Tag Archives: fair trade recipes

Tasty Tuesday: Fair Trade Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!

- Posted by to General Recipes Tasty Tuesday

Picture this, a warm piece of banana bread laden with chocolate chips and topped with melted butter while drinking hot tea.  And even better it’s made with fair trade chocolate chips, fair trade sugar (though sadly I could not find fair trade bananas) and the tea is fair trade too! Plus my son’s napping so it’s quiet and I am taking a minute to relax.  For me this adds up to a pleasant afternoon.

pick monkey banana bread

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread by Recipe Girl

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature (1 stick)
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces chocolate chips (mini chips are best)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 8×5-inch loaf pan.

2. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add baking soda, sour cream, eggs, bananas and vanilla. Blend well. Stir in flour and chocolate chips, just until combined.

3. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: One loaf

ceramic-fish-serving-platter

Serve up this truly delicious fair trade chocolate chip banana bread on our one of a kind Ceramic Fish Platter!

Happy Eating! Dawn

Tasty Tuesday: Strawberry Shortcake

- Posted by to General Recipes Tasty Tuesday

shortbread 5_picmonkey

Here’s a little taste of summer for you! Strawberry shortcake is a sweet and simple little treat that works for summer or any day that you can get strawberries from your grocery store or local farmers market.  This recipe is so easy you can whip it up before friends come over or you can have it for a tea party themed birthday party or even as a quick dessert after dinner one evening.

shortbreat 1

Strawberry Vanilla Shortcakes
Makes: 6 to 8
What You Need
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ cup fair trade turbinado raw cane sugar
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • ¾ cup low-fat Greek yogurt (I happened to only have strawberry flavored and it worked out fine.)
  • 1 teaspoon fair trade vanilla extract
  • 2 cups strawberries
  • 1½ tablespoons fair trade sugar
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • Sweetened whipped cream or coconut whipped cream
  • Fresh mint
What To Do
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ cup turbinado raw cane sugar, and one pinch kosher salt.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients: 1 large egg, ¾ cup low-fat Greek yogurt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Spray with cooking spray or grease 6 cups of a muffin tin, then pour in the batter equally to the 6 cups (or 7 or 8, for slightly smaller cakes). Lightly spray the tops of the cakes, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are lightly browned. Let stand in the muffin tin 1 minute, then remove to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
  5. While the cakes bake, wash 2 cups strawberries, and slice them into a medium bowl. Stir in 1½ tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, then let stand until serving, stirring occasionally.
  6. Make the whipped cream, using whipping cream or coconut milk.
  7. Chiffonade the mint (following this video).
  8. When ready to serve, cut the cakes in half. Spoon over strawberries, top with whipped cream and fresh mint, and top with the remaining half.
small-sea-stripe-capiz-bowls

For a fun way to involve your guests in your party, place whipped cream in one small sea stripe capiz bowl and strawberries in another and let friends pile on both with a little mint!

Happy Eating! Dawn

Tasty Tuesday: Fair Trade Pumpkin Cheesecake

- Posted by to General Recipes Tasty Tuesday

Cheesecake!!!! Do you love it as much as I do?  And fair trade pumpkin cheesecake is even better.  There’s no time of year that cheesecake doesn’t perfectly fit into.  For summer you put berries on top and for fall you add a little pumpkin.

Pumpkins

When I was a kid growing up my older sister would make my grandmother’s cheesecake and it seemed like a difficult feat.  The spring pan alone felt way out of my league.  But then I decided to take on the challenge and as it turns out cheesecake isn’t so difficult to make.

Here is a recipe I found online and enjoyed the results of! It’s not too complicated and there are several opportunities to use fair trade items in this little gem. Also, there is a super easy cream cheese topping, which can hide any cracks in the top of the cake!

 pic_LP_PumpkinCheesecake_16

Fair Trade Pumpkin Cheesecake (from LivingPretty)

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (or ginger snaps)
1/2 cup of fair trade sugar
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Filling:
3 packages (8 ounce) cream cheese softened
3/4 cup fair trade sugar
3/4 cup fair trade brown sugar, firmly packed
5 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups canned pumpkin purée (make sure you DON’T use pumpkin pie mix)

Sour Cream Topping:
1 cup sour cream
5 teaspoons sifted fair trade powered sugar
freshly ground nutmeg

Directions:

• Combine crumbs, sugar and butter for the crust. Mix well and press firmly into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a lightly greased 9 inch spring form pan. Chill.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat the cream cheese until smooth in texture and add sugars. Continue beating until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Stir in cream, cinnamon, nutmeg cloves and pumpkin. Blend well.
• Pour blended batter into your prepared pan. Giggle gently to allow any air bubbles to escape.
• Bake for one hour. Turn off the oven, and let the cheesecake sit in the warm, but turned OFF oven for 30-45 additional minutes.
• Remove cheesecake from oven and let cool slightly. Set oven on broil and move oven rack to its lowest position.
• Mix sour cream and powered sugar until smooth.
• Spread mixture lightly on the top of the baked, room temperature cheesecake.
• Place cheesecake under the broiler to set. WATCH cheesecake very carefully, as the sour cream topping can easily burn.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover tightly and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
• Gently run a sharp knife around the edge of the cheesecake, in between the Cheesecake and spring form pan edge. Gently remove cheesecake from pan and enjoy.

May we suggest serving the fair trade pumpkin cheesecake on these beautiful linens, which give a fall feel with the red and orange.

red-lotus-tablecloth-detail red_lotus_napkins1

Tasty Tuesday: Fair Trade Chocolate Covered Pretzels!

- Posted by to Tasty Tuesday

Here’s an easy yet always delicious combination…salty and sweet! Fair trade chocolate covered pretzels are one of my most favorite treats. You can certainly buy great chocolate covered pretzels at the store but I like making them too.  I really enjoy making sweet treats and this way I know that the chocolate that covers the pretzels is fair trade chocolate.

photo-2

Salty and Sweet is the best!

Plus an added bonus is that homemade chocolate covered pretzels make a great gift.  Just put them in a little cellophane bag (you can buy pretty ones at Michaels or online) put a ribbon on them and they make a simple, affordable gift for folks during the holidays or you can have them out as snacks at your holiday party.

Eva Bowls

How cute would fair trade chocolate covered pretzels look in one of these green and red bowls for a Christmas party?

Eva Hand Painted Bowls

Recipe:

Pretzels

Fair Trade Chocolate (dark, milk or white…it’s up to you)

Break chocolate bars into smaller pieces and melt in a double boiler.  If you don’t have a double boiler, no worries. I fill a large pot about half way with water and let it boil then place a large glass boil that can sustain high heat on top and then add the chocolate to the bowl.  Stir until fully melted.  Remove glass bowl from the pot and place on a heat safe surface. You can either drop the pretzels in the chocolate to fully cover them or use a spoon to drizzle chocolate on to the pretzels.

Let them cool and then enjoy!!

 

Tasty Tuesday: Fair Trade Pumpkin Bread

- Posted by to General Recipes Tasty Tuesday

Fall! This is my most favorite time of the year. Well, actually October to January 1st is my most favorite time of the year.  I adore this time of year’s holidays and I adore sweater weather.  In San Diego this is great sweater weather time even into January! Since this time of year seems best fit with comfort I would like to share some delicious comfort fall related fair trade recipes in the next several Tasty Tuesday posts.

This week I bring you some fair trade pumpkin bread with walnuts.  The recipe is a family favorite. I added walnuts because I had some extras left over from another recipe, plus I just really enjoy them.  And I used applesauce instead of eggs because I prefer not to use eggs when possible; it’s just a personal preference.

Enjoy – Dawn

pumpkin photo

fairtrade_pumpkin_bread

Fair Trade Pumpkin Bread Recipe (makes 3 loaves)

3 cups canned pumpkin puree

1.5 cups vegetable oil

4 cups fair trade sugar

1/4 cup applesauce (x6)

4 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

1.5 teaspoons baking soda

1.5 teaspoons of salt

1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1.5 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1.5 teaspoons ground cloves

1 cup of walnuts – this is what I had left from another recipe

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9×5 inch loaf pans

2. In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combing the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and walnuts; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Once your pumpkin bread has cooled pop it out of the pan and consider using our Modern Wood Cutting Board to cut it and serve it to your friends and family!

maple-cherry-personalized-cutting-board

Modern Wood Cutting Board