Lahvosh Wraps with Goat Cheese, Figs & Walnuts

Yummy, yummy, yummy! I made this recipe yesterday for an interview--yes, I'm back in California temporarily and interviewed at Williams Sonoma for a position doing cooking classes on Sunday mornings. I've never taught before, but it was fun! This easy recipe came from the Williams Sonoma website, and all the ingredients came from Trader Joe's grocery store. Lahvosh is a thin flat-bread the comes from Armenia, and is similar to pita bread but usually comes in rounds or long sheets.

Here's what you need:

8oz/250g log of fresh goat cheese, brought to room temperature

1/4 cup/60ml chopped green onions/spring onions (include some green stems)

1/4 cup/60ml finely chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 cup/120 ml chopped dried figs

(I used Trader Joe's Turkish Smyrna figs from their dried fruit section)

2 slices soft lahvosh bread (from TJ's)

4-6 leaves butter or oak lettuce (any soft, large, leafy green is OK), washed and dried

Mix together the goat cheese, green onions, walnuts, salt and figs. Lay 1 piece of lahvosh bread on a damp tea towel (to keep it from drying out and cracking while rolling).

Spread 1/2 of goat cheese mixture over the lahvosh (it was easier to do about 6 clumps of goat cheese around the bread and then mash them together b/c the mixture isn't very spreadable).

Top the goat cheese with 2-3 lettuce leaves, then roll the shorter side of the lavash over tightly until it is rolled up completely. You can cut off the ends where the lettuce sticks out if you want to make it neater, then slice the remaining roll into 1 inch slices. Repeat with 2nd piece of lavash bread and remaining cheese spread and lettuce.

The recipe suggests you chill the roll for 30 mins before serving, but I liked it better when everything was at room temp, so it's up to you! Bon appetit!

Sydney Sunrise Smoothie

This yummy little breakfast treat came to me from a great cookbook I picked up while living in Australia in 2000, called Sydney Food, by Bill Granger, who runs Bills Restaurant in Sydney. It's so simple, and now that I have a great mango-slicing gadget, chopping up mangoes is a cinch!

(handy mango slicer)

All you need is:

1 cup/8 fl oz./250ml orange juice

1/2 of a mango, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 ripe banana, sliced

2 tablespoons yogurt, any variety (30ml)

- we used strawberry probiotic yogurt

Place all ingredients in a blender (or glass if using an immersion blender) and blend until smooth. Serves 1-2.

Healthy French Toast with Banana Topping

Today I'm posting a link to another blog, Eating Bender, where I found this recipe (and photo).

http://eatingbender.com/sunday-brunch/french-toast-the-bender-whey/

I made it this morning and it was delicious! Since liquid egg whites aren't available here in the UK, I went ahead and used 1 large egg. I also used vanilla soy milk instead of vanilla almond milk, which I can't find here. I found Whey Protein Powder at Holland & Barrett's, and used about 1 Tablespoon. Finally, I doubled the topping and used 1 whole banana + 1 Tablespoon syrup. It probably adds some more calories, but I think it made it tastier. Enjoy!

Zuccato di Pannetone

I saw Jamie Oliver's pal, Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo, give out this recipe on a Christmas cooking program and it sounded divine, so I copied it down as notes (no specific recipe was given). He said that this translates to "Pumpkin of Pannetone" because it uses leftover Pannetone bread to make a pumpkin-shaped dessert. I winged it on the assembly, and it turned out great!

Ingredients (Serves 10 to 12)

1 loaf Italian Pannetone bread

1 small bag candied fruit

100g (1/2 c) dark chocolate chips

500g ricotta (2 tubs)

100g (1/2 c) whipping cream

small handful flaked/slivered almonds

small glass of rum mixed with some water or Vin Santo liquer

Sugar

Cocoa powder

1. Layer a few long sheets of clear plastic cling film inside a medium or large mixing bowl so that

the ends of the plastic extend outside the bowl by 6"-10" on either side.

2. Slice Pannetone into 1" slices and layer in bowl, starting with the bottom and overlapping, so that you have a solid layer of Pannetone around bowl edges. Drizzle rum & water mixture over dry bread.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, candied fruit, chocolate chips and flaked almonds. Add in some whipping cream and sugar (to taste) until the mixture is sweet and creamy, but not too liquidy. Remove 1/2 of ricotta mixture to a separate bowl. Add in some cocoa powder to reserved ricotta (start with 1 Tbsp) to give it a chocolatey taste and appearance.

4. Spoon white ricotta mixture into bottom of Pannetone 'bowl'. Add a 2nd layer of Pannetone over the ricotta and drizzle with rum mixture. Spoon cocoa ricotta mixture into bowl and add the final layer of Pannetone. Note: If your mixture doesn't go up to the top of Pannetone slices around the edge of the bowl, just peel off the extra Pannetone and add to the top layer over the ricotta cream. Sprinkle some rum mixture over the final layer of Pannetone.

5. Wrap hanging ends of plastic cling film over the top of the Pannetone until covered; press down. Top with a heavy plate or two and refrigerate overnight.

6. When ready to serve, unwrap bottom of Pannetone, then remove from bowl and turn out onto a plate, removing the remaining cling film. It should be bon-bon shaped. Sift cocoa powder over the top of the dessert and serve chilled. Alternate topping: melt 200g/6oz. dark chocolate with a knob of butter and pour over chilled Pannetone before serving.

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

This recipe came to me from my grandmother, Helen, who runs the Highland Inn on San Juan Island in Washington State. They were a big hit with D!

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 1/4 tsp almond extract

1 c. sliced fresh strawberries

Streusel topping:

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. finely chopped pecans

1/4 c. flour

2 T (30g) melted butter

1/8 tsp almond extract

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl, make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine egg, milk, butter and almond extract; add to dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Fold in strawberries.

Combine streusel topping ingredients in a small bowl; stir well. Spoon batter into paper lined or greased muffin pans, filling 3/4 full. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes.