JuBella.com - Get Your Creative Dose

We do not really do too much for the Fourth of July. We are just happy to have the hubby home for a long weekend and the little one gets so excited about going to see the fireworks over the Savannah River. Nevertheless, I thought I would share a couple of easy and laid back recipes that are a breeze to fix for your 4th of July gathering!

Frozen Sake Lemonade
I do not like drinks that are heavy on the alcohol and outside of ordering virgin cocktails I usually just enjoy a glass of wine or sake every now and then, So this cool concoction that I came up with of sake, lemons, and sweetness is perfect for a summer gathering with friends.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
zest of one lemon
1 C. fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. ginger ale
1/2 C. sake
Ice (about 24 cubes)

1 C. frozen blueberries and strawberries for garnishing

Directions
Stir together your lemon juice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Blend all ingredients EXCEPT for your frozen blueberries and strawberries in your blender. Place your frozen blueberries and strawberries in your glasses or pitcher. Pour in your mixture. Serve with a slice of lemon on the side & Enjoy!

Alternative: Take your mixture and let it freeze. When you are ready to use it simply take it out of the freezer and blend in your blender to make a lovely sorbet. Garnish with lemons, berries, and mint!

Berry S’mores

I have to be perfectly honest…my four year old came up with this idea. He wanted me to make smores for a snack but we had no chocolate, so he says, “well, we can use strawberries”. I was in a desperate need of a sweet fix so I agreed to it. These were SO GOOD!!! I am sure they would be a hit for any kid that comes over as well as the adults (I must have eaten quite a few myself) You could also add some fresh blueberries to escalate the whole 4th of July red white and blue theme, but these are great for a snack at anytime!

Ingredients
graham crackers
marshmallows
sliced strawberries
fresh blueberries (optional)

Directions
Simply place your marshmallows on top of your graham crackers and warm it up in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Your marshmallows should be soft but NOT totally melted. Take your graham crackers out of the microwave and place your berries on top of the marshmallow. Sandwich your graham crackers together. Serve immediately & indulge in the sweet gooey goodness!

I like to cook, and sometimes, I pause in the midst of flour on the counters, chocolate covered spoons waiting to be licked by the little one, water boiling over, bread in the oven, and soup simmering to its flavor, to take a few photos of my favorite foods that I try to prepare with love and creativity for my little family of 3!

Happy Friday everybody! I thought that I would end the week with a few images from my recipe journal. I started this journal as a way to keep lovely images of food to inspire me with my own dishes that I fix at home for my family. Usually the images consists of desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Most of these images & collage are from the Fabulous Donna Hay! I love that magazine…the photography and food styling alone just makes my mouth water.

I would like to know, how do you all find inspiration for the meals and desserts that you cook at home? Do you have recipes that have been handed down to you from family? How do you keep your recipes written down, on pretty recipe cards, or do you jot them randomly on notebook paper? Sorry for all the questions, but I am curious to know how others find inspiration for your meals!

I hope this will inspire someone to create a special meal or yummy treat! Have a lovely weekend everybody and I will be back Monday with a couple of creative interviews and fresh new posts. I am off now to go play in the sandbox with the little one! Thank you all so much who come by to visit JuBella…she just loves your company!

This particular recipe is fantastic for making with your children. Our little one LOVED it. You can get really creative with the recipe. We made both chocolate(pictured above) and vanilla and it was so good. Making this outside makes this treat even better for the little ones! However I will be investing in an ice cream maker soon, but like I said, it is fun to do this one with your kids!

Homemade Ice Cream

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

3 beaten egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups chilled whipping cream

Bag of Ice

Rock / Ice Cream Salt

ziplock bags: sandwich and gallon size

1. Put the sugar, salt, and milk into the top pan of a double boiler (you can use two pots to do this should you not have a double boiler. Just add about 3 cups of water to your bottom pot and plate your other pot on top). Stir the 3 beaten egg yolks into the milk and sugar. Cook the mixture over boiling water for about 2-3 minutes or until you see bubbles forming around the edges. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Remove top pot and stir in the vanilla extract and the heavy whipping cream and stir together.

2. Pour the ice cream mixture into a plastic zip-lock sandwich bag and seal tightly. Fill a gallon size food storage zip-lock bag about one third full of ice cubes. Add a cup of rock salt. Zip the large bag closed, and wrap it in a towel to keep fingers from getting too cold.

3. Now squish and shake your bag, making sure that the ice and salt contacts the little bag as much as possible, and that the little bag gets lots of friction, this keep the ice crystals tiny, making it very smooth. Shake for about 10 to 15minutes. Voila! You’ve got some delicious homemade ice cream. Yummy!

Note: Ice cream will be soft, we preferred ours to be a bit firmer, so let your little bag sit in the freezer for about 20 minutes to an hour to get your ice cream much firmer to scoop up with an ice cream scoop!

Chocolate Ice Cream: Just add about ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa to your mixture before putting it in your little bag. Proceed with directions.

Strawberry Ice Cream: Mash 2 cups of strawberries with 1/4 cup of sugar and add to your mixture before putting it in your little bag. Proceed with directions.

Summertime is pretty much here and that means that the sweet smell of honeysuckles are in full bloom, cool glasses of fresh lemonade, ice-cream, and candlelit porches filled with laughter and friends, and but of course something sweet to top it all off! What should it be you say? Rhubarb! Rhubarb is a vegetable plant in which you can only eat the stems, as the leaves are quite toxic. The beautiful red stems are packed with nutrition and is a bit tart, so when added with a bit of sugar, you get the perfect filling for a scrumptious rhubarb dessert. Here is a great video recipe of cook Annabel Langbein of New Zealand. She is one of my favorites among many others and I thought this Rhubarb & Yoghurt Crumble Cake sounded absolutely divine and perfect for a summer get together with friends and family! For more recipes using rhubarb, check out this cookbook: Life’s Little Rhubarb Cookbook: 101 Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb & Yoghurt Crumble Cake

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 50-60 minutes
Ingredients:

140g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp natural vanilla essence
3/4 cup plain yoghurt
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 stalks rhubarb, thinly sliced, or 190g berry fruits or other chopped fruits
Topping:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
60g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180-C. Grease a 25cm spring-form or loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in yoghurt then add sifted dry ingredients and stir gently to just combine (mixture will be a thick consistency).

Spread into prepared tin and sprinkle over rhubarb.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over cake. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Stand 15 minutes before turning out. Allow to cool before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Serves 8-10
Variations:

In summer I like to make this cake with stone fruit. Use 6-8 stoned plums or apricots cut in wedges in place of rhubarb. In autumn use feijoas or apples cut in chunks in place of rhubarb and flavour crumble topping with 1 tsp ginger in place of cinnamon.
Copyright Annabel Langbein Books 2000 - 2007

Cookbooks by Anna Langbein:

Cooking to Impress Without Stress,

Assemble: Sensational Food Made Easy,

Desserts.

I usually prepare a quick and easy flat bread to go with fresh soups, salads, and curry dishes, but lately the flat bread has become a bit of a bore in our house. So, what to do? Why fry up some bread of course! I love the way that this Native American based bread turned out. It was light, soft, slightly chewy, and flavorful. These are most popularly served as the base for making ,Indian Tacos, which I plan to try as well minus the ground beef. I couldn’t help but think that a dough like this with more sugar and maybe some cinnamon and vanilla would be a hit too, so I think I am going to fry up some Bunuelos soon. Bunuelos is a fried sweet bread that is divine, similar to churros in my opinion. They are especially delightful served with a creamy spicy tea or a really good cup of cocoa! With this recipe the key is to not overwork your dough..your dough should be soft and not flaky. Also, do not fill your pot to the rim with oil. You only need enough to cover the bread, about 2-3 C., depending on the size of your rounds. use your better judgement. You don’t want greasy fry bread. They should not leave any grease on your fingers.

Ingredients:

4 C. All Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 1/2 C. Cold Water

Vegetable or Canola oil for frying

Directions:

Sift together all of your dry ingredients. Gently mix in your water until you have blended all of your ingredients well. Very LIGHTLY knead and work your dough until you get a soft non-sticky ball of dough (you may have to dust your dough with a bit of flour until it does not stick…do not over work your dough, as this will make your bread tough and too chewy), cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest for about 15 minutes.

Separate your dough into 7-8 equal pieces. punch down with your finger tip and stretch each of your balls of dough out into 4″ diameter circles at about 1/4″ thick. Be sure not to stretch your dough out to much or else you will end up with crispy bread. Heat your oil to where it is hot but not smoking. You do not want your bread to fry to quickly or burn.

Poke a SMALL hole in the center of your rounds using a toothpick or skewer(just a quick poke, thats all you need, this helps the heat disperse throughout your dough evenly), and then one at a time, fry them in your oil, about 1 minute on each side or until lightly golden brown. transfer to a paper towel lined tray. Serve warm & Enjoy!

These muffins are truly delicious! I prefer to use fresh blueberries over the canned ones, as they give a much fresher taste and really pops with flavor and juice. You could also try different variations by adding cranberries, chopped peaches, or some sweet red strawberries! My husband prefers the streussel topping to be left off, but this is the most wonderful part to me. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Non-stick vegetable oil spray
12 count muffin pan
3 ¼ C. All Purpose Flour
1 ¼ C. Sugar
¾ C. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
1 Tbsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Baking Soda
¼ tsp. Cinnamon
1 ½ C. Buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 C. Fresh or Frozen Blueberries(drained)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray. Hand stir or use your electric mixer to blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt in a large bowl until mixture resembles fine meal. Reserve ½ cup of mixture in small bowl and mix in 1 tsp.of vanilla and set to the side.

Add baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon to the flour mixture in the large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and the rest of your vanilla(1 tsp.). Gradually add egg mixture into flour mixture in your large bowl and blend together until smooth. Carefully fold in blueberries. Evenly pour batter into your muffin pans. Top muffins with streussel mixture. Bake until golden brown. Use a knife to test. Center should come out clean. Cool for 5 – 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire or slotted rack.

I am a sucker for desserts, and I have become heavily interested in pretty photos of food, cooking and baking creatively lately, and taking pictures of the finished product brings me such great creative satisfaction; plus it’s a great way to keep track of some of your favorite recipes and the ones that were hits with your family. Serving up creative dishes does not have to be enjoyed only at a nice restaurant..so take some time and serve yourself and your family with the 5 star treatment…you deserve it! So not too long ago the hubby and I stayed at the Hyatt in downtown Atlanta, and we ordered room service for dessert much too late than needed(but hey, the little one was with the grands, and that only happens once in a blue moon for us). We had
the best roasted banana bread pudding, and ever since, I have had it in the back of my mind to try to make it. So I gave it a try recently and it came out wonderfully & photographed nicely and the taste was divine. Enjoy!

Roasted Banana Bread Pudding

1 loaf of whole wheat, Italian, or French bread
3 eggs
1 ½ C. Sugar
1 qt. Milk, half & half, or almond milk
1 ½ tbsp. Butter Nut Vanilla or Regular Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp Ginger
3 tbsp. Dark Rum or Rum Flavor

Cube the loaf of bread, put it in a bowl with the milk and set to the side. ( Let sit for at least 30 minutes if possible, but not necessary). Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, rum, and spices. Combine with bread mixture.
Turn out into a lightly greased 10X12 or 9X13 inch baking dish (I used a non-stick souffle dish here) and bake at 325 degrees until edges are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out nearly clean. Cool and serve with sweet rum sauce below and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Sweet Rum Sauce
3 C. Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp. Rum Flavor
1/3 C. Vanilla

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl until you reach a semi-thick sauce, resembling syrup. Add more vanilla or powdered sugar if needed.

This is one of my favorite dishes, right next to grilled asparagus, salmon, and stuffed garlic potatoes! Not only does this meal taste great, but it is super easy and quite quick to prepare. Pardon the absence of measurements, as this is a meal that you can measure out the amount you feel you will need to serve your family or guest…I just season and taste until it is to my liking. I usually serve this with jasmine rice, which has a great aroma and some Sangria or a nice lemon tea. The “Spiced Ginger Green Beans” are simply seasoned with a bit of olive oil, bean paste, ground ginger, brown sugar, salt, and drizzled with honey. Yum!

Filling Ingredients:

Cream Cheese

Fresh Spinach leaves, chopped

Paprika

Salt

Sprinkle of Sugar

Mozzarella, shredded

Roma Tomato, sliced into circles

Directions: Simply mix all of your ingredients together with the exception of your sliced tomatoes.

Tilapia Ingredients:

Fresh Tilapia Fillets

De-veined Shrimp

Garlic Powder

Paprika

Coarse Salt

Black Pepper

Lime or Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

Honey

Directions: Slice a thin layer of your fillet from the top, cutting your fillet into half, without completely separating the top from the bottom (do not completely cut the top of). Place about 2-3 of your sliced tomato rounds on the bottom, lightly sprinkle the top of your tomatoes with black pepper. Now spoon your cream cheese mixture on top. Fold the top of your fillet on top of your cream cheese mixture.

Now season your tilapia with your spices and drizzle your lime or lemon juice on top. Place your shrimp on top of your seasoned fish and sprinkle a bit of salt and paprika on top of your shrimp. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and honey. Bake at 350 degrees until cooked.

Avocado Salad: Ingredients

Avocados

Roma Tomato

Fresh White Corn, off the cobb

Lime Juice

Coarse Salt

Honey

Olive Oil

Pinch of Garlic Powder

Paprika

Directions: Dice your avocado and tomatoes into small chunks. Mix in your lime juice, corn, salt, paprika, garlic powder, olive oil, and honey. Stir together and serve.