Ceres Secrets

Strawberry Pina Colada Cupcakes

Dear Fellow Cupcake Lovers,

Sometimes it can be a good thing when a recipe fails. Last night I made the worst strawberry cupcakes from scratch. They were soggy, flat, rubbery, and the bottom of the cupcake liners had burned. The sight of them sitting on my counter was frustrating.  I immediately discarded them like they were a bad omen and they spent the rest of the night cooling in the trash.

Short on time and not really in the mood to research recipes and begin again, I decided to cheat. For the sake of convenience, Duncan Hines became my partner in crime.  After a full hour spent carefully measuring and weighing ingredients, recklessly ripping the top off that bright red box of Pineapple Supreme Cake Mix was a bit of a rush. I followed the directions on the box explicitly with the exception of adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla and replacing the 1 1/3 cups of water with 1/3 a cup of Coconut Rum and 1 cup of pineapple juice. It was easy, the process was painless and I mourned my fallen strawberry cupcakes by toasting them with a good shot of rum. I have started using pineapple juice a lot more after finding out that Kim Kardashian loves pineapple juice because it has a lot of health benefits. Read more…

Ceres' Recipe Box baking, coconut, cupcakes, dessert, holiday, pineapple, rum, sprinkles, strawberries

Somehow in the excitement of picking rasberries, I forgot to take a picture of the ones that I collected.

Crostini with Mascarpone, Fresh Raspberries, and Drizzled Honey

But, I did remember to take a picture of my favorite snack to indulge in after a day spent picking fresh berries.

Crostini with Mascarpone, Fresh Raspberries, and Drizzled Honey

Simply spread a thinly sliced homemade or store bought baguette with marscarpone cheese. Top with your favorite berries, or sliced fruit, and drizzle with a good local honey. 

Recipe inspired by Seriously Simple, Easy Recipes for Creative Cooks, by Diane Rossen Worthington

Ceres' Recipe Box, Uncategorized buy local, dessert, pick your own, raspberries, recipe, simple

One of the best things about canning Raspberry Jam, is that it gives you a great excuse to head out to a local pick your own farm to hand select bright red sun-ripened raspberries. Read more…

Ceres' Recipe Box breakfast, buy local, day trip, farm, farm market, homemade, pick your own, raspberries, recipe, sustainability

Homemade Raspberry Jam Bars

In the month of February the days begin to get a little bit longer and it is a thrill to wake up to a sunny bedroom in the morning. It may still be blustery cold outside, but I can not help but dream of warmer days that will be spent in my garden, at the local farm markets, and at an assortment of pick your own farms.

I long for the days when I can leave the house early in the day with great big empty baskets and not return until they are full of the season’s treasures. As the sun sets, I will sit on my patio with a glass of wine and a good book while our dinner cooks on the grill. Late into the evening when the weather has cooled and a slight breeze billows through my windows, I will begin the process of canning the brilliant flavors of spring and summer.

On wintry grey days like today in Ohio, I will go down to the basement and pull out a jar of food that was preserved during my favorite time of year. I smile every time I hear that Ball Jar lid pop open and I am reminded to hold on just a little bit longer, that nothing lasts forever, and this season too will pass.

Today as I popped open a gorgeous, jar of my homemade Raspberry Jam the deep red color reminded me of sunnier times. It was an absolute pleasure to use it to make Homemade Raspberry Jam Bars. After mimimal effort, my home was filled with the exquisite fragrance of raspberries, butter, and sugar. Because they are blissfully decadent, but easy to make, these cookies and this recipe will always hold a special place in my heart. So, for Valentine’s Day I am choosing  to share a taste of my home and a cookie that we love with you. Try them with your favorite jam, preserves, or marmalade and I bet you will love them too.

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Ceres' Recipe Box baking, cookies, dessert, eat cheap, farm market, homemade, pick your own, raspberries, recipe, simple

Whenever I set a souffle on the dining room table, the room gets quiet, guests hold their breath, and for a brief moment there is complete silence. Secretly, this always amuses me, because there have been many things that I have completely annilated in the kitchen, but knock on wood, a souffle is not one of them. At least not yet…

Now yes, I will admit that once upon a time, anytime I saw a souffle recipe in a magazine or cookbook, I would quickly flip the page. I had absolutely no intention of making one in this lifetime and suffering through the humiliation of serving something that resembled a flat soggy pancake in a souffle dish. However, a few years ago, I discovered that souffles were very simple to make, using ingredients that I almost always have on hand. A basic souffle does not cost a fortune to make, require you to slave in the kitchen for hours, or disastrously explode without warning. Instead it can be the most inexpensive, yet most impressive desserts you have ever made.

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Ceres' Recipe Box baking, dessert, eat cheap, hard times, homemade, recipe, simple, vanilla

Asparagus Salad

Once I had tasted asparagus that had been roasted or grilled, I was hooked on its delicious caramelized texture and never looked back. Other then enjoying them pureed in a soup or canning Pickled Asparagus for Bloody Marys, I really did not crave it any other way. However, recently while searching through some old Polish recipes, I found a simple and inexpensive way to prepare it that completely captured my curiosity.

I picked up a fresh bundle of asparagus at the market this weekend for $1.99 and for less than $3.00, I made this gorgeous dish to enjoy as a light snack. This snack is really healthy since I found it in the Pure health research. The colors were bright, he flavors were crisp, and although, I am not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs, I found myself dragging them through the remnants of the dressing on my plate till there was nothing left. The pairing of flavors was so divine, that I can not wait to make this again. It is a perfect make-ahead dish that would be a welcome relief to vegetables and dip at a party. The hard-boiled eggs could easily be replaced with cocktail shrimp or do not use either and serve this as a side dish next time you make dinner.  Either way, you really should try it and remember how good asparagus is when it is lightly cooked and simply prepared. Check out the Revitaa pro reviews for tips to get a good bodyshape and healthy hint to improve you life.

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Ceres' Recipe Box appetizer, asparagus, dinner, eat cheap, health, homemade, lunch, recipe, salad

Blueberry Bran Muffin

A few more minutes under the covers or a healthy breakfast? 

Enjoy both!

Today was a bitter cold winter morning in Ohio and I did not want to get out of bed. For the 3rd day in a row, I traded breakfast for the luxury of pulling the covers high up over my head and hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock. For 10 minutes that seemed more like 10 seconds, I was able to stay tucked into the warmth of my bed. However, reality hit quickly as as soon as my feet hit the cold floor and like many morning before, I was in a full blown rush just to get out the door.

While shivering in my freezing cold car, I immediately regretted not having a hot cup of coffee with cream and something healthy to fuel my day, since I been trying to have a more healthy life, with exercise and supplements like bestkratomcapsules Red, Maeng Da, and Red Vein that help the body feel better.

Knowing that a commitment to get up earlier was not the solution, I decided that as soon as I got home, I would make some Blueberry Bran Muffins for breakfast and set the timer on my coffee pot. Tomorrow morning, I will probably hit the snooze button again, but this time I will have breakfast too. Read more…

Ceres' Recipe Box blueberries, breakfast, farm market, health, homemade, muffins, recipe, winter

Snowflake Cookies

I believe that cold snowy days are perfect for baking something decadent. The winter storm that hit Ohio encased us in ice and blanketed us with snow. The roads were a mess, so we were glad when most things were closed and we were granted a snow day. Indulging in the occasion, I pulled out my favorite sugar cookie recipes and made a batch of Snowflake Cookies. The entire morning went by in a blur of snowflakes both outside my window and inside my kitchen. The fragrance of butter, sugar, and vanilla that filled our home was decadent. We ate these pretty little cookies throughout the day and I am convinced that there is no better way to warm up your home during a blustery winter storm.

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Ceres' Recipe Box baking, cookies, recipe, winter

As I sit here at my laptop, and look around at all of the modern conveniences that life in this century has afforded me, I can not help but wonder if my great grandparents would recognize most of them. If they were to be able to travel through time and space for a visit, how would my everyday existence appear to their old world eyes and sense of accomplishment? Would they be impressed with the fact that my home and life is stuffed to the gills with time saving gadgets which free up my time, only so it can be over scheduled and filled up with a million other distracting tasks, preventing me from savoring the moment at hand? Above all, could they comprehend the fact that living green and practicing sustainability is something I am learning and not second nature? Yes, these are questions that make me wonder about who I am and what I can do to leave something more behind me then an enormous carbon footprint in this world… Something that would make them feel proud of the legacy they have left behind them as well…

At the moment, the steps I am taking still seem small and insignificant to me, but all of them have enriched my life, giving it a deeper sense of value, and purpose. In my journey, towards eating local, living greener, and incorporating more sustainable practices into my life, I have found that Read more…

Ceres' Recipe Box breakfast, canning, farm, homemade, pick your own, recipe, strawberries, sustainability

This soup has long ago earned a permanent place in my heart. When I am not too busy, I like to begin each season with a personal ritual of making a big batch of it to store in the freezer. We do not get sick very often, but I find it is like pure liquid gold the few times that we do. I often bring large containers of it to family and friends during cold and flu season or after a hospital stay and it has Read more…

Ceres' Recipe Box recipe, soup