Strawberry Goat Cheese Wraps

Hello friend! I know it’s been a while, but Al got to spend some time in the hospital getting his guts sewn back together and so it was a lot of driving to and from St. Louis for me. Lots of other things on tap as well. 

I had rather hoped that opening a blog would mean I would actually write a blog, but that hasn’t been happening, as you can see! But I am determined to move forward.

I found this recipe for Strawberry Granola Wraps on Pinterest, of course, and it looked kind of interesting and springy (as in the season, not bouncy) so I thought I’d give it a try with a few adjustments. It was an absolutely perfect lunch after gardening all morning.

Remember, please remember when you see a recipe that it’s a great jumping off point for your own creativity!!! I use Chevre in place of cream cheese because I like the tang better, and it usually has fewer calories. If you prefer or can’t get goat cheese, by all means, use cream cheese or yogurt, or, heck, silken tofu for that matter! Take an idea and run with it in your own direction. You can do it! I have faith in you!

 

You may recall the Great Goat Cheese Haul of a few months ago. I know I do. Ah, let me bask in that feeling again for just a second. Mmmmmmmm!    Okay, feeling better now! Any road, you know by now my motto is : if it’s good with cream cheese it’ll be better with goat cheese and that’s pretty much where I aimed with this. 

In the end I thought the granola sounded a bit odd in there. Maybe with peaches? Hmmmm, have to try that! But with strawberries I was thinking just nuts so that was another change I made.  I used 2 of the Ole Xtreme Wellness High Fiber Low Carb Wraps because they are lower in calorie (90 per wrap) and because they do sometimes get soggy quicker than flour tortillas. It worked a treat, though. 

I used a mish-mash of basil leaves because it is early in the spring and our Genoese, or Sweet Basil is still in the seedling stage, and I threw in a sprig of mint because I’m just that crazy. The final Andromeda change is that I added some balsamic vinegar because balsamic vinegar, honey and strawberries are outrageously, amazingly wonderful. So, here we go : 

 

Strawberry Goat Cheese Wraps : Yield 2

2 flour tortillas (or other wrappy-thingies of your choice)

2 C hulled, sliced strawberries

2 oz. soft goat cheese (about 4 T)

2 T slivered almonds (Toasted are even better)

2 T chopped pecans (ditto on the toasting)

2 T chopped basil leaves

2 t balsamic vinegar

1 t honey

Pinch salt

Mix together Strawberries and basil leaves. Add balsamic vinegar, honey and the pinch of salt; toss gently.

Heat your tortillas or wrap wrappers on a comal or flat skillet. If you are using the Ole wraps, stack them 2 high. 

Spread goat cheese on half of each tortilla, or on the topmost wrap. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out your strawberries and lay them on the goat cheese. Sprinkle the almonds on the strawberries and the pecans over that.

(sorry that picture is blurry, folks)

Gently roll the tortilla from the fullest to the emptiest side and cut in half.

Eat and enjoy! I mean, really, can it get any easier than that? I don’t think so, either!

Nutritional information (approximate per Sparkpeople.com) :

Calories : 354
Total Fat : 15.8 g
    Saturated Fat : 5.6 g
    Polyunsaturated Fat : 2.2 g
    Monounsaturated Fat : 3.9 g
Cholesterol : 15 mg
Sodium : 688.8 mg
Potassium :  352.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate : 58.1 g
     Dietary Fiber : 29.1 g
     Sugars : 17.7 g
Protein : 21.4 g
Vitamin A : 10.6% RDA
Vitamin C : 158.6% RDA
Calcium :  12.4% RDA

Boston Marathon Bombing

I know that there is really nothing to say about the bombings in Boston that haven't already been said, but I do need to get this out of my head a little.

Patriot's Day. Really? There is speculation, which is pretty much all we have right now, that this bombing was a political statement. Um, if you want to make a political statement in Boston there are other targets, surely. And on Patriot's Day the obvious targets are the historical landmarks. Patriot's Day, for those who don't know, is the remembrance of the 'shot heard round the world' that sparked our revolution against the British on 19 April 1775. So are these people trying to start something? Are they trying to make a point?

Like you, like all of us, I am horrified that they chose, instead, to inflict their own agenda on innocents. By their actions they showed themselves as absolute cowards.

People here kept looking at me like I was crazy when I kept saying, "the runners, the runners." 

Like I said, this hit me on so many levels and one of them was certainly as a runner. I've run one half-marathon so far and I didn't have to compete for a spot in that, but I do know how it felt coming across that finish line : that sense of accomplishment, that all the training had been worth it, that I should have trained a little harder, that I can do anything if I try hard enough...and that was incredibly cruel of these fiends to take that away from the competitors.

But the running community certainly showed its moxie when so many of the competitors kept running; running all the way to Mass General to make sure there was enough blood for the victims.

Like many of us I will be racing soon, and you can be sure that we will be thinking of those in Boston whose strength of body, strength of spirit and strength of heart were so strong. And everyone of us who crosses a finish line will show these people that you can smack at us, but you will not keep us down! You will not make us afraid! All you've done is make us more determined to live life to the fullest.

Sacrifice

I don’t know who she was. I’ll never know who she was. But I will always remember her.

There we were, 3.75 miles into a 4 mile race. She was younger than 50, so not my competition as far as age group goes. And she was right in front of me as we turned the curve to the finish line. I picked up my pace a little; I wanted to sprint over that line, but I was pretty much at my limit. 

Still, I managed to pass her. Barely. I felt her pick up her pace. I tried to do likewise, but there was nothing in reserve. I was falling behind. And then it happened : she slowed down. Not much. Just enough to stay right beside me. No words were spoken. None were needed. The encouragement, the c’mon! c’mon! was there in the act. She kept that pace until three paces before the first line, then she pulled away.

“GO!” I yelled! “Go, go, go!”

And she did.

Because of her, I was able to shave 21 seconds off my time from last year’s race. Because of her, I was able to push myself beyond what I thought I could. Because of her, I am reminded of the goodness of humankind. 

It was just a little sacrifice. But it was made for me. And I will remember that always.

Thumbprints

Well, whew! I’m back. Yeah, I know my one fan will be happy about that! I got the gunge that’s going around. I got a mild case of it and it still knocked me for a loop! But I’m feeling better. I’m feeling good enough to bake cookies so things are definitely on the up-swing.

Okay, I LOVE goat cheese. Just love it. I know a lot of people think they don’t like it, but think of it like cream cheese and I’m hoping I can change your mind with these amazing cookies!

What happened is this : our local market bought too much goat cheese, so they were selling it out at one third the price. Oh yeah! Goat cheese heaven! And special thanks to my daughter who alerted me to this. As a result of all this goat cheesiness, I used La Bonne Vie brand.

Thumb print cookies are also wonderful. This recipe from Land-o’-Lakes is my absolute favorite.

So I just changed it up a little. Made it more goat cheese friendly! If you can’t find goat cheese, then go ahead and replace it with cream cheese if you must, but I assure you, the tang of goat cheese is fabulous!

Cookies :

½ C Butter, softened

½ C soft goat cheese (I used Cranberry-cinnamon)

2/3 C granulated sugar

½ t vanilla extract

1 C whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)

1 C almond meal (Ground almonds)

Print filling :

¼ C soft goat cheese (Again with the cranberry-cinnamon)

2 T  jam (I used black currant)

Glaze :

¼ C powdered sugar

½ t triple sec (or vanilla extract)

Water (if needed)

Combine softened butter and goat cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Combine A.P. flour and almond meal, add to butter mixture. Mix until creamy. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.  This time is really needed because the dough is very soft.

While the dough is resting, Stir the ¼ C goat cheese and put it into a sandwich bag and put it in the refrigerator.

Measure out the jam into a small cup and stir it to soften a bit.

Stir the Triple Sec into the powdered sugar, add water if necessary to make a thin glaze. Put this into a sandwich bag and set aside.

When your hour is up, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll the dough into 1” balls and place about 2 inches across on an ungreased baking sheet. Use your thumb to make an imprint in each ball. You can use the back of a spoon. I found that my thumb, damp, worked best. The cookies may crack a bit around the edges.

Clip the corner off the bag with the cranberry-cinnamon goat cheese and squeeze equal amounts into each thumb print. You may have to pull or cut off the goat cheese blob.

When all the cookies are full, top the goat cheese with ¼ t of the jam.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 14-18 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let cool on pan for about a minute, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Clip the corner out of the glaze bag and drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

Enjoy!

Note : If you don't have any almond meal, use either more whole wheat pastry flour, or all purpose flour. If you have almonds, 1 C of almonds = 1 C of almond meal. Just toss those nuts into the food processor and whirl away.

 I did some of the cookies with just the cheese and some with just the jam, and some with both. The cookies with both were the absolute best!
Peace!