YumSugar

Come Party With Me: Outdoor Concert - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:31 -0700

Picture this: it's that wonderful time of day when the sun has just set and the weather is perfectly comfortable. You're enjoying the merry sounds of a symphony. After devouring a delectable steak sandwich and tomato salad, you are satisfied, but desire something sweet. Your wish comes true when you take one last look into the picnic basket and see, individually wrapped in parchment paper and tied with satin ribbons, luscious apricot tarts. You pass them out to your friends who marvel at your culinary creativeness. Doesn't that sound like fun?! Thanks to this fabulous recipe, you can live that scenario in the near future. If apricots aren't your cup of tea, substitute cherries, peaches, plums - whatever floats your fancy. Check out the recipe.

Do You Eat Bruised Fruit?

partysugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:50:24 -0700

Fast & Easy Dinner: Sweet and Sour Chicken

partysugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:50:10 -0700

Instead of ordering out tonight, consider whipping up this homemade rendition of the classic takeout dish. Chunks of chicken are tossed with crisp vegetables and an uncomplicated sauce made of apricot preserves and soy sauce.

Served on brown rice, this dish is healthier than the restaurant counterpart because there's no deep-frying involved. If you're a vegetarian, substitute tofu for the chicken. Look at the recipe when you read more.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
From Eating Well

Ingredients

2 cups instant brown rice
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons finely grated or minced fresh ginger
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
6 cups bite-size pieces of vegetables, such as snow peas, broccoli and bell peppers
1 5-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Directions

Prepare rice according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, whisk vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch and apricot preserves in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink on the outside and just starting to brown in spots, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds.
Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add vegetables, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp, 4 to 6 minutes.
Stir in water chestnuts and the chicken.
Whisk the reserved sauce and add to the pan. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is heated through, about 1 minute. Serve with the rice.

Serves 4.

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Which Spring Fruits Continue to Ripen Once Picked?

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:50:02 -0700

Recently, Party and I partook in Edible Pursuit, a food trivia event produced by Edible San Francisco. While there, we tackled a surprisingly difficult question about which fruits ripen on the vine.

Since Spring means the onset of some of our favorite fresh fruits, we thought we would test you to see if you can tell us which seasonal fruits continue to ripen after they've been picked.

Are you ready to begin? Let's go!

Source

Take the quiz

Fast & Easy Dinner: Chicken Tenders With Apricots and Sauteed Spinach

partysugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:30:09 -0700

Tonight use chicken breast tenders to create a rapid yet delicious meal. The kid friendly tenders cook quicker than whole chicken breasts, making them perfect for a Friday night.

Apricots make a thick, syrup-like sauce, and crisp, just wilted spinach rounds out the dish. Although the recipe calls for canned apricots, fresh ones would be equally scrumptious. To look at the recipe, which was created by our friends at MyRecipes.com, read more.

Chicken Tenders With Apricots and Sauteed Spinach
From Cooking Light

Ingredients

5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 (16-ounce) can apricot halves in light syrup, undrained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach

Get more recipes at MyRecipes.com

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle chicken evenly with pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place chicken and breadcrumbs in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag, and shake to coat.
Add chicken to pan; cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done.
Drain apricots in a colander over a bowl; reserve 1/2 cup liquid. Add apricot halves and 1/2 cup reserved liquid to pan; cover and cook 3 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove chicken mixture from pan; keep warm.
Wipe pan with a paper towel. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and spinach; cook 3 minutes or until the spinach is slightly wilted. Serve spinach with chicken and apricots.

Serves 4 (serving size: about 4 ounces chicken, 3 apricot halves, and about 1/3 cup spinach).

Nutritional Information: CALORIES 432(18% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 1.6g,mono 5g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 46.2g; CHOLESTEROL 99mg; CALCIUM 131mg; SODIUM 819mg; FIBER 5g; IRON 4.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.8g

Like the recipe above? Try out some of these other ones:

- Dinner Tonight Recipes in 45-Minutes or Less
- Quick and Easy Meal Ideas
- 10 Chicken Dinners for the Busy Cook
- Get More Chicken Recipes

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Yummy Link: Save The Blenheim

partysugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:01:31 -0700

Two guys in Santa Clara, California have taken it upon themselves to save an endangered species of apricot, the Blenheim. They're saving a fruit that's not commonly available in grocery stores or farmers by making and selling a tasty jam. With only 3000 jars, you better get your jam now. - SFist

Yummy Link: Warm Chocolate Cake with Brandy Soaked Apricots

YumSugar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:01:38 -0700

I'm not sure which part of this warm chocolate cake with brandy soaked apricots and caramel I like more. The warm chocolate or the brandy soaked apricots? Either way It's going to be delicious. - Never Bashful With Butter

National Apricot Day

partysugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 03:11:33 -0800

Although apricots grown in California and Washington are not available until May or June, today is National Apricot Day. Interesting how a fruit can be celebrated nationally when it's not even in season. You can, however, get apricots imported from Chile and New Zealand, but I prefer eating fruit when it's in season locally, rather than fruit that was picked unripe and transported hundreds of miles to my neighborhood super market. Luckily, dried apricots are always in season and today I plan on incorporating them into a batch of homemade granola. I love having granola on hand in the winter for a quick breakfast or for an easy snack. Dried fruits, especially apricots, make the granola sweet and healthy. Got an awesome recipe with dried apricots among its ingredients? Add it to the recipe database. To check out my recipe for granola with dried apricots, read more

Granola
From Alton Brown

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt.
Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans.
Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl.
Add apricots and mix until evenly distributed.

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Happy Hour: Apricot Fizz

partysugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:25:03 -0800

Although I love a great dry vodka martini, sometimes what a girl wants is a light fruity drink with just a touch of alcohol. When craving a drink of these sorts, I suggest the recipe for the following drink: an apricot fizz. The sweet apricot brandy blends nicely with the fresh citrus juice of both a lime and an orange. To celebrate National Apricot Day with a great apricot fizz, read more

Apricot Fizz
From In The Spirit
1.5 Shots Apricot Brandy (such as De Kuper)
1.25 Shots Lime Juice
1 Shot Orange Juice
0.75 Shot Simple Syrup
Dash of lemonade

Place the ingredients as listed above in a tumbler glass half filled with ice.
Top off lemonade.
Stir to mix.
If desired, garnish with a lemon or orange slice and sprig of mint.

Substitute: soda water instead of lemonade if you prefer.

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Today's Special: Apricot-Nut Turkey-Salad Sandwiches

partysugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 08:57:32 -0700

For those on-the-go nights, when you're in the door and out the door with very little time for a meal, don't order take out or pick up something premade from the store, make yourself a quick, healthy, and delicious turkey salad sandwich. Portable and easy to digest on the go, this recipe calls for only a small amount of mayonnaise and is packed with flavor. Dried fruits and nuts are interesting additions that meld surprisingly well due to the sweetness of the apricots and the crunch of the cashews. This sandwich is also a scrumptious selection for an afternoon picnic. For the recipe, please read more

Apricot-Nut Turkey-Salad Sandwiches
From Cooking Light magazine

1 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken breast (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted cashews
2 tablespoons chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 leaf lettuce leaves
8 (1-ounce) slices pumpernickel bread

Combine first 10 ingredients in a bowl.
Place a lettuce leaf on each of 4 bread slices.
Spread 1/2 cup turkey salad over lettuce; top with remaining bread slices.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 286(23% from fat); FAT 7.2g (sat 1.3g,mono 2.5g,poly 2.3g); PROTEIN 17.6g; CHOLESTEROL 35mg; CALCIUM 81mg; SODIUM 541mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.2g

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