Bake for Hope

by kitchenrunway // May 12, 2010 // 11 Comments

My friend, Erin, volunteered to be an organizer for Bake for Hope, a nation-wide bake sale that is completely powered by volunteers. All proceeds are donated to the Susan G. Komen for the cure affiliates. Erin is a loving wife, caring mother and daughter who has been touched by breast cancer. Breast cancer research is something very dear to her as it is to many people. When she asked me to be to be a part of her bake sale – there was no way I was going to pass.

I returned from my two week hiatus in Tokyo, Kyoto and Shanghai the day before the bake sale. I thought for sure I was going to be able to bake something that night and drop them off the morning of the sale. I was totally over ambitious and crashed. I woke up the morning of and whipped up some Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars to take over to the sale. I didn’t have time to let them cool completely so the bars were a bit on the gooey side, which made it a little difficult for packaging. I thought they still turned out bake sale worthy though. People like treats that are fresh out of the oven right?

: Can you tell I got these cello bags from Japan? The sakura design was just too cute!

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Soy Sauce Vinaigrette

by kitchenrunway // May 2, 2010 // 5 Comments

I am always looking for new ways to dress my salad to keep it fresh and interesting. I came up with this soy sauce vinaigrette to give my salad an Asian flare. The dressing is savory, tangy and so easy to make. It’s great with tofu since it is the perfect ingredient to soak up all of the dressing’s flavor. Hope you enjoy my Asian inspired vinaigrette!

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Banana Bon Bons {bite sized frozen bananas + dark chocolate}

by kitchenrunway // April 22, 2010 // 5 Comments

My dear friend over atHealthy Test Kitchens recently asked me to develop a simple and healthy recipe to feature on her weekly newsletter. This week is all about the healthy benefits of dark chocolate. I was happy to contribute and excited about being part of Healthy Test Kitchens’ newsletter. You should check it out sometime – it’s a great way to keep up with health trends, news, and pick up a few healthy and easy recipes along the way.

Being healthier or making better choices doesn’t have to be complicated. So this recipe is all about keeping it simple. It’s a satifying treat that combines 2 good for you ingredients: fresh bananas + dark chocolate (and optional sprinkles). I love that these are bite size which make them look like little pieces of decadent chocolate. They’re the perfect size to eat when you’re craving something sweet. To be honest I’m not a huge fan of dark chocolate…but this I love! The natural sweetness of the banana balances out the dark chocolate. It’s a fun treat that you don’t have to feel guilty about.

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Blood Orange Cheesecake {Light & Airy}

by kitchenrunway // April 20, 2010 // 10 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I found out that I was one of the 2 lucky winners of The White on Rice Couple’s Citrus Giveaway. I was thrilled to win 3 pounds of fresh blood oranges from their very own garden! (By the way, I am über impressed – I can hardly keep a basil plant alive much less fruit bearing trees!) I met up with Diane Cu & Todd Porter of the White on Rice Couple last week to claim my prize. We had a great time sharing stories of our fun & crazy families, travel adventures and our love for food (& eating)! They are two of the most down to earth and friendly people you’ll ever meet…they are the type of people that you sit down with for an hour and feel like you’ve known them for years. I look forward to catching up with them again soon!

So…what do you do with 3 lbs of beautiful blood oranges? Honestly, the blood oranges were so good just eaten as is that I almost didn’t want to use it for baking or cooking. I was willing to spare 1 blood orange to make a cheesecake. My little brother’s favorite dessert is cheesecake and I had promised that I would make it soon….so I figure now is as good of a time as ever. I use light cream cheese and light sour cream in this recipe which makes for a lighter and airy texture. It’s creamy with just enough richness and citrus undertones. It’s definitely not a New York style cheesecake and the blood orange flavor is not over powering. You can definitely add more zest to the cheesecake mixture or replace the vanilla in the sour cream mixture with blood orange juice and add zest for a more pronounced blood orange flavor.

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Banana Bread (Easy + Healthier)

by kitchenrunway // April 8, 2010 // 51 Comments

Traditionally I make banana bread with either ½ cup of oil or 1 stick of butter which lends to a very moist and rich bread. I’ve heard that you can replace the oil with apple sauce for a lighter version. I had never tried it before because I thought it would compromise the taste and flavor. I figured it’s time to give apple sauce a chance…honestly, The Jamie Oliver Food Revolution has been a wake up call for me. It makes me more conscience about food and more aware about saving a few calories & cutting fat here and there. Little changes in your diet can make a difference in your overall health. Trust me — you won’t miss the oil or butter in this recipe. You’ll find this banana bread slightly denser with a very pleasant chewy texture. It’s moist and very flavorful. The hint of cinnamon in the apple sauce compliments the bananas quite well.

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