My eldest daughter isn’t leaving for college for another 5 weeks and already she is teaching me things.

She made these incredibly moist and delicious muffins and gave me the recipe.

She substituted raspberries for blackberries and I would switch out the wheat flour for coconut flour.

just a few ideas.

In any case, these were delicious!

She has taught me about Chia seeds which are wonderful; Extremely healthy and a great ingredient for vegan chefs to add texture, heft and “egg white” qualities to baked goods.

Blackberry Mango Muffins

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. Chia seed
1 1/4 Cup Warm Water
2 Cups Mango, No Skin/seed and Mashed
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
2/3 Cup Organic Sugar
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
3 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp. Ground Allspice
1 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Fresh Blackberries
1 Cup Salted, Shelled Pistachios

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and get 24 cupcake liners ready in a baking sheet.

Stir the chia seed and warm water together and set aside for a few minutes until it is gelatinous.

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut oil, mango, sugar, ACV, vanilla extract and the chia seed mixture.

Using a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, Allspice, and salt.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together until there are not dry chunks and it is smooth.

Fold the blackberries and salted pistachios into the batter. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the cupcake liners until it almost reaches the top.
Bake for 23-27 minutes, check to see if they are done baking with a toothpick to see if it draws clear. Place on cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Enjoy and Share!

I have enjoyed Itto Sushi for years.

And after a few years living outside of Chicago, I was happy to see that one of my favorite spots for great food was still around.

Located in Lincoln Park, Itto is favored by locals.

It’s not at all scene-y or flashy but far enough off the beaten path to not be bothered by hype or tourists!

All of the food is fantastic, authentic with a few twists and turns.

Check out these deep fried sushi rolls.

And one of my favorites, unagi.

But today it was all about the mochi!

Green tee, mango, strawberry and vanilla.

Not just delicious; look at how pretty these are!

I simply worked my way to dessert and enjoyed every sweet spoonful!

“Spice of Love”, fresh jalapeño, passion fruit syrup, mango essence, Svedka, Cointreau.

Sugarcane in Miami is simply beautiful!

The plantation style decor and the outdoor patio dining area are absolutely amazing.

But I have to say that the food was disappointing.

Items were undercooked, bland or simply less than interesting.

Or, even worse, the dishes were too fussy with too many ingredients.

“Hibiscus Blossom”, citrus essence, native mint, hibiscus infused cachaça.

I do, however, have no complaints about the cocktails!

These lovely concoctions were fresh and tasty!

Mint, mango, cucumber and spices were perfectly combined to create delicious libations of heavenly proportions!

“Eden”, japanese cucumber juice, fresh cilantro, Herradura Tequila, aromatic celery bitters.

Roasted Peppers.

These peppers were actually quite good.

Duck Confit with Waffle.

Grilled Sweet potato with Maple and Soy.

Caulifower.

Grilled Octopus.

Pan Seared Squid.

Goat Cheese Croquettes.

Broccoli Rab.

This was another favorite.

Crudo with Papaya.

Ricotta Cheesecake with Nutmeg Ice Cream.

This ricotta cheese cake was, also, very good and I learned something.

This cake was smooth and creamy.

The cakes which I have made in the past were always a bit dry and lumpy.

This one was wonderful and I am going to try to make it myself!

OK. I had kale for lunch. The usual. But I also wanted mango.

But I wanted to do something different.

I also had an avocado and some fresh cilantro; I used the juice of one lime and a little salt.

This salad was amazing and I would make it to serve with a summer dinner.

The mango was very cooling with the kale which, of course, was really spicy because… I just can’t help myself!

This salald would be great with a grilled fish or rice and beans.

The combination of sweet and savory is filling and delicious!

Sprin Break is less than two weeks away and there is no room for any excess baggage on this trip!

The markets are bursting with produce and I just couldn’t pass up these mangoes and pineapple.

After a light dinner this mango with a few macadamia nuts and shredded coconut hit the spot.