Ginger-Ale Glazed Carrots

I'm not a huge fan of using soda pop in cooking. But I'm not a huge fan of cooked carrots, so if a little ginger ale may get me to eat my vegetables, it might be a worthwhile compromise.

Ingredients:
1 lb carrots
2 Tbls butter
pinch salt
1 C ginger ale 
½ tsp chili powder
1 Tbls chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
Peel carrots, slice ¼" thick on the bias. Combine the carrots, butter, salt and ginger ale in a saute pan over medium heat. Cover; bring to a simmer. Once simmering, remove lid, stir, and reduce heat to low. Cover again and cook 5 minutes. Remove the lid, add the chili powder. Increase eat to high. Cook, tossing occasionally, until ginger ale is reduced to a glaze (about 4 or 5 minutes). Serve immediately, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Cheesy Cauliflower Pancakes

Ingredients: 
1 head cauliflower
2 large eggs
½ C cheddar cheese, grated
½ C bread crumbs
½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
salt
olive oil

Directions:
Cut cauliflower into florets and cook in boiling water until tender (about 10 minutes). Drain. Mash while still warm. Stir in cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, cayenne & salt to taste. (My pancake batter seemed a little too runny, so I added a little extra bread crumbs.)

Coat griddle or skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Drop -- and spread if needed -- the cauliflower mixture into 3" pancakes; cook until golden brown and set (about 3 minutes per side). Keep each batch warm in oven while cooking the rest.

I got 11 pancakes out of one head of cauliflower (1 recipe); some of mine were a little more than 3", so you could probably figure on a dozen.

Gingerbread Blackberry Muffins

Ingredients:
3 C flour
2½ Tbls baking powder
1 Tbls ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp allspice
1 C butter, softened
1 C brown sugar
1 C dark molasses
4 eggs
1 C buttermilk
1¼ C blackberries*

* or substitute blueberries, cranberries, even raspberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or spray muffin pans, or use paper liners. Combine flour, baking powder and spices. In separate bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add molasses, eggs (one at a time), and buttermilk. Using an electric mixer is optional, but it makes a lighter, fluffier batter. Add flour mixture all at once and stir until just combined. Layer batter with berries in muffin cups until ¾ full. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan (if not using paper liners). I topped mine with raw/turbinado sugar, but that's definitely not necessary.

Makes about 30 muffins. I often just make a half recipe.

'Monkey Bites'

Hardly need a recipe for these. Saw them in a magazine promoted as a 'better for you' frozen dessert.

Ingredients:
banana(s)
peanut butter
chocolate
optional garnish: sea salt or peanuts

Directions:
Slice bananas; freeze the slices for about an hour - on a cookie sheet lightly coated with non-stick spray. Spread half the slices with peanut butter; top with the other half of the slices, then refreeze for another hour. Melt chocolate (chips, broken up chocolate bars...) in a double boiler. Dip the peanut-butter-banana bites in the chocolate. Top with coarse sea salt or half of a peanut. The 'Monkey Bites' can be returned to the freezer for a frozen treat, but they'll also keep equally well in the fridge for a softer bite.

Sparkling Blackberry Mint Julep

Ingredients:
mini ice cubes or crushed ice 
½ C blackberries
4 Tbls mint leaves, torn or roughly chopped
2 Tbls simple syrup*
3 oz bourbon
prosecco (or other sparkling wine)

* Combine equal parts water and sugar; bring to boil just long enough to melt sugar. Cool.

Directions:
Fill 8 oz glasses with ice cubes/crushed ice.

Muddle blackberries, mint leaves and simple syrup in shaker (or bowl).  Add 1 C ice and bourbon; shake (or mix) well. Strain and pour into glasses, filling ¾ full. Finish filling glasses with Prosecco.

Garnish, if desired, with additional mint leaves and/or blackberries. Serve with a short straw.

For a non-alcoholic version, simply skip the bourbon and use seltzer water or ginger ale instead of prosecco.