A Family Recipe and Yuletide Greetings

Hello, and Merry Christmas, from Bermuda!

This was a nice break from the snow/ice in Providence!

I'm at home for the holiday, and yesterday was a momentous day; my dad taught my sister, her boyfriend, and me how to make his world famous cassava pie. What a great reason to experiment with Android's Blogger app (verdict: dissatisfied. Pictures added using my mom's painfully old/slow desktop), and what a fabulous opportunity to share a Bermudian, family recipe with all of you!

In the past, my dad has supplied cassava pies for all of the major hotels and grocery stores in Bermuda throughout the Christmas season. These pies have also been enjoyed throughout North America, the Caribbean and the UK. Over the last few years, though, his declining health has taken a toll on his holiday pie operations. He has had to cut production to just a few pies for close friends and family.

Recipe Disclaimer: Dad is used to a large scale operation, so this recipe will leave you with lots of pie! The recipe, as listed below, will make at least one large tray, 3 loaf pans and 8 muffins of golden cassava pie. Also, one secret ingredient has been omitted for the family's sake.

Cassava Pie

Ingredients:

2 pounds Butter
15 pounds Grated cassava (soaked, rinsed and strained)
2 and 1/2 tbsp Ground nutmeg
22 Eggs
6 cups Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 shot Vanilla extract
0.75 pound Boiled chicken (cut into cubes)
Retain chicken stock
0.75 pound Boiled pork (cut into cubes)
Retain pork stock
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°. Melt butter in a medium saucepan on the stove over low heat.

Sprinkle the ground nutmeg over your strained cassava and mix well (by hand).

Use a painter's bag to strain the soaked and  rinsed cassava.

With a standing or hand mixer, beat the eggs at low speed. Continue to beat the mixture, adding sugar gradually. Add salt and vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds.

My dad's old Oster mixer is a beaut!

Add the egg mixture to the cassava and nutmeg, mix thoroughly by hand.

Coat your cooking pans liberally with cooking spray. Pour some of the cassava mixture into your prepared tins, filling halfway. Add a single, even layer of chicken and pork over the cassava, top with a ladleful of the water used for boiling the meat (skip this step entirely for vegetarian pies). Top each tin with the remaining cassava mixture.

Bake until golden brown. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your cooking trays. Our smaller pies were ready in about 1.5 hours, the large pie took 2.5 hours.

Serving Suggestion: Cassava pie should be enjoyed all day on Christmas. Serve it for breakfast with eggs and ham. Serve it at lunch/dinner with turkey, gravy, potatoes, mac & cheese and whatever other fixin's your family enjoys. Tuck yourself into bed with a small piece of pie and some eggnog (with Black Seal rum). Worry about your cholesterol levels in the new year!

I feel so fortunate to have been able to end a day of pie making with a stroll along Horseshoe Bay with some of my oldest friends. Travel anxiety be damned, Christmas in Bermuda and time spent with family/friends is always good for my soul.

Horseshoe Bay

Do you have any holiday foods and/or traditions that help to make this season special (and less stressful)? Please share in the comments below.

Peace and love to you and yours!

*PointsPlus values were not calculated for this recipe (because I'm in Bermuda and it's the holiday season). I know that the butter/sugar/egg combo is PPV-lethal in this recipe. Eat in moderation. You've been warned. 

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Holidays!

Wordless Wednessday: Happy Thanksgiving

Source

Leggo My Eggo {Florentine Muffins}!

Two weekends ago, I was consumed by the spirit of competition; and Mark Zuckerberg was to blame. Well, sorta. A sponsored advertisement from Eggo made its way onto my Facebook feed on the Friday afternoon, and for whatever reason I clicked on it. That's how I came across the "Great Eggo Waffle Off" recipe competition and, after browsing some of Eggo's sample recipes, I was inspired to enter. 

An idea came to mind almost immediately- Eggo Florentine Muffins; but I needed to do a little research and planning before heading into the kitchen. I quickly added a box of Eggo Homestyle Minis and a dozen eggs to my grocery shopping list, and then I spent a considerable amount of time scrolling through all of the existing breakfast entries to be sure that my recipe hadn't already been submitted. Satisfied that my idea offered an original take on eggs Florentine, I purchased my ingredients.

Eggs Florentine is one of my favorite items to order off of a brunch menu. While many restaurants don't make theirs with asparagus, it is my opinion that a truly great order of eggs Florentine marries spinach with a few tender spears of asparagus. Since I always order a side of bacon, I have incorporated it into these muffins. Go ahead and leave out the bacon if you are craving the traditional vegetarian version. The Eggo waffle base provides a surprising yet complementary hint of sweetness in these savory muffins. The waffle also gives the muffins an incredibly fluffy texture.

I know that I'm mixing my Kellogg's breakfast jingles here, but these Eggo Florentine Muffins are "more than good, they're grrrreat!"

 

Eggo Florentine Muffins

Servings: 4 Serving Size: 1 muffin, 2 tbsp Hollandaise sauce  Points Plus*: 4 pts
(Recipe created for the Great Eggo Waffle Off)

Ingredients

Muffins
Cooking spray, butter flavor
2 sheets Eggo Homestyle Minis (8 mini waffles)
5 Large eggs
2 Large egg whites
2 tbsp Fat free milk
4 strips Cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 cup Chopped asparagus
3/4 cup Chopped fresh or frozen (thawed, strained) spinach
2/3 cup Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, reduced fat
Salt and pepper to taste

Hollandaise Sauce
1 packet Knorr Hollandaise Sauce
1 cup Fat free milk
1/4 cup light butter

Directions

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 400°.

Prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray in the bottom of each cup. Place one mini waffle in each cup, and bake for 10 minutes.

I toasted up 4 extra mini waffles to snack on

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites and milk. Stir in the bacon, asparagus, spinach, shredded cheese, salt and pepper.

After 10 minutes, pull the muffin pan out of the oven. Flip each waffle, and spray cups thoroughly with cooking spray. Top each waffle with roughly 1/4 cup of the egg mixture. Muffins will rise slightly while baking, so fill to just below the top of each cup.

Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. While the muffins are in the oven, make the Knorr Hollandaise Sauce according to the directions on the package. When made with fat free milk and low fat butter, the Hollandaise sauce comes to 1 PPV for 2 tablespoons.  

Check the muffins at 15 minutes. The egg layer is set when an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool for five minutes and serve with 2 tablespoons of Hollandaise sauce per muffin.

Serving Suggestion:
These muffins plate beautifully, and would make for a great breakfast/brunch item this holiday season.

*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website

Wordless Wednesday: Duke Gardens

Crush on You: Falling for Autumn

There are people out there who just love fall. They excitedly break out their pumpkin spice candles and chunky knit sweaters at the first hint of waning daylight hours and cooler temperatures. As soon as the leaves begin their transition from green to gold, these same people start planning leaf peeping adventures in New Hampshire or Maine. Maybe you're reading this, sipping a pumpkin ale, and nodding happily along, "Mmmm, I love fall!" I am not one of those people. I've always thought of fall as a cold prelude to a frigid winter; and I hate winter.

This year, however, I'm attempting to appreciate the season. I have been indulging in my share of pumpkin flavored goodies; lattes, pancakes, muffins and beers (in moderation, of course, because they're heavy in Points Plus Values). I've made a concerted effort to appreciate the beauty of the foliage, and I've enjoyed sleeping with the windows open just a crack to let in the cool, crisp autumn air. Sure winter's on its way, but there's no need to focus on that now.

All pumpkin everything!

There are a handful of quintessential New England fall activities that I've never taken part in- ranging from raking leaves and falling into the pile, to corn mazes and hayrides. I'm still suffering from back pain so I'll have to forgo the leaves this year. Instead, I decided to embrace the season by embarking upon my first apple picking adventure. It seemed like a great way to get outside and earn some Activity Points while crossing something off my autumn bucket list. I also figured having some apples around might inspire me to eat more fruit. That plan sort of backfired though. While I did eat a lot of apples in the week after picking them, they were consumed in pies.

A good friend of mine heads out the Barden Family Orchard in North Scituate each fall for apples, and this year Luke and I tagged along. I have nothing to compare the experience with, but I thought the Barden Orchard was great. They have a small storefront called the Farm Market where one can purchase a number of goods including: apples, pumpkins, apple cider (made onsite) other fruits/vegetables, butters and jams. We waited in a short line to purchase a $30 picking bag, and then set off to explore the orchard and fill it up.

There were more varieties of apples at Barden Family Orchard than I knew existed! Among the varieties still hanging when we visited were Cortland, Crispin, Empire, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Macoun, McIntosh and Red Delicious. I've never been a huge fan of apples, but I discovered that I really like Gala apples! Luke had been most excited to get his hands on some Honey Crisp apples, but it seems we were too late in the season to pick those ourselves. He did find some in the Farm Market, though, and bought one for the ride home.

What are your favorite fall pastimes? Apple picking was fun, and it's something I look forward to doing again next year; it's my new seasonal crush! Next time I'd like to go late enough in the season that we could pick some raspberries too. Look at me, looking forward to next fall?! Now, let me give you something to look forward to- a delicious soup recipe.

Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

Servings: 5 Serving Size: 1 and 1/2 cups Points Plus*: 5 pts (adapted from Skinnytaste)

Ingredients

1 tbsp Olive oil
1 cup Diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Carrots, diced or shredded 
1 large Apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 tsp Roasted cumin
2 tsp Garam masala
2 tsp Curry powder
4 cups Fat free, low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 can Light coconut milk (14.5 oz)
2 cups Solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add onions and garlic and sauté on low heat for 1-2 minutes before adding carrots and apple. Continue cooking until onions are clear- about 8 minutes.

Add roasted cumin, masala and curry powder. Mix well, cooking another minute. Add the broth, coconut milk, and pumpkin mash. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Cover and cook for 20 - 25 minutes.

Puree the soup until smooth with either an immersion blender or in food processor/blender. If using a food processor/blender, return to soup pot and simmer for another 2 minutes. Taste- adjusting spices as needed. Serve hot.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve with garlic naan to turn this bowl of Indian-spiced soup into a meal.


*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website

Wordless Wednesday: Walking with Lemurs

I went "Walking with Lemurs" while in Durham, North Carolina last month. It was a truly unique experience! I recommend visiting the Duke Lemur Center if you're in the Durham area.

A lemur and my foot

One of my favorite pictures. Ever.