Author: Carma Spence

Carma Spence has been experimenting in the kitchen since she was four years old and loves trying out new recipe ideas. She is the author of Bonkers for Bundt Cakes and Your Perfect Pie, as well as author and contributor to several more non-food-related books. With Carma's Cookery, she is taking her passion for empowering people and blending it with her passion for cooking, gift-giving and entertaining.

Product Reviews

A Juice that’s Not a Juice

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date May 26, 2011

Photo provided by Amazon.com

I’m beginning to think I’m in love with Honest Tea. First they sent me a sample of their Heavenly Lemon Tulsi to sample and review. I loved it … even though I’m not partial to lemony teas.

Now they’ve sent me a sample of their Black Forest Berry. Its a tisane or fruit infusion … kind of like fruit tea. But it tastes like watered down juice. For me, its perfect. I always water down my juice because it is too intense otherwise.

Frankly, I don’t know how they do it. Black Forest Berry is not too sweet, filled with berry flavor but doesn’t knock your tastebuds out of your head. It maintains a nice balance of flavor, sweetness and tartness.

The base tea for this beverage is hibiscus, which I find to be a bit on the tart side. It’s one of the few teas I like to add honey or sugar to. But I couldn’t taste the hibiscus. The blackberry leaves, berry blend flavoring, blueberry and raspberry powders overpower the hibiscus leaving you with the flavor sensation of juice without all the acid and calories of a juice. Awesome! An entire bottle of Black Forest Berry is only 60 calories and is caffeine free.

I’m going to have to keep my eyes open for Honest Tea on the grocery shelves … it just might get me to drink something other than water!

Coming up … I’ve got a sample of their new line of cocoa beverages. I’ll be trying that and letting you know what I think probably next week.

Tags Honest Tea, organic tea

Recipes

Pistachio Cheesecake

I’ll be tasting this tomorrow and will let you know in a comment how it turned out. But I can tell you it smells fantastic. Definitely, make the day before so you can chill it overnight.

The picture was taken shortly after the 30-minute cool on the cooling rack.

Ingredients:

Crust

1 box white cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened

Filling

1-1/2 cups cold milk*
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant pistachio pudding mix
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) pkg NeufchÃ¢tel cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt**
3 eggs

Garnish

Whipped topping

Directions

In a medium bowl, prepare the pistachio pudding with the milk per instructions on the box. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you continue.
Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
While the oven is heating, spray the bottom and side of a 9-10 inch spring-form pan with baking spray. Dust with flour. Wrap foil around the outside to catch potential drips.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the cake mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the remaining cake mix and butter with an electric mixer on low speed until crumbly. Press into the bottom and sides of the pan.
In the same large bowl, beat combine reserved cake mix, cream cheese, Neufchâtel cheese, sugar, all except 1/2 cup of the pudding and yogurt. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until mixed.
Pour into the crust.
Bake 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes or until edges are set but the center still jiggles when moved.***
Turn the oven off. Open the oven door at least 4 inches and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes longer.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Without releasing the sides of the pan, run a knife around the edge to help release the cake from the sides. Cool in pan on cooling rack for 30 minutes.
Cover loosely and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).
Remove side of pan before serving. Pipe or spoon whipped topping around the outside edge of the cheesecake.
Store in the refrigerator.

* You can use a can of condensed milk instead, just be sure to chill it overnight, first.

** I used Fresh & Easy Honey Greek Style Yogurt, yum!

*** I think my oven is a lower temperature than it says. I took a good 30-45 minutes extra to bake.

NOTE: The genesis of this recipe was Lemon Cheesecake from the Betty Crocker calendar, April 2011.

Product Reviews

Tea that Makes You Feel Good

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date April 25, 2011
1 Comment on Tea that Makes You Feel Good

Photo provided by Honest Tea

I love drinking tea. It hydrates and tastes great. Of course, I picked up the tea habit early in life when I lived in Nairobi and we would often have High Tea. I also have many fond memories of having a cup of tea, with cream and sugar of course, with a cookie as an evening snack at my grandmother’s house in San Francisco. I have ADD, so the caffeine has a reverse effect on me, helping me sleep better.

As the years have passed, my tolerance of caffeine has changed. The amount that makes me sleepy compared to the amount that makes me sick like a hangover has reduced to the point where I just avoid caffeine pretty much altogether (except when it comes to chocolate, of course!).

That’s why I’m always keeping an eye out for caffeine-free teas that still taste great. I’ve had many a decaffeinated tea that just tasted watered down — no matter how strong you made it.

That said, I don’t have that problem with naturally caffeine-free herbal teas. But they just aren’t the same. So I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I received a sample of Honest Tea’s Heavenly Lemon Tulsi to review for this blog.

Tags Heavenly Lemon Tulsi, Honest Tea, organic tea

Food Fiction & Essays Taste Tests

Simple Pleasures Are the Best

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date April 21, 2011

Carma eating a pumpkin pecan pancake

I never shopped at Fresh & Easy until I moved to Long Beach. And then only because it was the closest grocery store. And I’m sorry it turned out that way because I’ve had a “Where have you been all my life?” experience since I started shopping there.

First, the one I go to is tiny, but it still stocks an amazing array of gourmet and unusual items. Case in point, they sell creme fraiche! I’ve never seen that in a store before!

Anyway, awhile back I tried their Greek Style Yogurt and am now hooked. I’ve tried other brands and was unimpressed, but the Fresh & Easy brand is so smooth and creamy and has just the right balance of sweetness and tartness. I eat the Honey flavor like it was ice cream … slowly, savoring every delectable moment.

I bring this up because this morning I tried another of their store brand products, Pumpkin Pecan Pancake and Waffle Mix (that’s me chomping on one in the picture above). Unlike me, I decided to follow the instructions to the letter, including melting butter instead of using oil.

The pancakes were just this side of sweet … enough that I didn’t need maple syrup at all, but not so much as to make it taste like a cake or cookie. The spice was light … I couldn’t identify one or the other, like I can with so many other pumpkin flavored mix products. The balance of the pumpkin with the spice with the pecans was deftly done, leaving me with an overall “autumn” flavor, nothing overpowering the other.

I was pleasantly surprised. This is two store brand products that have wowed me … I’m going to have to try some more!

Tags pancake mix, pecans, pumpkin taste tests, pumpkins, waffle mix

Recipes

Simple Strawberry Salad

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date March 1, 2011

This simple salad is quick to make, healthy and very tasty.

Ingredients:

Wild Rocket greens
5 strawberries
Creamy Onion Vidalia Dressing

Directions:

Arrange greens on a large plate.
Slice the top off the strawberries and clean. Slice two of them and arrange the slices over the greens. Place the remaining three strawberries along the edges as a garnish.
Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve!

Tags salad

Recipes

Grilled Egg and Turkey Sandwich

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date January 23, 2011

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter
1 jumbo or large egg
1 Tbsp Tomato Alfredo sauce
grated Parmesan cheese
2 thin slices of turkey lunch meat
2 slices of your favorite sandwich bread

Directions:

In a small frying pan, melt butter over low heat.
Add egg. Dollop sauce over the egg and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low for a minutes … until the egg is mostly done. Flip the egg and cook until the yolk is firm and no longer runny.
While the egg is cooking, place the turkey slices on one slice of bread.
When the egg is done, place it on top of the turkey. Place the remaining slice of bread over the egg and return the sandwich to the frying pan. Grill both sides to your taste.

—–

I didn’t cook the egg long enough so the sandwich was messy. That’s why I suggest you cook until the yolk is firm.

Food Fiction & Essays Special Occasions

The Gingerbread Man Is Coming to Town!

Post author By Carma Spence
Post date October 13, 2009

Public domain photo via pixabay.com

Once upon a time, there was a father who really loved gingerbread men. So, he made up a Christmas tradition for his sons and daughter. On Christmas Eve the Gingerbread Man would come to town and give all the children their very own gingerbread men to eat.

This father was my grandfather and my father has passed this tradition down to me. In fact, although I am in my 40s and live several hundred miles away, I can expect a gingerbread man to be mailed to me every year.

The funny thing is, when I was growing up, I thought this was some old Scottish tradition. Nope … just my grandad loving his gingerbread.

Good thing I love gingerbread, too. I can tell you, I really look forward to that package every year!

Do you have any special Holiday traditions that are unique to your family? I’d love to hear about them!

Tags Christmas, gingerbread man