Broiled Grapefruit with Ginger

Heirloom navel oranges and grapefruits are my favorite winter citruses, in fact, they are the only ones I eat. I'm again behind on the trends, this time it's broiled grapefruit. I tried it for the very first time, making it to accompany oatmeal for a weekday breakfast treat. I love ginger, so I was excited by this pairing with grapefruit. It's dead simple, so I will definitely try this as a light after dinner dessert throughout the season!

Broiled Grapefruit with Ginger

Adapted from The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 grapefruit, halved
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven broiler. Meanwhile, top each grapefruit half with ginger, sugar, and salt, rubbing the mixture evenly around the surface of the fruit.
2. Place the grapefruit, cut half up, on a small baking sheet. Broil for 5-8 minutes, until bubbling.

For a tip on eating this especially messy grapefruit, see this article at TheKitchn for a handy trick! That or eat it over the sink :)

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Ruhlman's Twenty Chapter 14: Sauté

This chapter is a strange one in that it mostly discusses sautéing meat at high heat. Very little attention is paid to lower temperature sautéing, though the point was raised which I can appreciate.

Did you realize cooking bacon in a pan is considered sautéing? I hadn't given it much thought either, but it makes sense after hearing it! Some other lessons:

• The word "sauté" comes from the French word meaning "to jump"; think of those chefs you see on TV tossing veggies in a pan to stir while sautéing.
• Tough meats should not be sautéed; this method is reserved for tender meats and vegetables.
• To sauté meat, you want to heat your pan over high heat and then add the oil. Meat should be seasoned and patted dry before adding it to the pan. These two steps will help prevent the meat from sticking.

Related Recipes:

• Spring Veggies with Truffle Salt

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Cacao Brazil Nut Milk

I'm not going to lie...I intended to make a thick cacao shake with this one but it ended up more as a milk. Totally okay though, it still tasted great.

Cacao Brazil Nut Milk

Ingredients

• 10-15 Brazil nuts
• 4 Medjool dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1/2 tbsp maca
• 1/2 tbsp cacao nibs
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 C ice
• 12 oz. water
• Pinch salt

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth.

Makes 2 servings.

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Basic Three Ingredient Pizza Sauce

I recently started making pizza at home on a regular basis and quite enjoy it. The part I don't like conceptually is making the sauce. Simmering tomato sauce and herbs to make a thick pizza sauce requires a bit too much planning to make it into my rotation, not that it isn't worth the effort.

This recipe was born out of laziness, but I do enjoy the full, rich tomato flavor in the resulting sauce. Makes for a great sauce for my pizza crust! I love it too because I can make a double batch with one can of tomato paste and save it for next time. Dress it up how you like, fresh or dried herbs would be a lovely and welcome addition.

Basic Three Ingredient Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 oz tomato paste
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Place to tomato paste into a small bowl. Slowly whisk or stir the olive oil into the tomato paste until fully incorporated, adding as much or as little olive oil to achieve your preferred sauce thickness.
2. Season to taste with salt and add any other herbs/spices you desire.

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Sprouted Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I first discovered a new packaged sprouted whole wheat flour a few weeks back at Whole Foods. I had the intention of buying it that afternoon, but then noticed it would be on sale (along with all other baking items) the following day...needless to say, I went back to save 15%! It was surprisingly affordable even when not on sale, only about a dollar more for 5 pounds as compared to the other whole wheat flours available.

I've been using this flour a lot in the past few weeks, but mostly to make this pizza crust. The result is a dough slightly heavier than using all-purpose / white flour, but noticeably less dense than 100% whole wheat. I think it's a great balance between the two. I had previously tried soaking wheatberries, then drying, and grinding into a flour in the Vitamix, but the result was a bit lackluster (and a lot of work!), not forming a fine enough flour. No such issue with this.

Sprouted Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/3 C warm water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 - 4 C sprouted wheat flour

Method

1. Combine yeast, sugar, and water in a stand mixer bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy.
2. Add the olive oil, salt, and sprouted wheat flour, mixing into the liquid with a spoon to combine.
3. Using the hook attachment of your mixer, knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add flour as necessary if the dough is too sticky.
4. Spray the dough and bowl lightly with oil, then turn the dough in the bowl, cover with a towel, and put in a warm place to rise for an hour.
5. Punch the dough down and cut into two halves. Roll your dough out thinly to form your pizza crust and store the other half for another day (fridge for up to two days or tightly wrapped and frozen). Use as you would any other pizza crust, including thickness, oven temperature, and time.

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Fresh Mango Margarita

The grocery store has been having a great special on champagne mangoes the past few weeks. Not wanting to serve them straight-up, a cool and refreshing drink sounded like a good idea! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a recipe for a mango margarita using fresh mango (canned or frozen, sure), so I had to settle on my own.

Fresh Mango Margarita

Ingredients

• 1 champagne mango, diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp triple sec
• 1 1/2 tbsp tequila
• 3-4 C ice

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth and thick.

Makes 2 servings.

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