing flour, salt, baking powder ans baking soda.  Also need a few really big carrots, a bit of brown sugar, and ground up cinnamon and ginger. Coconut oil, soy milk, an orange (for it's zest) and a little apple cider vinegar are going into this cake too.

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Start by chopping up 2 of the biggest carrots and tossing the into a pot with about an inch of water. Stick the pot on the stove and cook until the carrots are nice and tender. Then blend those tender carrots up.

I had a hard time not eating all of the carrot puree, so maybe if you want, cook up a few extra carrots ans have yourself a pre-carrot cake carrot snack.

And while the carrot puree is still warm, add in the coconut oil and the sugar. Mix it until the oil is melted ans it's one cohesive mixture.

And take that last carrot ans grate it up into the flour. Also add in the spices and the zest of the orange.

Note. I used a small holed grater so that the carrot shreds would be small and add texture to the cake but not make it too chunky. But use a normal grater..it's all about your carrots chunk prefernce here.

Now dump the wet carrot mixture into the dry and start to mix

Adding in the soy and the vinegar to complete the batter.

And scooped that batter into a oiled bundt pan and get it into the (preheated) oven to bake.

After about an hour, the cake is ready, golden brown and smelling like any good carrot cake should. Remove from the oven and turn the cake out from the cake pan and stick on on a rack to cool. This cake is waiting for me to decide what, or if I want to frost, drizzle, or sauce it up..... I think it wants as little something.

Ok, I figured it out. Date sauce.

The stuff. Fresh medjool dates, almond milk and sea salt.

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Date (pits removed) into the food processor along with the milk and a good pinch of sea salt.  Blend until it turns into a nice smooth, fluffy sauce.

Take that sauce and spread it all over the cake. As much or as little as you want (you might have left over date sauce but its ok, you can just eat. It will last for about a week in the fridge and goes great with just about anything) Once fully sauced, sprinkle the cake with flaked sea salt.

Sliced, plated, and ready. It's carrot cake time.

Have a great weekend, eat all your candy at once!

-C


Carrot Cake with Salted Date Sauce

Makes a bundt cake (but could be made into a 9x13 sheet cake)

 

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 coconut cup oilany oil works)
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 3 large carrots (makes about 2 cups carrot puree and 1/2 cup of raw grated carrot)
  • 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger

Salted Date Caramel

  • 1 cup medjool dates (pitted)
  • 1 cup almond milk (or any milk you want to use)
  • sea salt

Start by chopping up 2 of the biggest carrots and placing them into a pot with water about an inch of water. Stick on stove and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until the carrots are fork tender. When done, puree them with any means nessasary (hand blender, regular blender, food processor) Add the coconut oil and sugar to the warm carrot puree and mix until oil is melted.

Preheat oven to 350

In a large separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and the spices. Grate the smallest carrot in with the dry.

Take the wet carrot mixture and dump into the dry and mix, adding in the soy milk and the vinegar as you mix. Once everything is completely incorporated, pour mixture into a well oiled bundt pan and stick the cake into the preheated oven

While the cake is baking, make the date sauce. Just take the dates, remove pits if they have any and place in a food processor with a good pinch of sea salt and the almond milk. Pulse a few times, scrap down the sides, and keep blended, stopping to scrap sides if needed, until a nice thick smooth sauce is formed. If you want a thinner sauce, just add more milk til you get your desired consistency.

Now check cake. Once it's golden brown and a tester comes out clean (between 50 minutes to an hour) remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes in pan the then turn it over onto a wire rack to finish cooling off. Once the cake is cool, dump the date sauce all over it then sprinkle with another good few pinches of the sea salt.

And now eat it. This is a cake that needs no fork, but you can go ahead and use one if you must.

In Vegetables, Vegan, Sweets, snack, sauce, recipes, holiday, desserts, Dairy Free, brunch, breakfast, cake Tags Carrot Cake with Salted Date Sauce, vegan, dates, carrots, veggies, plant based, easter, cake, bundt, spring
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Oven Baked TATER TOTS

March 15, 2016 Colleen Stem
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Tuesday tater tot time!

Sometimes you just want a tater tot. So what are you to do about it? Well I fought off the feeling for far too long (why? I do not know) and finally gave in got my shit together, got some potatoes, and made the tots. And then I was happy.

What was taking me so long?  Tater tots are freaking good.

These are nothing like those tots that were served in the lunch room cafeteria that we all know and loved. No these are sooooo much better, and probably (definitely ) way way healthier too cause they are baked, not fried. And to make'em even better, after making the tater tot tower you're ready to eat, you can eat them up with whatever dippy type thing you can think of. Sure you could go with straight up ketchup (me, not a fan) or you could go nuts and make a big bowl of guacamole, grab the mustard and the hot sauce, and do that. Tater tots go so well with all sorts of stuff. (I was even thinking peanut butter but stopped myself for the time being)

. Next time I make them, I am so going to make a tater tot castle!

Tots away!

The stuff. Potatoes (duh), an onion, garlic powder, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

First thing to do is boil the potatoes...just a bit. Cut each potato into 4 wedges and stick into a big pot full of cold water, salted water. Stick pot on the stove ans bring to a boil, then turn heat down a little and continue to cook the potatoes until they are just barely for tender. Strain from the water and set aside to cool.

Once the potatoes have cooled off enough where you can handle them, grab a grate and grate them all up, along with the onion. ME, trying to use the least amount of dishes possible, I just grated it all onto the baking sheet that I was using to bake the tots off.... Worked like a charm. And once your taters and onion are grated, sprinkle in the garlic powder, a good amount of salt ans pepper ans drizzle it all with a little bit of olive oil. Mix it all around (I used my hands but a fork would work) and if you are using the baking sheet , just push the mound to one side.

And start forming the taters into tots.... Just grab a handful and squeeze it together into a tot shape.

Note. Have a dish towel close by to wipe your hands when they get to starchy... the tots stick together better when made with dry hands.

Tots ready for the oven. Bakes for 30-35 minutes at 400.. Flip after about 20 minutes.

Golden brown, all crispy an tot like. Ready for your eating pleasure.

Plate them up, serve with your favorite condiments (try guacamole , mustard and hot sauce) and eat them. Eat them all.

-C


Oven Baked Tater Tots

serves 3

  • 2 big russet potatoes
  • 1 sweet yellow onion
  • 1 tablespoon or so garlic powder
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Slice the potatoes lengthwise into quarters and place into a pot of cold, salted water, making sure the potatoes are completely submerged.  Bring the potatoes to a boil then turn heat to medium and keep boiling until the potatoes are just barely fork tender., like 8-10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let them cool.

Preheat oven to 400

Once cooled, grate the potato, along with the onion into a bowl or onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, add a good amount of salt ans pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toss around until its evenly coated then start forming the mixture into tots. Place the tots on a baking sheet and once all the tots are formed ans ready to go, stick into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, remove, flip them over, then continue to bake for another 10-15 until they are all nice and golden brown.

Remove from oven, grab your favorite condiments and eat right away.

 

In Vegetables, Vegan, Savory, recipes, Paleo, grain free, Gluten Free, dinner, Dairy Free, brunch, breakfast, 5 ingerdients or less Tags tater tots, potato, oven baked tater tots, plant based, vegan, gluten free, clean eating, side dish
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White Bean Banana Bread

March 1, 2016 Colleen Stem
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The other night at a dinner with my family, I was explaining to my dad ans sisters about a cookie that I have been making for myself that is coconut flour, sweet potato and lentils (I'll share that recipe at some point) and all those ass faces were making fun of me. They couldn't understand how I could make anything taste like a cookie with lentils. And not going to lie, I was slightly offended , not for myself but on the lentils behalf. Lentils can do and be anything!

Fast forward to the next nights dinner (we had a lot a family dinners). I was in charge of a dessert.  I had recently took a trip to the store where the bananas where on sale for .30 a pound... So I bough a few (like 20) and had quite a few ripe naners that were in need of being consumed. Banana bread is it. And because I was going to prove my point to the fam that they are all asses and have no idea about anything, I made the bread with beans in it. (the lentils are for me)

Long store short.. The bread was excepted into the mouths of the people with smiles ans yums. No one had any idea that there was anything different about it, only that is was so fantastic and that it was gone within the hour. I did tell everyone after the first few bites that I made it with beans and a lot less sugar then most but no one cared. The kids were actually excited that it had beans in it because it meant that they could have seconds. My dad asked for the recipe, and the rest of the people.. well they didn't care, just ate it and yeah.

See, beans in bread is a great idea.. So what do you think of my lentil cookies now? HA

To the bread. Go banana bean, GO!

The stuff. We got some flour in a bowl with baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt. Then we have a few ripe bananas, a cup of beans (in bean water), a bit of oil, brown sugar, some cinnamon, and a nip of vanilla.

There should be apple cider vinegar in there.... so pretend it is.

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Start off by blending 1 of the bananas up with the beans (use you blending method of choice)  until pretty smooth (some chunks are fine, just not super bean chunks)

Then add in the second banana and mash it in, but leave it chunky (I just used the blender part to mash it up... why dirty a fork?)

Not into chunky, then blend it as well, the chunky/ smooth factor is up to you.

The rest of the wet stuff goes into the bowl (don't forget the vinegar) and gets all mixed together with the naner beans.

Then the wet goes into the dry.

And mixed up until just incorporated.

Dump the mixtureinto a well greased bread pan. Grab that third banana and cut it length wise into thirds and press the pieces into the top of the mixture. This step is optional and also open to interpretation. The designs a banana can make.............

And into the oven it goes!

Baked to a golden perfection, remove from he oven and set to cool.

And after completely cooled (f you can wait that long) grab a knife, cut yourself a hunk, and go about your day knowing you made the right choice by eating sweet ass banana bread that happens to have a good does of beans in it.

One could almost consider this a health food! (almost)

-Have yourself a fine day

-C


White Bean Banana Bread

Makes one loaf

  • 2 cups white whole wet or regular all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup oil (like canola)
  • 2 ripe bananas (plus optional 1 for topping)
  • 1 cup white beans in the bean juice
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375

In a large bowl, combine the flour with the baking soda and powder, the a salt, and the cinnamon. In either the blender or a separate bowl using a hand blender, blend on of the bananas with the beans and bean water until pretty smooth. Once blended, mash in the remaining banana (can puree until smooth if you are not into chunks of banana) Now mix in the oil, vinegar, vanilla and the sugar. Mix until combined then mix into the dry until just combined.

Pour batter into a well greased bread pan and if you want, slice the extra banana into thirds and gently press into the top of the batter. And now stick it into the oven. Bake until golden brown and all pretty like and a tester stick in the middle comes out clean. (about 50 minutes)

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for a few minutes then flip out and let cool completely on a wire rack. When cooled, slice it on up into desired thickness and eat away, whether it be naked (you or the bread) or smothered with peanut butter, jam, butter or whatever.

Cooled bread is fine on the counter covered for a day but should be stored in a air tight bag in the fridge if longer then that..

In Vegetables, Vegan, Sweets, snack, recipes, pulses, desserts, Dairy Free, brunch, breakfast, bread, beans Tags White Bean Banana Bread, Sweet bread, banana bread, bean bread, pulses, vegan, plant based, clean eating, less sugar, protein
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Sweet Potato Pudding

February 19, 2016 Colleen Stem
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My little sister came over last night for a homework and dinner night. I love these nights because when she comes over she spends a good amount of time poking and harassing the mr while I get left alone to cook dinner.  But then always at some point during the evening,usually after feeding them dinner,  they both turn on me and start to poke at me. They are brats like that. But what I also like is I can sometimes help her a bit with the homework. (like last night,... girl did a bit of procrastination.Good thing I am awesome and maybe a little bit of a hard ass. She got it done with a bit of help and it all ended happily ever after) Maybe cause I am an old lady now, but I like the feeling of using my brain for things that I no longer think about. I makes me feel smart again (kinda) SO we get together and eat and do homework and make fun of each other... Good times. I love hanging out with my sister.

Ok, so this pudding, its one of my favorites.. I could probably live off of sweet potatoes in all shapes and forms.. A long while back I started making this pudding and got the sister hooked on it as well. So whenever she comes over for dinner I make it for us. And we eat it and exclaim how, "OMG this is so freaking good" and eat, then lick our bowls clean. And it's so easy and simple to make. Basically just sweet potato. So amazing.  The mr, he likes it, but doesn't share the same enthusiasm as we do....But he is not a teenage girl and her sister so yeah. who really knows.But Anyone out there with a spare sweet potato.. make this pudding. It will change your life in all the right ways!

Your welcome very much.

The stuff. A sweet potato, a couple of dates, ans some cinnamon. That's all you need!

Simple as can be. Bake the sweet potato until soft.  Remove the skin (I then eat the skin, but if you don't like it, the dog also loves potato skins) and stick it onto a food processor with the dates (make sure to remove the pits) and blend together. I usually add in a few a few splashes of water while I am blending just to think it out a tiny bit. But that is a preference I will leave up to you.

Add in the cinnamon and blend some more until so nice and silky smooth.

  And a note here. You can omit the cinnamon if you like, the pudding is amazing without it but you could even use more spices like ginger and allspice or added a little splash of vanilla. OR.. Add a scoop of some nut butter... so good.

Once the you have spiced your pudding, scoop it out into jars, bowls, whatever and how much ever you want (1 large sweet potato is good for 2-3 servings)

Oh whats this.. Coconut cream!!!! And yes, hand beaten like a boss!

You have the pudding, a the whipped coconut cream. Big spoonful of that right on top.

Sprinkled with another pinch of cinnamon and some chopped up walnuts...

Pudding so good and so easy it will knock  your socks off!

Have a great weekend!

-C


Sweet Potato Pudding

Serves 1- 3

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1-2 pitted dates (If I am making the pudding for myself I sometimes skip the dates)
  • 1 tablespoon Vietnamese cinnamon

Optional. A pinch of ground ginger or allspice. Pumpkin pie spice or a splash of vanilla. A scoop of nut butter or even a handful of nuts. Chocolate chips or creamy nutella. Berries. And whipped coconut cream or some yogurt to top with. So many possibilities.

Bake sweet potato until tender. This can be done a ahead of time or you can use up left over sweet potatoes from dinner....

Remove the skin from the potato and place into a food processor or blender with the dates and the cinnamon or whatever spices you want to use. Blend until smooth. Can add in a few splashes of water to thing out a bit.

Once smooth, scoop out into serving sizes or just into one big jar to eat all to yourself. Top with coconut cream and chopped nuts or nothing.

Eat with spoon, like bowl clean.. And can be eaten without shame for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack.

In breakfast, Vegetables, Vegan, Sweets, snack, recipes, Paleo, grain free, Gluten Free, desserts, Dairy Free, brunch, 5 ingerdients or less Tags Sweet potato Pudding, sweet potato, pudding, vegan, gluten free, paleo, clean eating, plant based, healthy, quick, easy
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