When I think of summer, I sometimes think of those cute and fun pinwheels blowing in the wind that kids play with, or that you may spot staked in a garden somewhere.  They're colorful, playful, and just plain mesmerizing! 
Memorial Day was this past Monday, and this is the day that usually marks the "official" start of summer, so it seemed like a very fitting dessert to make last weekend.  I've made "Pinwheel Pastries" many times, using puff pastry for a brunch item or dessert.   But, I really thought this would be fun to make the mini "pie" version- on a stick!  The portions are way more reasonable than having a "big ole slice" of pie.  Plus, they're whimsical and "eye catching", and incredibly yummy!!  Pinwheels are more time-consuming, (and perhaps a bit "fussier"), to make versus a basic round version, but they are worth the effort in my opinion.  I mean, how cute are these?  Plus, the dough is made from scratch- and it's a tender cream cheese dough, (which puffs up beautifully), and tastes heavenly with the sweet and fruity filling....so flaky and rich!  Do you have to make the dough from scratch?  No!  Of course you can use purchased pie crust!  You can also just buy your choice of  fruit jam, or citrus curd, (as well), to really save yourself some time!  I did, however, make my own fruit filling, and I made it thicker than the canned pie filling you would buy in the stores, (since these are not fully enclosed.)  Clearly, you don't want ALL of the filling to bake out!  So that's why I would recommend using a jam vs. pie filling for this particular recipe.   I also used a fluted pastry wheel to cut out the squares, and a small gum paste flower cutter for the cute little flower in the center of the pinwheel.  This would be an excellent treat or dessert to bring to your upcoming 4th of July celebration as well!  (After all, pie is super Patriotic!)

Yield:  About 3 dozen Pinwheel Pie Pops

1-2 pkg. Purchased Pie Crust or
Cream Cheese Dough:
1- 8oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
1 t. Vanilla extract
2 cups of flour

1)  In a bowl, beat the cheese and butter together until combined.  Add the vanilla, and stir in the flour, (about a cup at a time), until a nice dough forms.  Cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4+ hours, or until well chilled.

Other Ingredients/ Items:
Jam, Preserves, or curd (Any flavor you wish!)
36- Oven Safe Lollipop sticks ****DO NOT USE PAPER STRAWS!!
fluted wheel
rolling pin
optional:  mini cutter (any design you wish!)
silicone or pastry brush

1 egg & 1 T. water (egg wash)

To make the pinwheel pops:
1)  Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  On a clean and floured surface, roll out the dough in a large square- about 1/4in. thick.  Measuring 3x3 squares, use a fluted wheel to cut out the squares, and transfer each individual square to a silpat or parchment lined sheet tray.  Using the fluted wheel, make a slice in all 4 corners of each square.  (See pic below for reference.)  Place a lollipop stick in the center of each square. 

2)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Make the egg wash by whisking 1 egg with a Tablespoon of water in a small ramekin. 
Take a 1/2- 1 tsp. of filling and place in the very center, (on top of the stick), of each square.  Carefully, begin pulling every other corner into the center of the square, until it resembles a pinwheel.  ***Be sure to use a little egg wash to adhere the dough together in the center, and gently press down.

3)  Using the scrap pieces of dough, cut out a small decorative shape, and using egg wash, "glue" to the very center of each pinwheel.  Carefully egg wash the exposed dough of each one.  Place the tray in the refrigerator for about 10-15min. prior to baking. 

4)  Pull the tray out, and place in oven to bake at 350F for about 15-18min.  (Or until golden brown on edges- but not too dark!!)  Allow to cool, and serve!!  ***As with any "pops", have fun by making up a decorative display, or individually wrap them to keep fresh longer, or to give away!

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Thai cuisine is so exotic.   The spices and incredible harmonizing of the sweet, sour, and spicy elements in their foods are just amazing!  Now that the weather is changing, and it's "heating up", I felt like making a beautiful veggie dish that was packed with flavor, so this is what I came up with!  I was shopping at my local Co-Op, and saw these gorgeous "Rainbow Carrots", and I instantly thought "slaw", but wasn't sure on the flavors.  Into my pantry I went- searching for ideas, and came across a can of coconut milk, and the rest is history!  I wanted the carrots to be the "star of the show", and didn't want a whole lot of added elements to take away from their beautiful color and flavor, or a dressing that was going to mask that as well.   Coconut milk is so velvety smooth and luscious, so why not use it as a base?  I decided to infuse some lemongrass, (which was a bit too subtle), so I "kicked it up" with some fresh lime juice and zest, ginger, some spicy & garlicky Thai Chili Sauce, and some fresh cilantro.  I added in some ribbons of red cabbage for the beautiful punch of color, and garnished it with some fresh chopped peanuts, (for that extra salty crunch!)   Scallions and additional cilantro would also be lovely as a garnish.  The coconut milk just coats those veggies beautifully, and the flavors aren't overdone, but just enough to add that fresh and spicy element.  Add in a few dashes of Soy if you wish as well!   
This is an excellent recipe for those with Dairy allergies, and for vegans as well.  If you have a nut allergy, simply leave out the peanuts!  Also, if you would rather use the Chili Paste, (which is more concentrated), go ahead, but just use less.   This slaw would be excellent as a side dish at your next cookout, celebration or party, or added on top of your favorite sandwich or burger! 
**Thai Chili Sauce or paste can be found in the Asian food section of most grocers.
***"Rainbow Carrots" are a bit harder to find, as they may not be available in your area all-year round.  Check your local Co-Op, Specialty food store, or Farmer's Market.   

Yield:  6-10 Servings

Thai Dressing:
1/2 can of Coconut Milk (plain or unsweetened)
1 Stalk of Lemongrass (fresh or dried)

Fresh grated ginger (or about 1/2 t. of ground)
1 T.  Thai Chili Sauce (Adjust to your liking)
Zest & Juice of 1 lime
1 T. of fresh chopped cilantro
**Optional:  1 t. of honey or Agave nector for added sweetness, or a couple dashes of Soy Sauce.

1)  In a small pot, add the coconut milk and lemongrass.  Bring to a boil, and turn down to low.  Cook for about 10min., and remove from heat.  Allow to cool completely. 

2)  In a bowl, strain the coconut milk, and discard the lemongrass.  Whisk in the chili sauce, zest and juice of lime, ginger, and honey.   Test the flavor of the dressing at this time.  Adjust the flavors to your personal tastes, and set aside.  (**Remember that the dressing should be very flavorful, since you will be mixing it into a lot of veggies!)

For the Slaw:
8 Rainbow carrots (peeled & julienned or shredded)  **Mix up the colors as you like!
1/4 Red Cabbage (shredded or chiffonade cut)

Garnish:  1/2 cup of chopped salted peanuts, chopped cilantro, and/or 1-2 chopped scallions

1)  In a medium/ large sized serving bowl, place the shredded carrots and cabbage.  Pour the dressing over the veggies, and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  (It's best to make the slaw a couple hours ahead to let the veggies marinate in the flavors!)  When ready to serve, simply sprinkle some chopped peanuts, and/or scallions over top, and serve!

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Polenta is such a versatile dish!  You can enjoy it creamy, (like a porridge), and topped with a magnificent sauce, or you can mold it and/or cut it in any shape you wish, and impress your guests with a beautiful appetizer or meal!  Although polenta and grits are both made with ground cornmeal, they are a bit different.  Grits originated with the Native Americans, and is very much a traditional southern dish in the U.S.  It is a courser ground cornmeal- specifically made from hominy.  It is usually prepared as a porridge, and traditionally served with breakfast, or as a side dish.    Polenta, however, originated in Italy, is also a courser ground cornmeal, but is made with "flint" corn, (which gets it's granular texture from the hard starch center.)  Polenta is traditionally served either as a "creamy" side dish, or sliced, and sauteed or baked.  I chose to make mine "cheesy", and cut out triangles and grilled them up to serve with this spicy and delicious Mexican Chorizo sausage and black beans.  I completed this with some additional melted cheese, and a Creamy Avocado & Cilantro Sauce.  The freshness of the lime and cilantro with the creamy avocado add such a "pop" of flavor when paired with the polenta, and spicy chorizo.  What a fabulous combination, and a fairly quick meal to throw together as well!  The polenta can be made ahead of time, (since it needs time to set anyhow), and when you are ready to eat, simply cut, brush with a little oil, place on the grill, and it's ready in minutes!  You can also add other spices or herbs to the polenta if you wish as well.  (If you like your food "hot", throw in some chiles or jalepenos!)  This also makes a great meal to serve for parties as well.  (**Have different toppings available for guests to assemble their own.) 
Also, for those of you that are on gluten- free diets, Polenta is naturally GLUTEN-FREE!  (Just make sure to use stock/ broth instead of bouillon- since some bouillon cubes may contain wheat!) 

Yield:  1- 13x9 pan of Cooked Polenta  (16 triangles)
            Feeds 6 people

Triple Cheese Polenta:
6 cups of water
1 chicken bouillon cube  (Or, can replace some of the water with chicken stock or broth)
Salt & pepper
2 cups of Polenta  (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup of shredded cheese (I used a blend of Colby, Cheddar, & Monterrey Jack)
3 T. butter

Olive or Grapeseed Oil

1)  In a larger sauce pot, place the water, bouillon, and some salt and pepper on high heat.  Allow to come to a boil, then slowly stir in the 2 cups of polenta, (like grits, it will lump up quick if you don't pour and stir at the same time!)
Turn the heat down to low!  Cook for about 15-20minutes- stirring frequently.  Grease a 13x9 pan.

2)  When the polenta is nice and thick, add the cheese and butter, and mix until well melted/ combined.    Pour the hot mixture into your greased pan, and even out with a spatula.  Cover promptly with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill and firm up.

Chorizo & Black Beans
Oil
1/2 green pepper (chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 T. Sun-dried tomatoes in oil (chopped) **Or if you want it really spicy, use Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce!
1 # Chorizo Sausage (Can be found in most grocers) 
1 can of drained black beans

Garnish:  extra shredded cheese, guacamole, salsa verde, cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream, or can finish with Creamy Avocado & Cilantro Sauce (at the bottom!)

1)  In a saute pan, place about 1-2 T. oil and heat on medium/ high.  Saute the onions and green pepper for about 2 minutes or so, then add the chopped tomatoes.    Add the Chorizo sausage, and simply cook until sausage is done.
Add the beans at the end, and just cook for a couple more minutes.   Cover until ready to plate.

2)  Remove the polenta from the refrigerator, and cut into 16 triangles.  Using a grill pan or grill, lightly brush both sides of the triangles with oil, and place on heated grill for 2-3 minutes/ per side.

3)  Arrange 2 triangles per plate, using a scoop or spoon, place some of the cooked chorizo mixture on top, and garnish with some additional cheese, sauce, cilantro, etc. and serve hot! 

Creamy Avocado & Cilantro Sauce
2 whole avocados (peeled and pitted)
1 clove of garlic
1 "handful" of fresh cilantro
1/4 red onion (chopped)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Salt (start w/ 1 t. and add more if needed)
Olive or Grapeseed oil (1/4 cup+)
2-3 T. of Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

1)  In a food processor, simply place the avocados, garlic, cilantro, onion, zest/ juice, and salt, and process on low until nice and smooth.  Stream in the oil until the sauce is smooth.  (Adjust consistency by adding more oil if necessary.)  Add the sour cream at the end, and blend until smooth.  Store additional sauce for 5-7 days in a sealed container or jar.

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Kids love their sweets.....candy, cookies, cakes...you name it- they are drawn to it!  (No matter how hard you try to push the healthier options on them!)   Ray's class, (my 12 year old), is holding a bake sale at school every Friday for the month of May, to raise money for a service project in which they will be purchasing items to benefit our local "Room at the Inn", (Homeless Shelter.)   How could I not volunteer my services to help??!! I like the challenge of seeing what I already have in my pantry, and using what I may already have on hand, so that I don't need to purchase as much, (especially when donating.)  I happened to have a bag of these "jumbo/ extra-large" marshmallows, so of course I thought, "Marshmallow pops"!  (Anything on a stick just seems so much more appealing, doesn't it?)  NO-BAKE, GLUTEN-FREE, and super easy and fun- it was a "no-brainer"!  The hard part for me is trying to come up with what to put on them.  I really wanted to add some kind of nutrition to this, instead of piling on more candy and/ or sprinkles!  (I know, you're either rolling your eyes right now, or laughing at this ridiculous notion!)
But really, what better way to add in some kind of nutrition than fruit!  Yes, of course it had to be the "dried" kind, but nevertheless, better than rolling on more crushed cookies or candy!  However, be careful with the dried banana chips- you need to make sure you buy plain dehydrated, and not fried or sweetened!  The freeze-dried berries still retain much of their antioxidants, fiber, and nutrition due to the process in which they are dried, versus dehydration- which still makes them a much better candidate than candy for finishing!  So, I decided to do a butterscotch and banana combo, and a reverse chocolate covered berry.  The freeze-dried berries are really tart and not terribly sweet, and balance so perfectly with the rich, dark chocolate, and fluffy marshmallow underneath!  The delicious caramel/ butterscotch flavor pairs perfectly with the crunchy and sweet banana chips, and that bite of soft, and fluffy marshmallow.
Ray said the kids LOVED them, and one of the teacher's already requested some flavors for next week!   (Yay!!  It's a good feeling to know that you are helping kids help others- which instills the importance of "taking action" in our communities.) 

Yield:  About 2 dozen Marshmallow Pops
***Each kind yields 10-12 each (so double your ingredients if you want to make just one of these kinds.)

Ingredients:  
1 bag(1# 8oz.) of JUMBO Marshmallows
2 dozen lollipop sticks or colorful paper straws

styrofoam stand or wax covered tray or rack to hold the pops while drying

Butterscotch & Banana Pops  (10-12 pops)
1- 11oz. pkg. of butterscotch chocolate chips
1- 4.5oz. pkg. of dried banana chips (crushed)
**optional:  1/2 cup of melted dark chocolate for drizzling

Berry & Dark Chocolate Pops  (10-12 pops)
1- 10oz. pkg. of 60% or higher dark chocolate chips
1- 1.5 oz. pkg. of freeze-dried berries (either strawberry, or mixed berries)
**optional:  3/4 cup melted white chocolate for drizzling


1)  Prep the pops by inserting a stick or straw into the marshmallows- making sure not to go all the way through the other end!  Lay flat, or place in the stand until chocolate is melted.  Note:  I didn't find it necessary to strengthen the base of the stick with chocolate, as the marshmallow is sticky on the inside, and held the straws/ sticks in place just fine!

2)  Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave or double boiler, and make sure to temper by slowly stirring in some extra chips at a time to bring the temp. of the chocolate down.  Prep your fruit by crushing the banana chips, and/or berries, and placing them in a shallow dish for rolling.  (You can either crush them in a food processor, or simply by using a rolling pin, and rolling over the bag of dried fruit a few times!)

3)  Take one marshmallow pop, roll the marshmallow in chocolate to completely coat it, and shake a few times to remove the excess.  Roll top half or the whole marshmallow in the dried fruit.  Place the stick/straw end in the styrofoam stand, rack, or you can place marshmallow side down on a wax paper or parchment lined tray.  Allow the chocolate to set up.
**If your kitchen is too hot, you may need to get them in a refrigerator for 15min. or so to set up the chocolate.

4)  Once the chocolate is set, you can either drizzle some more chocolate over them to finish, and then allow that to set up, or you can just begin to individually wrap them in plastic to give away as gifts/ favors, or place in a stable vase, glass, or stand for display.    

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Bananas Foster is a true classic......a dessert created in 1951 New Orleans, by chef Paul Blange of Brennan's.    Those caramelized, spiced bananas in rum and banana liqueur, and the impressive "flambeing" when it's served over ice cream...definitely has that "wow" factor!  But in a macaroon?   YES- why not?!!!!  Now, we won't be lighting anything on fire with these cookies, but all of the amazing flavor of that iconic dessert is infused in these macaroons!  Macaroons are a classic cookie, (actually considered a small "cake"), that originated in an Italian monastery sometime in the 9th century.  In Italian, maccarone means "paste"- referring to the almond paste that was originally used in this cookie.   Many variations of this cookie have evolved over the centuries, and in other countries.  In this particular recipe, there are NO NUTS, and this is classically a GLUTEN- FREE dessert, which is why many Jews have enjoyed the macaroon during Passover, (no flour or leavening agents.)
The fresh caramelized bananas, rum, and banana liqueur add a brand new level of decadence to this traditional coconut and almond cookie!  There's just a hint of cinnamon, and the sweetness of the banana mixed with the coconut is like taking a trip to an exotic tropical island- especially when those flavors of the subtle rum and liqueur hits your taste buds!  I finished these with a drizzle of melted butterscotch chips, just to really add  finesse, and that last hint of caramel flavor.   I guarantee you've never had macaroons like these before!!! 
***These are a "Red's original"!  

Yield:   About 20-22 Macaroons

Ingredients:
2 T. unsalted butter
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Rum (Dark preferred, but can use Light)
Banana Liqueur
2 whole bananas (sliced)

1 egg white (lightly whisked)
1/4 t. salt
1- 14oz. bag of shredded coconut

1 cup butterscotch chips

1)  In a saute pan, melt the butter on medium heat.  Add the cinnamon and brown sugar- stir together.  Add a "splash" of the rum and banana liqueur, and then add the bananas.  The sauce should become nice and thick- "caramel like".  **This sauce cooks quickly!  Only 3-5 minutes total time.  Remove the sauce from heat, and allow to cool to room temp.

2)  Preheat oven to 300F or 325F.  Line 2 sheet trays with parchment or a silpat.
In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk the egg white until a bit frothy.   Add the salt and the bag of shredded coconut.
Using a spoon, begin to smash up the bananas in the caramel sauce, (you want to have small bits of the banana mixed in with the coconut.)   Add the smashed banana and sauce into the bowl with the coconut.  Mix together well- making sure to break up any clumps of coconut.  If the mixture seems too sticky or loose, just add in a bit more coconut!
(You want the mixture to just be able to hold together when you place the mixture on the sheet tray.)  ***If you're feeling saucy- add another "splash" of rum!  (Sshhh....I won't tell!)
Using a small scoop or tablespoon, begin placing the mixture on the prepped sheet trays.  When you are done scooping, take your clean hand, dip your fingers in water, and shake off excess.  Using that hand, go over all of the scooped out cookies and just shape the mixture a bit to compact it together so that it holds it's shape when baking.  (Don't press down, but just kind of press around the sides to keep the nice "mound" shape of the cookies.)  ***Dipping your fingers in water helps to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.

3)  Place the cookies in the oven @ 300F for 20-30 minutes.  You don't want to over bake these, so when they start getting golden brown around the edges, go ahead and remove them from the oven.  (This is also why I baked these at a lower temperature.)  Allow to cool.  

4)  Melt about 1 cup of butterscotch chips in a double boiler or the microwave, and temper.  Using a pastry bag, lightly drizzle over the tops of the finished macaroons.  Allow the drizzle to set up.  Store in an airtight container, place in decorative bags to give away, or simply enjoy!!  Seriously yumlicious!!

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