Episode 4: Summer in Iowa Salad, Cookin Cutiez have friendz!

...they really do!  Cookin Cutiez were cordially invited to attend a *fancy* dinner party and made a delicious salad to bring along.  It's called "Summer in Iowa Salad" and its so easy to make.  Cutiez Cristin and Rebecca shop at their local Farmers Market and make sure they keep their fridges' stocked full of yummy fresh vegetables.  They looked in their fridges' and whipped together a treat!

RECIPE:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Orange bell pepper
• Carrots, peeled and chopped
• Roma tomatoes
• Parmesan cheese
• Sweet corn, roasted in the oven

Here are some vegetables we found in our fridge...

WAIT A MINUTE!  Which ingredient doesn't belong?!

What about this pepper?

No!  Peppers are great for salads!

What about this corn?

No!  Corn is delicious and perfect for salad!

What about this BIG CUP?

Delicious...but not good for salad.

Now!  Get out your cutest cutting board and start cookin!

*chop* *chop* *chop

Our honorary "Cutie" helped us with the roasting!

YUM!

Here is it is in the bowl!  All mixed up and ready to go!

Cookin Cutiez are off to the dinner party with a selection of salad dressing for the guests to choose from: 
                  --parmesan cheese and peppercorn
                  --balsamic vinaigrette

Choose your favorite dressing, even mix up the ingredients, but be sure to have delicious fun with fresh summer vegetables, just like the Cutiez!

EPISODE 3: Vegan or Non-Vegan Zucchini Bread Muffins

Good aftanoon, cookin-holics! Cookin' Cutiez hit the farmer's market for HUMUNGO zucchinis for this recipe. We got 2 massive zucchini's for a dollah! Keep in mind how morally righteous you will feel having saved some cash by supporting your local farmers through purchasing cheap produce, as well as the emotional pat-on-the-back you can give yourself by substituting the eggs out of this recipe for vegan flare. Whether you do or don't decide to make this recipe vegan-friendly, these muffins are dense, moist, and tasty!

This here zucchini was a gift from our friend Anna Krueger.
Her mom's garden grows FREAKISH zoox.

RECIPE: (will make upwards of 20 muffins)

• 1 large zucchini (get out your cheese-grater, you'll need 2 cups of grated zucchini)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• VEGAN: 2 to-go cups of applesauce, NON-VEGAN: 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 + 1/4 cups of sugar
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

--Preheat oven to 325.

--Grate zucchini until you have 2 cups worth.

--Grease your muffin pan with butter (or margarine for vegan-friendly muffins) or cooking spray.

--Combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

--Beat eggs (or applesauce), oil, and vanilla extract together and then add to the large mixing bowl and stir up until you get a creamy batter.

--Gently stir in your grated zucchini and pour batter into prepared tins.

--Bake for 30 minutes, or until your muffins pass "the fork test". (stick a fork in the middle of one of your central muffins so that the spokes are submerged. Slowly remove the fork. If wet batter sticks to the fork, add a few extra minutes to your baking time. When you can do this and the fork is dry, the muffins are fully cooked!)

Your vegan and non-vegan friends alike will love these muffins served with lemon tea!

So what if the batter looks like baby puke...?

EPISODE 2: BabiezDayOff, Hamburg Inn!

The Cookin Cutiez are taking a day to enjoy food adventures elsewhere! We wanted bfast, so we decided to hit Hamburg Inn on this beautiful Saturday morning.

ALSO: We posted the recipe to our Nantucket Cranberry Pie, please find it attached on our EPISODE 1 post.

Cristin and Julia. 99% angel, 1% devil.

EPISODE 1: Nantucket Cranberry Pie

RECIPE: (serves 6-8. see pictures for help.)

--Preheat oven to 350.

--Graham Cracker Crust: 

• 10 graham crackers (whole, not broken in half)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

Place graham crackers in a plastic grocery bag or a ziploc baggie and seal the air out tightly. Crush the grahams into dust and mix all ingredients in a bowl. Spread the "dough" in the bottom of a pie pan so that the layer is about an quarter inch thick. Try to push the crust half-way up the walls of the pie pan. Doesn't have to be perfect at all because it will be mostly melty once the pie has been baked! Pop into the pre-heating oven for 7-8 minutes while you begin making the other pie elements.

--Cranberry Pie Innards:

• 2 cups frozen cranberries (we added an extra 1/3 cup of frozen mixed berries too! DELISH)
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup sugar

Microwave the frozen fruit for about a minute. You don't want them to be boiling hot and squishy, you want them to feel fresh picked. Mix up the fruit, walnuts, and sugar in a bowl. After the 7-8 minutes of warming the graham cracker crust is complete, pull the crust out of the oven and dump the cranberry mixture in it. Set aside.

--Topping Crust:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar, and salt first. Beat the eggs and add them in next, followed by the melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Gently pour across the cranberries and carefully spread from end to end of the pie pan, covering the cranberries as best as possible. Toss in the oven and set your timer for 35 minutes, or cook until golden brown.