I’m not much of a baker and was pressed for time this week but wanted to make a festive dessert to bring to my family’s get together for Easter. I searched online for inspiration and came across images for edible bird nests. I made them last night and they turned out super cute, were easy to make and took very little time to prepare.
For my edible bird nests I used pretzel sticks but I saw many people using chow mein noodles (which I imagine would be a bit easier to gather into little nest shapes).
I coated my pretzels with a combo of melted chocolate and butterscotch chips (they turned out yummy). To melt you can use a double boiler or improvise like me and melt the chips inside a heat-proof bowl placed over a sauce pan with simmering water (make sure the water level is not high enough to touch the bowl). Another option is to microwave chocolate at 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between. Whichever method you choose just don’t leave it unattended to avoid burning or drying out the chocolate. That may or may not be the reason there is no photo of the white chocolate nests I had planned on making. Whoops.
Next, scoop some of the pretzels onto a platter lined with parchment paper or a greased muffin tin. Top with your favorite candy eggs (I used Cadbury mini chocolate eggs) and allow to set.
A few tips:
- an ice cream scoop helps you grab just the right amount needed for a mini nest
- if you want the eggs to stick to the nest place the candies on the nest while the chocolate is still hot
- refrigerate if you need these to set quickly
I think making these with kids would be a fun activity. They are perfect to celebrate Easter, Spring or a love of cute desserts!
I’m terrible with instructions and improvise a lot in the kitchen…but here’s a link with the basic ingredients and steps to follow: http://www.joyofbaking.com/EasterNests.html
If you’ve ever been invited to someone’s home for authentic Puerto Rican food (usually prepared by a mom or grandmother but sometimes dads too), licked your fingers and said, “that was deeelicious and so tasty, what did you use for seasoning?” This may sound familiar to you. The response you probably received was: “you like it because I made it with love.” Well, I am Puerto Rican and am here to tell you there’s more to it. It was love… and a little Adobo.
Normally I wouldn’t reveal this secret ingredient (a staple in most Hispanic households) but it doesn’t matter because it’s too late. The secret has been out for years. I’m increasingly seeing Adobo show up anywhere from entree descriptions at fusion-style restaurants to on the shelves at most major food retailers.
I kind of liked it when I had to travel into the city to a Hispanic specialty food store or ‘Bodega’ to pick up this bottled salty, garlicky goodness. I guess it’s not a bad thing that Adobo is now available at my local Starbucks. Just making sure you were still with me.
If you’ve never used Adobo Seasoning and are tempted to purchase some on your next supermarket run, be forewarned…once you start you can’t stop. I’m not kidding. Your hand will somehow make its way across the counter various times to grab the Adobo when preparing meals. Even when something is pre-seasoned.
A sprinkle for taste. A few dashes just in case…and one more shake for good luck!
It’s definitely a problem (in my house at least) but a tasty one. Go Goya.
What’s your favorite “go to” seasoning?
What do you do when it’s 90 degrees outside without a cloud in the sky? You take your out of town friends to a nearby farm for some sweaty fun. Why? Because you mentioned to your friend’s daughter how great it would be to “pick your own” fruit and after that…there’s no turning back! So, off we went to Wardsberry farm. Blueberry picking was a breeze but we spent quite a bit of time digging through the strawberry patch since it was so late in the season. Alas, check out all of our beautiful blueberries and strawberries (and the precious smile on this child’s face):
Despite the heat, we had a blast. The farm also has daily hayrides, picnic tables and play areas for children. But the best part comes after – snacking on this delicious fresh fruit.
How do you enjoy your fruit? Please share a favorite dessert or smoothie recipe in the comments below. As for me, I’m thinking blueberry pancakes are a must for tomorrow!
This has been my go-to Summer refreshment since I discovered it on a food truck a few years ago. I asked what was in the “Thai Basil Limeade” and the answer was, “Thai Basil, Sugar and Limes.” Fair enough, I guess it would be asking too much for the food truck personnel to provide me with the secret ingredient that made it so delicious. After buying this drink practically every day on my lunch break I thought it would be a good idea (not to mention good on my wallet) to figure out how to make it. I started with the basics and to my surprise it really was just those three ingredients!
It took me a couple of tries to get it to taste exactly like the food truck version and the trick was to use a simple syrup.
For an individual serving:
Fill a cup with ice water about 3/4 of the way, add some fresh squeezed lime juice, and sweeten with Thai Basil infused simple syrup. That’s it!
To prepare a larger quantity here’s what to do: Make your simple syrup (I use 2 parts water to 1 part sugar), throw in a handful of fresh Thai Basil, cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours or leave in overnight. Find a limeade recipe that calls for using simple syrup and replace with your infused version.
It might take a few times to figure out the perfect balance of water, lime juice and simple syrup but it will be worth it.
Enjoy.