PoppaSeed 'Cupcakes'

How was your Father's Day? Mine was great, spent with wonderful men, including my awesome hubby, and my very own dad aka PapaAquaman. Darius made both of them a little something special (which I forgot to get photos of! Oh the shame!) that you may remember from Mother's Day. The directions can be found here, and here's a little looky look at the final project:

cute huh? Darius customized the tags, with the one for his Daddy reading: "You're Cray!" and for PapaAquaman it read,"I'm funny about you", both followed up by the sweetest little "Happy Father's Day" any Dad could ask for.

I made the supper, keeping Dad's high cholesterol in mind, and created a delicious chicken coconut curry. Adding in a variety of vegetables, cooking the chicken in coconut oil, and serving it over brown rice, made this traditional dish much more health conscious, without sacrificing taste! Not a bad creation. However, that is not the recipe I'm sharing with you today. [Yes, I know it's been a while since I've given you a new workout to try, but seeing as I have a wicked cold, I am just working on breathing, and being able to make it through the night without a coughing fit right now. Sorry. Back to workouts when I can breath freely - I promise.] Do you want to see the recipe?

             PoppaSeed* 'Cupcakes'
                         created by me!

1 tbsp 1% milk
1 tbsp water
1/4 cup grape seed oil
2/3 cup Greek yogurt mixed with 1tsp-1tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 cup honey

1 3/4 cup flour
2 tbsp poppyseed
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp lemon extract
2 1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 24 mini muffin tin,
2. beat milk, oil, lemony yogurt, egg, and honey together. Stir in flour, poppyseeds, lemon zest, lemon extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Spoon into muffin tins, filling roughly 3/4 of the way.
3. In  a separate bowl, mix together fresh lemon juice and confectioners sugar. This is your glaze.
3. Bake at 375F for 8 minutes, or until just golden. Drizzle with glaze immediately and let cool on rack.

These are soooo good! Very lemony, so if you like your poppyseed with only a hint of lemon adjust accordingly. I call them 'cupcake' because really they're muffins, but the glaze makes them taste like dessert. Definitely a plus! The amazing thing is, with honey instead of white sugar, and no butter, these muffins are great if you're on a cholesterol lowering diet, and you won't feel deprived!

*if you're wondering about the alternate spelling for poppyseed, it comes from my sweet Darius, who had a Poppa that LOVES poppyseed muffins.

Have you been cooking it up lately? Are there any health concerns you want to address in the kitchen?

Coconut Chocolate Popcorn

Yes, you read that right.

Coconut + Chocolate + air popped crunchy Popcorn = an addictive and highly satisfying treat!

Now that I have your full attention, why don't I explain how you can get your hands on a GIANT bowl of this delectable concoction.

First, you'll need the following:

 - a full bowl of air popped popcorn (roughly three pops, or 1/2 cup un-popped)
- 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. coconut oil
- 3 cups dark chocolate (55-70% dark is great)
- 1 cup toasted coconut shavings (unsweetened)



Let's get started:

Place the coconut oil and chocolate in a glass bowl. Get this baby into the microwave, and set the timer to 3 minutes. Stop the microwave every twenty seconds or so, give it a stir, and pop it back in. Mine only tool 2:40 in the end, so watch yours carefully!

When it's completely melted it will look like this:



I wish you could smell this! Sooo good!



Please leave your air popped popcorn naked - no salt, no butter. Simply scoop it out of the bowl with you hands, and place on a rimmed cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil or wax paper. As you scoop it onto the pan, make sure you are sifting out all the unpopped seeds - these teeth breakers are not welcome in any popcorn dessert of mine!

Toasted coconut is fragrant, and very delicious. To toast your own, simply preheat your over to 500F (or 450F if using convection) and place your coconut in an even layer in a shallow baking dish. Toast on the top rack of the oven for roughly 3 minutes.



Golden brown is your goal when toasting the coconut

 

All the yumminess ready to be combined!

Simply pour the chocolate over the popcorn, and use a spoon to fully incorporate. Spread the popcorn out on the pan as evenly as possible once the chocolate is poured so that the popcorn can set. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

to speed the chocolate setting, place the pan in a cool room (like your cold room). DON'T put in the freezer as popcorn does not freeze well - it turns mushy when thawed.

Once the popcorn has set, break it into chunks and place in a bowl {for immediate enjoyment!}, Ziploc bags, or containers to give it away.

If you're looking for a Father's Day gift, here's one way to wrap up this popcorn for the amazing Daddy's in your life!

Do you have a favorite popcorn treat?



{Happy Father's Day!}

Have you planned any little treats for the most special men in your (or your children's) life? Well, Darius and I have been discussing this very special day, and talking about what he wanted to make for his amazing Daddy and his two wonderful Papa's. We did a trial run on one of the ideas, and I have to say, it is a smashing success! What's not to like about a savory, crunchy treat, all wrapped up in a pretty I mean handsome package?

You'll need:

canning jars with lids

scrapbook paper

computer and printer for the labels

scissors

glue

ribbon

a little artist with their crayons

and a yummy treat!

Here's what we're making:



You can put anything inside of this cute little jar, but if you want to put in this yummy, delicious, "I want to eat it all day!" treat, stay tuned for the recipe!



Start with the labels. I printed out three phrases," I'm CRAZY about you - Happy Father's Day!", "You're one 'Top Pop' - Happy Father's Day!", and "I love you! Happy Father's Day" Guess which one Darius came up with*??

Once the labels have been printed, hand them over to your little artist(s) for decoration. Once they're all beautified, cut them out.

Now take those wonderful jars, wrapped in decorative paper (I glued my paper on the jar before pasting the label on the paper. It's up to you, but I find it easier to center the label once the paper is already secured on the jar.) and glue on your decorated labels.

Use the canning lid as a guide, and trace around it to get a perfect circle of patterned paper for the top. Cut this out and glue it on the top side of the lid, so it will be visible when secured to the top.

Now fill those jars with your treat! Anything will do really, from mini chocolate bars, to trail mix, to this delicious popcorn concoction that Darius and I made! (I'll be posting the recipe tomorrow!)

And lastly, secure the lids, tie with a ribbon, and voila! You've got yourself a handy-dandy Father's Day treat!

* Darius' phrase for the labels is " I'm CRAZY about you - Happy Father's Day!"