hazelnuts

While looking through Gorgeous Cakes over the weekend, I found the perfect Fall cake recipe that included one of my favorite root vegetables, beets. I love roasted beets in a salads, so why not experiment with them in baking?The uncooked batter has a stunning magenta color that's unfortunately lost once baked. However, it turns to a lovely, golden-colored cake with delicious red speckles throughout.

The combination of beets and roasted hazelnuts results in a hearty cake with a delightfully light and airy texture. For extra zip, I added ruby red grapefruit zest to the luscious cream cheese frosting. To see the spectacular color of the batter and start baking your own cupcakes with this vegetable, read more

This week, I picked up some amazing looking beets at the farmers market. I've been saving them to make this weekend, as the weather is supposed to be great, and I want to invite folks over for a little gathering in my backyard. We'll have cool drinks and barbeque, but to start things off, I'm going to serve them a salad of summer greens, herbs, roasted beets and hazelnuts. To get the recipe, read more

Portabello mushrooms make a wonderful meaty, yet meatless meal. They can be stuffed with just about anything, but a pesto-hazelnut filling is a fresh and delicious winter pick me up. Lemon zest and chopped parsley add layers of flavor. Shaved Parmesan cheese is the salty finish to this scrumptious baked entree. To see the recipe all you have to do is, read more