Inspiration of the Day - 12/13/10

Fitness is a lifestyle, not a fad. A lot of times, people get caught up in these fast 1 week or 30 day fitness programs or diets that promise results. When in reality you may see results, but they are only temporary. Looking good and feeling good all the time requires time and effort. It is always an uphill battle no matter what level you reach, because gravity and age will take their effects no matter how hard you work. There are no permanent results, only permanent work put into bettering and maintaining the results you have achieved.

So today, make a commitment to get caught up in living a healthy life style and not a fad for the holidays or a New Years resolution for next year. Make a resolution for life, to live healthy and stay fit.

~LK

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Inspiration of the Day - 12/12/10

On Health

"It is health that is our real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver."

-Mahatma Gandhi

Baking Christmas Cookies For Santa

My mom was an amazing baker-extraordinaire, and most of my favorite childhood memories revolving around Christmas involve baking cookies. It never got old, and whether we were decorating melt-in-your mouth sugar cookies with piping of all colors and styles or gluing on the perfect accessories to our gingerbread men, I loved it. It formed a bond with my mom that we will both cherish forever. Even now, 20+ years later, when December hits, all I want to do is go home, turn the Christmas music up, the oven on, and bake cookies with mom.

Part of the intrigue after the piles and piles of cookies were baked and decorated to child-like perfection was the finale: when we got to create a plate for Santa. Of course, Santa can eat everything and multiples of it, so we always had a giant plate and we put at least two of everything we had made on that plate. I was very protective of those cookies. No one (especially not a sneaky brother) was going to touch any one of them. They were for Santa and Santa alone. And, first thing Christmas morning, it was a mad dash to make sure that Santa had eaten them all, drank his milk and left just the appropriate amount of crumbs behind. He never failed me.

This year, I encourage you to bake cookies with your children. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than in your kitchen with flour flying and little fingers dipped in red sugar crystals? Play some of your favorite music and show your kids a new kind of Christmas magic. I guarantee that you won’t forget it and neither will they. And, after all, do you really think Santa prefers homemade cookies or those pre-packaged, cardboard cutouts? I’d venture to say he’d rather your child’s attempt at a cookie (regardless of what it tastes or looks like) than anything else.

If you’re at a loss for where to start, try the sugar cookies above. It’s a very simple recipe that my mom and I are both in love with. It’s called a sugar cookie, but don’t let that fool you. It’s got sour cream that makes it to-die-for, and I’d describe it somewhere between shortbread and sugar cookie. Plus, while the mixing and baking is fun, there’s something about decorating cookies after that I believe absolutely every child should be a part of. P.S. Don’t forget the milk!

Here are some more Christmas Cookie recipes that Santa will love!

Perfect Shortbread Cookies
Peppermint & Vanilla Butter Cookies
Raspberry Blondies (Cookie Bars)
Chocolate Marshmallow Mud Cookies
Snowflake Sugar Cookies
Pink Meringue Cookies
Chocolate-Dipped Madeleines

This article is written by Tara Alley, who is a freelance writer from Big Sky, MT, a passionate baker and a lover of all things coffee-related. She is now living in the heart of Orange County, CA, working for Coffee Home Direct, promoting coffee makers and coffee accessories. You can reach her at: tara@coffeehomedirect.com.
Photo: iStockPhoto.com
Recipe: Allrecipes.com

Upside Down Apple Cake

Apple Cake is a very healthy and delicious way to gobble up some dessert without much guilt. Everyone knows the nutritious value of Apples, but when you get bored eating apple slices for your snack time, try this beautiful, low-fat, low-sugar Upside Down Apple Cake. A generous serving of Caramelized apples flavored with apple cider form the base of the cake, and the actual cake topping is equally delicious and fragrant, touched with apple pie spice, non-fat buttermilk, margarine instead of butter, a bit of whole grain pastry flour, and substituting Splenda for Sugar, makes this a healthier version, without compromising at all on the taste factor.

[Recipe adapted from Woman's Day Magazine to make a healthier version; photo by Mark Thomas]

So the next time you are browsing around for a healthy dessert recipe, give this Apple Cake a fair chance. I promise you you will be pleasantly surprised. Please note that some people have their misgivings about using Splenda - if you are one of those, just go for ripe and sweet red apples and use brown sugar, but less in quantity so you can still get a cake sweet enough for dessert. You can even use some Maple Syrup or Honey as they are sweeter than sugar, but lower in calories.

This cake is actually quite dense enough, considering the use of low-fat substitutes. I think the Caramelized apples are the gem of the recipe though. As the cake bakes, the juices separated from the apples trickle in and make it nice and moist, just the way a cake should be!

Healthy Upside Down Apple Cake

Ingredients

Caramelized Apple Topping
1/2 cup splenda
1/4 cup apple cider or juice
1 Tbsp each lemon juice and light stick butter
4 medium Cortland or Fuji apples (1 1/2 lb), peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges

For The Cake
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) light butter, softened (or margarine)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp apple pie spice powder (or all-spice)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole grain pastry flour (or use regular wheat flour)
2/3 cup nonfat buttermilk

Method
Heat oven to 350ºF. You'll need a 9 x 2-in. round cake pan coated with nonstick spray.

Mix sugar and apple cider in a large nonstick skillet; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil mixture 4 minutes or until light honey color. Add lemon juice and butter; reduce heat to medium. When butter is melted, boil mixture 1 minute, until light golden. Add apples, flat sides down; cook 8 minutes, turning apples with a fork after 4 minutes, until lightly caramelized and crisp-tender when pierced with a skewer. Remove from heat and cool in skillet for 5 minutes.

Pour the apple mixture from skillet into prepared cake pan; use a fork to arrange in concentric circles. Beat butter, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt with a mixer in a medium bowl 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Beat in flour and buttermilk alternately, in three additions, until batter is smooth. Pour batter over apples; spread to edge of pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until a pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Cool until cake is just warm, then serve. (This cake is also delicious at room temperature.)

Related Recipes
Fried Apple Pies (Empanadas)
Spiced Apple Bread
Best Homemade Apple Pie

Mini Cranberry Tarts for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is less than 24 hours away, and if you have still not decided what will go on your dessert menu, try these rustic Cranberry tarts which have an old-world charm to them, and with cute individual-sized portions, each guest can have their own personal pies, without having to horde around one big plate! Homemade pie dough can be made overnight and refrigerated, and you can also make the cranberry filling ahead of time. Add some holiday flavor by sprinkling dashes of fall flavors like nutmeg, some raisins and chopped pecans. Orange zest and Grand Mariner take it up one notch higher, making it a memorable feast for your friends and family. Recipe by Karen Baker, via Fine Cooking magazine; photo by Scott Phillips.

Ingredients

For the dough:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp table salt
6 oz. (12 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cold water

For the filling:
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup granulated sugar; more to taste
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1/8 tsp table salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp chopped pecans or walnuts

For Base & Garnish
3 Tbsp gingersnap cookie crumbs (from about 6 cookies)
Granulated sugar for sprinkling
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

Making the dough
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and pulse until the dough just starts to come together.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and press it into a cohesive ball. Divide it into six equal balls and put each on a sheet of plastic. Press the balls into disks and wrap well with the plastic. Refrigerate the dough until firm, 1 hour (or hold in the refrigerator for up to two days).

Making the Filling
In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of the cranberries with the raisins, sugar, maple syrup, orange liqueur, orange zest and juice, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved, the cranberries have popped open, and the mixture is quite thick and syrupy, about 6 minutes. Taste the mixture. If it seems too tart, add more sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup cranberries, nutmeg and chopped pecans. Let the filling cool to room temperature (it will thicken to a jam-like consistency). Once cool, the filling can be refrigerated for up to two days.

Baking the Tarts
Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. About 15 minutes before rolling the dough, take it out of the refrigerator so that it becomes malleable.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each disk of dough into a 5-1/2- to 6-inch round.

Transfer three rounds to each baking sheet and sprinkle the gingersnap crumbs evenly over the surface of each round, leaving a scant 1-inch border. Dollop the cooled filling into the center of each dough round. Use the back of a spoon to spread the filling evenly, leaving a 1-inch border.

Gently fold the border over the filling, pleating as you go, to partially enclose the filling. Lightly press the pleats together to seal. Sprinkle the crust with sugar. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream on the side.

Tart Recipe Variations
Feel free to adapt the recipe for the filling by using seasonal fruits. Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums are all great fruit tart flavors. the basic recipe for the dough and the shell remains the same. You can freeze the tart dough for upto a month, so make the most of this recipe, and you can easily bake variations of the same, all through Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Related Recipes
Traditional Bourbon Pecan Pie
Roasted Pumpkin & Onion Bisque
Upside Down Cranberry Cake