Blue Cooks: cinnamon

Make Something New Every Day

This blog is inspired by all those who love to cook, whether experienced or not, and who continue to experiment with new ideas & ingredients, and best of all, share their passion with others.

The first entries are recipes prepared by the students of Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy in Oakland, CA. Fifteen students with varying cooking experience participated in my weekly workshop (via Tutorpedia), and successfully prepared various meals, snacks, and baked goods as part of an after-school program.

Along with the recipes from that class, I will continue to add new seasonal items, spanning every genre of the culinary world, as well as a helpful list of links to recipes, instructional videos, and places to shop and volunteer in your area.

Feel free to ask me questions and share your recipes and ideas as well. I look forward to cooking with you.

July 10, 2016

Snickerdoodles

Back! By popular demand...Snickerdoodles!

A sugar cookie with a crisp edge and chewy center, rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. My secret? Add a bit of cardamom to the mix.

Recipe
1C unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8oz)
1C granulated sugar
2/3C brown sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla
3C flour
1/2t salt
1t baking soda
1/2t cream of tartar

extra sugar, cinnamon & cardamom for rolling

Make the Dough
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream butter and white sugar. Add brown sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl, and mix until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Use a sieve to make sure the baking soda and cream of tartar are lump-free. Stir in dry mixture to wet mixture until just combined. Scrape together into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Shape the Cookies & Bake
Preheat the oven to 300'.
Combine about 1C sugar, 1t cinnamon, and 1/4t ground cardamom in a medium-sized bowl.
Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop out balls of dough about the size of a golf ball cut in half. Do one sheet at a time, keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge between batches. Place a sheet of baking parchment on the baking sheet. Roll each ball in the sugar mixture and space the balls evenly on the baking sheet. Most sheet pans will hold 12 cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges are just starting to become golden. Slide the parchment onto a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for about a week (yeah, right!). Sift out any bits of dough from the leftover cinnamon sugar, and store sugar for later use.

Makes 36 cookies.

Scooped dough ready to roll around in cinnamon sugar.

Gently flatten the cookies before baking.

March 6, 2015

Anti-Inflammatory Orange Avocado Chia Smoothie

Not trying to take credit for this one. Just sharing a tasty smoothie that has a lot of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients, like turmeric, ginger, spinach, oranges and coconut water.

Next time you go to Trader Joe's, add these ingredients to your cart (I'm pretty sure you can find everything you need at TJ's):

Baby Spinach
Oranges
Avocados
Ginger
Chia Seeds
Coconut Water
Cinnamon
Turmeric Powder

Here's the link to the recipe (it's very simple - just easier to link here), as well as good info on how the ingredients can help reduce and prevent inflammation in your body.

The ingredients in this recipe are well-balanced, resulting in a pleasant, creamy green smoothie with natural sweetness (I don't even add honey). To ensure the chia seeds get pulverized, run your blender for a good minute (maybe less if you use a Vitamix).

Enjoy!