Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ok, so my last few recipe posts have been experimental and unfortunately have kinda been flops. I am feeling rather apologetic for having posted them since this is a blog that I am sure you have come to rely on for well-tested, quality, delicious recipes...so this recipe is my forgiveness plea. I'm pretty confident it will do the trick because it is quite possibly one of my favorite cookie recipes ever. I first tried these cookies when a dear girl brought them to church, and I have been in love ever since (I can't quite decide if I'm more in love with the cookies or with her for sharing the recipe). So here it is:

3/4 c butter
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
36 Andes mints (I am certain you could substitute some other form of chocolately mint)

In a large pan over low heat, mix butter, sugar, and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted , remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

At high speed, beat in eggs (one at a time if you want to do it exactly like the instructions say). Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Chill dough roughly one hour.

Roll dough into balls and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. While the cookies are baking, start unwrapping those mints. When cookies are brought out of the oven place a mint on top of each cookie. Let melt for no more then 5 minutes and then spread it out. Eat and enjoy!

*NOTE: I tried to put peanut butter chips on top of a couple of my cookies with the last batch I made to see how tasty that was and although they weren't as spreadable it still tasted pretty good. So, feel free to play with the type of melted top you like if you aren't partial to mint (which is still my favorite for on top).

-Cayenne

Thanksgiving: The Round-up of Recipes

So before I forget and suddenly it's next year and I'm going "what was that sweet potato recipe that turned out so well?" and "was it this pumpkin pie recipe or that one that didn't turn out great?" I'm going to write them down now (or link to them, as the case may be).

Orange-Nut Sweet Potatoes

Source: Healthy Cooking Magazine
6 Servings

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in orange juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add butter and orange peel; stir until butter is melted.

Drain sweet potatoes; place in a serving dish. Add orange juice mixture and gently stir to coat. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Comments: I love this! It's not overly sweet and the orange gives it some awesome flavor. I think I found it and made it a couple of years ago and then lost it, but I think this is now my go-to recipe. I cooked it up the night before and warmed it up in the oven and it was delish.


Green Bean Casserole, Pioneer Woman-style (ie it includes bacon and cream). Also major yum. I had some smoked bacon gouda on hand that I tossed in as well, and our crunchy topping was corn flakes mixed with breadcrumbs.

Pecan Pie - also a hat tip to Pioneer Woman - this pie was awesome.

Pumpkin pie - full disclosure: I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie. So I was not overly impressed by the pie. The pumpkin pie aficionado in our house said he wasn't a fan of the streusel topping, but the rest was good.

Ham - I made a glaze with apple cider vinegar, dark brown sugar, cloves, allspice, orange zest, nutmeg, and cardamom. Hmm...that sounds good still, I think I'm going to go grab another piece of that.

Stuffing - I cooked up some sausage with celery and onions, used turkey broth (made from the innards/neck simmered with onion and celery), and added chopped craisins, just to a regular box mix of stuffing. Ever since I had sausage stuffing at a potluck, I've been hooked. I think it's way better than regular stuffing.

I didn't do anything spiffy with the turkey or mashed potatoes, and I'll leave it to nutmeg to post her oatmeal/whole wheat rolls recipe.

-Thyme

Yummy, yummy dip

There are two versions of this dip. There is the recipe as it was given to me (which is really good). And then there is the version I made, which was also quite yummy. It also seems pretty versatile - you can toss in whatever other add-ins you like.

Version 1:

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 small can diced green chiles
8 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded

Beat cream cheese and sour cream together until creamy, mix in other ingredients. Bake in bread bowl or casserole-type dish at 300 (or 320 depending on how hot your oven runs) until warm and slightly melted. Eat with crackers, bread, veggies, whatever floats your boat.

Version 2: (or how I actually made it)

1 8 oz package neufchatel (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 c. sour cream (the "lite" kind)
5 small roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
4 oz sharp cheddar
3 oz mild cheddar
1 oz smoked bacon gouda (totally optional)
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
black pepper to taste

Follow the rest of the directions. Obviously I added a few extra/different things to compensate for the fact that I didn't have enough sharp cheddar or any diced chiles (do you know how expensive those suckers are out here! it's insane!)

I took the dip to work and ate it with triscuits. Yum.


-Thyme

Pork Chops in apple sauce

No, that's not pork chops with applesauce, but with an apple sauce. They were on sale at the local latin market, so I decided to try - I think I've maybe cooked pork chops once before, so it was a bit of an adventure. So, here's what I did

4 pork chops
salt and pepper
oil
apples, sliced
apple butter
worcestershire sauce
garlic
chicken broth

Generous salt and pepper the pork chops (I used kosher salt). Fry them briefly in a skillet with a small amount of oil, a minute or two on each side so that they're seared. Remove them from the pan.

Combine about 1/3 cup apple butter, a tablespoon of wooster sauce, 1-2 cloves garlic, minced, and some more pepper.

Toss in the apples and saute them until they are just barely starting to soften. Add some chicken broth and loosen all the yummy carmelized gunk on the bottom of the skillet. Return the pork chops to the skillet, pour the sauce on top of the chops, and add some chicken broth (you can make it as thick or as liquidy as you'd like). Cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the pork is done all the way through and the sauce has reduced a bit. The apples were all mushy and falling apart, but it worked so well with the pork.

We had this with a quinoa pilaf and green beans.

-Thyme

Chocolate Potato Cookies

Chocolate Potato Cookies? Think that sounds kinda gross? Think again. I am here to tell you that these cookies were a shot in the dark that turned out pretty decent. Unlike the pie from last week, which I wasn't such a great fan of, I actually liked these. They were very moist and chewy cookies and, of course, you can add fun stuff to make them more interesting. Here is the recipe from the Tasty Taters Potato Cookbook again.

Chocolate Potato Cookies
2 c brown sugar (I didn't pack mine in at all and it worked fine)
1/2 c shortening (I used butter because my shortening was emitting a
rather...uh...rancid odor)
1 c mashed potatoes
2 eggs
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted (I didn't have unsweetened so I used a little less of
the sweetened and just threw in some cocoa powder, but my chocolate flavor wasn't
great at the end so I'm thinking it must make a bit of a difference here)
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 c buttermilk

Cream the sugar with your shortening (or butter, or margarine, whatever form of fat tickles your fancy) and then stir in the potato, eggs, chocolate and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix your dry ingredients. Blend dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Be careful not to overbeat. The dough isn't as thick as say for chocolate chip cookies, it is pretty sticky, but please not that that is the way it is supposed to be. Also note that here is where I went a little crazy and since it seemed so boring I added in some mini chocolate chips and some almonds. I also think some caramel chunks or peanut butter chips would be delicious!

Drop onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 or until set. Very soft, very moist, very chewy. Enjoy!

-Cayenne
Up next: A non dessert!

Zesty and Delicious...Potatoes?

Having oodles of wonderful Idaho-grown potatoes at my disposal I decided to get a bit creative and try out a new potato recipe or two. Not that I don't love all the traditional (and abundant) uses for potatoes, but I just wanted to really test their limits...So, here is one recipe that I found particularly interesting and figured I might as well share. I mean really, who could possibly RESIST the call of Idaho potatoes...don't you hear them? They say..."eat me....eeeeeeat me" see, they like it. So you should like them, it is only fair. If you would like the verdict from this highly unusual recipe please see the end of this post.

*Note: If you do not happen to have true Idaho potatoes handy I am sure that in light of the circumstances it can be forgiven to use some other regionally grown potatoes.

Orange Potato Meringue Pie (from the cookbook "Tasty Taters Potato Cookbook"

1 c. unseasoned mashed potatoes (I made mine from scratch, which works great I would
just recommend spending a bit more time to make sure you mash them well, chunks
taste a little funny in pie, that's all I'm saying)
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
2 egg yolks (save the whites)
1 whole egg
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all those ingredients together until smooth and pour into your pie shell. Pop it in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until it is set and then put your meringue (see below) on it and bake for another 20 min or until it is nice and browned.

Meringue: beat together the two egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and 6 Tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. *note when beating egg whites it is best to use a metal bowl and to not dip your fingers in it, oils make it much more difficult to get those stiff peaks.

Verdict: This was an alright pie. I guess it wasn't really the best fit for me because AFTER I made the pie I remember that I'm not really a pie person to start with, and in addition, I've never really been a meringue person...but this was just too interesting to resist. My biggest problem was how sweet it was, I think if you cut back on the sugar that you use it would be a LOT better. So, this was a very sweet pie and mine had potato chunks in it, which made for some interesting textures but didn't really taste bad. The flavors themselves were pretty good. I do have to say though that the best part was the pie crust, which I made from scratch and was super proud of. Turned out super flaky and delicious. mmmm... but feel free to play with this some. I think it might taste good with some nuts in it as well, but maybe I'm just weird.

Up next...
Some form of potato cookies!
-Cayenne

New and Improved Squash Tea Bread

I just had an extreme yumminess moment. I made some Squash Tea Bread using pumpkin puree that I made up last fall and needed to use up. I used one of my favorite recipes from EatingWell. I made one big change though. Since I was out of honey, I used molasses. It was divine. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant (what, didn't I mention that before?), but I'm still reeling from it. So I thought I'd share. So follow the link, try the recipe with any squash puree that you like, and try it with molasses or honey. YUM!


http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/squash_tea_bread.html

Also, just a side note here, I doubled the recipe and used 2 eggs since that's all that I had and it turned out fine. I didn't use a plain ol' egg white like they ask for.

Rosemary

A Sincere Apology and Marbled Cheesecake Bars

Dear Blog,

It is with a most sincere apology that I would like to acknowledge that you have suffered from a serious state of neglect as of late. What began as a fruitful and abundant endeavor has now turned stagnant with all the craziness in each of our lives (although admittedly it would be in the lives of the 2 married sisters who actually posted consistently). I would like to make this up to. My plan is to post a recipe a week for...uh...well, for awhile. I will try my best to not make them all dessert recipes, but I make no promises. That is one love in my life that is still quite strong (just thinking about some sugary goodness makes my heart melt).

Recipe #1 on this very ambitious trek of mine comes from the "Hershey's Cookbook"and it is called...

Marbled Cheesecake Bars

This is recipe that involves just a few simple steps before being united with a delectable and delicious treat. It could almost be considered evil, at least with a few minor adjustments it is. I will give you the recipe as it is in the book and have little asides showing my adjustments which (I think) take this recipe from delicious to divine...but don't just take my word for it.

Chocolate Crust:
Stir together 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 60 cookies), 1/3 cup Cocoa and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Stir in 1/2 c. melted butter until well blended and press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
*My notes: first time I made this I didn't have vanilla wafers so I used graham crackers, I liked how it wasn't so sweet but would recommend cutting back on the cocoa as it makes it a bit too bitter. I would also use granulated sugar instead of powdered if you don't like your crust so sweet, but if you like the sweetness go all the way and indulge with the wafers and powdered sugar!

Cheesecake:
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 sections (1.2 oz each) unsweetened chocolate (I would actually cut back on the amount of chocolate... shocking, I know)

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy and then add the sweetened condensed milk, beating until smooth. Now just add in those eggs and the vanilla and mix well and voila! You have a delicious cheesecake batter! Split aside some of the batter (the recipe says 1/2, I recommend less than that, maybe around 1/3) and add your (now) melted chocolate to it, mixing it up until it looks silky smooth (mmmm). Pour your non-chocolate batter over your crust and then spoon the chocolate batter on the top of it. Use a knife or spatula to go to town making it pretty and marbley (marbly? marbleicious? marbled? Whatever. You know what I mean.)

Bake 45-50 minutes in a 300 degree oven until it is just set. Remove and let cool, refrigerate several hours until chilled and then cut into bite sized chunks of tantalizing heaven perfect for guilt free indulgence...ok so maybe not completely guilt free, but still, so worth it!

Cayenne

Rhubarb Waffles with Rhubarb Sauce and Buckwheat Pancakes

Yes, this is yet another breakfast post from Rosemary. I swear I'm not a one-trick pony. I just really like pancakes. They're easy and there are so many fun variations! So here are a couple more ways to enjoy the most important meal of the day. Pictures will come soon.

 Rhubarb Waffles with Rhubarb Sauce
Rhubarb season is upon us! At least it's upon our parents, so therefore it is on us as well. I'm always curious to find new ways (besides the old rhubarb crisp stand-by) to use up this curiously tart vegetable. 

So this is another recipezaar.com find. It's one of those few recipes that I wouldn't do that much to alter. Basically, you cook down your rhubarb with sugar for a bit, then strain out a good amount of the pulp. The pulp goes into the waffle batter much like you might use applesauce, prune puree, or a squash puree to replace fat and add moisture. You continue to cook what's left in the pan (a bit of pulp and a whole lot of yummy red syrup) to make a lovely sauce. Although, I cooked mine a couple minutes too long, so it was more of a jelly. I advise stopping short of jelly. But whether you do or not, the flavor is great and a welcome alternative to maple syrup. If you want to keep more of that rhubarb tang, cut back on the sugar a bit. I think I'll do that next time just because I enjoy that added dimension of flavor.


1 1/4 lbs rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces (about 5 cups)
1 1/2 cups sugar (again, reduce this to get more of the tangy tartness coming through)
3 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 3/4 cups flour (any combination of all-purpose and/or whole wheat flour should work. The original recipe only called for 1/4 cup of whole wheat, but I went for 3/4 and it was fine. Next time I'll do more.)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt


1. Combine rhubarb and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over med-low heat. Cook until rhubarb is tender and translucent.
2. Using a slotted spoon, reserve 1 cup of rhubarb pulp for later use.
3. Boil remaining pulp and syrup over med heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. (You can do the first 3 steps ahead of time and refrigerate until you're ready to make the waffles.)
4. In one bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt). Set aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk your egg whites until they're good and frothy. Add milk, oil, and the 1 cup of rhubarb that you set aside in step 2.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing just enough to get things wet. Don't overmix!
7. Cook in the waffle iron of your choice and serve with rhubarb sauce on top.


Buckwheat Pancakes

Using whole grain flours other than whole wheat is a great way to add variety to the diet, which improves overall quality of the diet. It's not that any other flour is necessarily more nutritious, but every grain has a unique combination of nutrients, making it higher in some and lower in others than another flour. Beyond that, each flour lends its own unique properties in the kitchen, giving different tastes and textures. So rather than trying to disguise these grains as regular wheat products, enjoy their unique flavor! Here is one of many buckwheat pancake recipes that you can try.

3/4 cup buckwheat flour (available in health foods section of grocery store, health foods store, bulk bins section of some grocery stores or online. Looks like gray sand...even on the other side of a diaper, so be careful when feeding to toddlers and babies as I learned the hard way.)
3/4 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat and they were perfectly soft and fluffy, so I'll stick with it)
1 tbsp baking powder (if you don't like them so fluffy, add a little less)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (granulated or brown)
1 1/2 cups milk (more for thinner batter)
1 egg
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

1. Mix dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, salt) in one bowl, set aside.
2. Mix wet ingredients (sugar, milk, egg, oil) in another bowl.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir just until dry ingredients are moist. There will be lumps. Leave them be. They'll cook out and if you beat until smooth, your pancakes will be tough.

Rosemary

Crepes

I just finished eating the last crepe, sorry. I was going to take a picture - I even plated it all pretty with chocolate sauce drizzled and strawberries around the side. But it was too scrumptious - I ate it before I found the camera.

The recipe I used was pretty basic:

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tbs melted butter

All whisked together thoroughly. Pour 1-2 tbs worth of batter in a slightly oiled pan (depending on how big it is), tilting the pan around to spread the batter thinly around the pan. Flip to brown both sides.

Fill with whatever the heck you want - we had strawberries, cream, and poor man's nutella (melted chocolate and peanut butter)

Now I haven't made crepes since French class in college, so I tried to remember how to do it properly, read a couple of recipes online, and here are the tricks I learned this morning.

*Keep the pan on medium heat - make sure it's not too hot.
*Either use liberal amounts of pan spray, or have a good nonstick surface (our little pan was a little rough in the middle, so several crepes were a bit messed up)
*Use a spoon to ease up the edges and loosen the crepe so you can flip it (spatulas were too big)
*Wait until the batter looks like it's pretty much cooked all the way through before flipping to the other side.
*If you're going to do the nifty one-handed flip - make sure you work the crepe to the edge of the pan before flipping - otherwise it'll just fold in on itself and your husband will laugh.

-Thyme

First crop of the year

Please don't be jealous, oh ye who live in northern climes where there is still snow on the ground. We harvested our first vegetables from our garden this week. Radishes! Full disclosure - if it were up to me, we wouldn't have planted radishes since I'm not a big fan (another case of not really eating them when I was a kid and not having ever developed a taste for them). But we said "why not?" and today they were ready to be picked. (Whether they liked it or not - apparently there's some big slabs of concrete under our lawn/garden where there used to be a driveway, so the radishes only had so much room to grow down in before they hit rock.)



So here's what I did with them:


Radish and carrot salad:

Slice up some carrots, radishes, cucumber, and some of the radish greens (I also meant to put in some corn and red onion, but forgot). Toss it all together, coat with creamy dressing of your choice. Serve this spring-y deliciousness with whatever you want (we did Italian chicken and rosemary rice - recipes below).

Dressing (measurements approximate):
1/3 c. mayo
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. sour cream
1/3 c. olive oil
3 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Add more of whatever you want to taste.

Italian chicken:

Chicken breasts
Italian dressing

Marinate chicken in dressing for 15-20 minutes, cook in pan on stove with marinade for another 15-20 or until done.

Rosemary rice:

Cook rice with rosemary and a dash of kosher salt.

-Thyme

Pumpkin Pear Carrot Bread

I am a huge fan of quick breads. I think they're a great way to use up certain types of fruits and veggies that are going bad, they're generally pretty healthy, and yet they're just a touch sweet and, well, they're bread. So today we had half a can of pureed pumpkin, 3/4 of a pear that my son wasn't going to finish, and some carrots that are getting past their prime. And since we were off to a birthday party with no present, we wanted to have some kind of offering.

So, keeping in mind that all of these measurements are estimates (I don't think I actually measured anything), here goes:

8 oz canned pumpkin
3/4 c. grated carrots
1/2 c. grated pear (apple would work great too)
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt (vanilla works good, too)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg
walnuts

Stir it all together, put in two bread pans, bake at 350F for 50 minutes or so. Eat plain or with butter. You could also toss in craisins or raisins if you want.

-Thyme

Easy Peasy Chocolate Peanut Butter Treat

This is one of my favorites. Tastes just as good as a hard-to-make candy (with less sugar, I might add) or a store-bought one. But you don't have to leave home to get it. I could post pictures, but the time to take and post them would more than double the time for this "dish".


The Recipe:

1 big ol' spoonful of peanut butter

1 big ol' spoonful of chocolate chips or m&m's (I like dark chocolate myself)

Mix in bowl and eat off spoon. Or skip the bowl and just plant the chocolate right on the peanut buttery spoon.

Rosemary

Early Easter Dinner

Mint's parents are in town so we decided to have an Easter dinner this week instead of next week.

Grilled Pork Loin


Marinated in Mint's Mystery Marinade (I think this time he used grape juice, white vinegar, rosemary, basil, crushed garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, soy sauce) and then grilled to perfection on our little grill outside. It tasted way better than it looked. That's what was left after we ate our fill.

Fruit Salad


Chopped strawberries, apples, and tangelo segments with some plain yogurt and a little bit of vanilla extract.

Challah

From smittenkitchen (that's flax seeds on it)

Creamy Lemon Squares


From The Pioneer Woman. I didn't have a lemon, though. So I used orange zest, and about half lemon and half orange juice.


-Thyme

Mmmm...asparagus

Okay, so I'd never really eaten asparagus before last year when we got it in our CSA, and it still took a couple of times for me to start appreciating it. But when I saw it for sale this last week, I decided to go ahead and get some 'cause I remember it being pretty good. I decided to use it in this recipe instead of the green beans, and I left out the ham and yummy! I just lightly sauteed the asparagus and then removed it from the pan before I made up the sauce, returning it to the pan at the end. So if you want to try asparagus but don't know a good recipe - might I suggest that one?

-Thyme

Graham Cookies

I picked up a fun little cookbook at a yard sale called, "Make Your Own Groceries". It was published in the late 1970's, but so far almost everything in there is still quite relevant: homemade cleaners, freezer meals, instant oatmeal, and so on. Anyway, I decided to try a recipe for graham crackers to see if we couldn't save a few bucks and have fun while we're at it. The result wasn't really a cracker. Maybe it would have been closer to a cracker if I'd rolled them thinner and cooked them longer. I'm not sure. But the end result that I got from my oven was a wonderful, soft, not-too-sweet, whole wheat cookie. Call it graham if whole wheat makes you think of saw dust. Either way, they're great. You can roll them out and use cookie cutters just like sugar cookies. You could frost them, do whatever you like. I prefer them plain. I just wouldn't call them whole wheat sugar cookies, that might garner suspicion in the less adventurous.

Graham Crackers (cookies)
1 cup graham flour (a type of whole wheat flour you can find at a health foods store or some place with a good assortment of baking products. If you don't have it, just substitute with whole wheat flour like I did.)
1 cup whole wheat flour
8 tbsp (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 to 3 tbsp warm water

Sift flours into a mixing bowl; thoroughly cut in half the butter before cutting in the rest. Mix in sugar and baking powder; stir in honey, followed by the egg and mix well. Gradually add teaspoons of the water, tossing and mixing well before adding more; stop adding water when the dough is moist enough - but not sticky - to form a ball. Knead on a well-floured surface for 1 minute or until the dough holds together enough to be rolled. Roll to a thickness midway between 1/8 and 1/4 inch then cut into 3-inch squares (I used cookie cutters instead once I decided they were going to be cookies and not crackers). Space the squares slightly apart on an ungreased cookie sheet; prick tops with a fork. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes.

Side Note: If you have a food processor, this recipe is super easy. Just do everything in there. Food processors are excellent sifters, pastry cutters, and mixers. A few pulses and you're cherry. I did knead outside of the processor, although I probably didn't have to.

Rosemary

Braised Red Cabbage

I've liked this recipe ever since I first tried it in Culinary Basics in college. It's a Southern (as in Southern United States) recipe, which helps explain the flavor combinations. The other day I had to make a more heart-healthy version without the recipe in front of me. I'm happy to report that it came out very good even without the bacon. So here are the two versions of this recipe: the original from On Cooking, cut in half to a more reasonable size, and my modified more heart-healthy version.

Braised Red Cabbage with Apples
1 1/2 lb red cabbage
6 oz bacon, medium dice
4 oz onion, medium dice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine (I think I've just used 1 cup stock and omitted the red wine, you could also use fruit juice if you like and omit some or all of the sugar)
1/2 cup white stock (like chicken or vegetable stock)
1 cinnamon stick
6 oz tart apple, cored and diced (not peeled)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar

1. Shred cabbage or slice very thin
2. Render bacon. Add the onions and sweat in the bacon fat until tender.
3. Add the cabbage and saute for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine, stock and cinnamon sticks. Cover and braise until the cabbage is almost tender, approximately 20 minutes.
4. Add the apples, brown sugar and vinegar and mix well.
5. Cover and braise until the apples are tender, approximately 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.

Modified Braised Red Cabbage with Apples
1 1/2 lb red cabbage
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp canola oil
4 oz onion, medium dice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine (I think I've just used 1 cup stock and omitted the red wine, you could also use fruit juice if you like and omit some or all of the sugar)
1/2 cup white stock (like chicken or vegetable stock)
1 cinnamon stick
6 oz tart apple, cored and diced (not peeled)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar

1. Shred cabbage or slice very thin
2. Heat oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat in the oil until tender.
3. Add the cabbage and saute for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine, stock and cinnamon sticks. Cover and braise until the cabbage is almost tender, approximately 20 minutes.
4. Add the apples, brown sugar and vinegar and mix well.
5. Cover and braise until the apples are tender, approximately 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.

I should also note that since I didn't have the recipe, I didn't follow it that closely. I ended up just sauteing the cabbage, apple, and onion together, tossing in ground cinnamon and granulated sugar, and finally putting in cider vinegar at the end. It turned out pretty well. But now that I've read the recipe again, I'll definitely use the liquid and actually braise it next time. It was good, but the texture wasn't as good as it could have been.

Rosemary

Pineapple Cashew Chicken with Coconut Scallion Brown Rice

Several weeks ago I decided that I would take a leap of faith and try a completely different sort of recipe. It is called "Pineapple Cashew Chicken with Coconut Scallion Brown Rice"...A solid name. I pulled the recipe off of the Simply Orange Orange Juice web site and it was created by a lady named Jennifer Iserloh, I say props to here. Here are some things I learned while making this:

1. Cooking rice in a crock pot does work, but it does not take 4 hours on high, unless mush really is your final goal.
2. No matter how badly you want it to be the blender is not a food processor--forcing the issue will not end well (I used it actually for the dessert portion of the meal, but it was a lesson learned nonetheless).
3. Fresh pineapple makes almost everything better (thanks Thyme for teaching me how to pick a good one)
4. Chicken can indeed marinade for too long.
5. ALWAYS invite nice people over for experiment night. The will make you feel great about your efforts regardless of the quality of the results.

Now for the recipe:
Pineapple Cashew Chicken with Coconut Scallion Brown Rice (serves 4)

1 cup Simply Orange with Pineapple (or any kind you have handy)
2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP dark brown sugar
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
1 cup fresh cubed pineapple (mmm)
1 TBSP canola or vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, cut into cubes (I cheated here and used a regular yellow onion)
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 15oz can of baby corn or 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen kernels whatever you have handy
6 TBSP salted cashews
4 scallions, trimmed and sliced thinly (another confession, I didn't actually use these, I couldn't find them!)
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups short grain brown rice

Alright, first your going to mix your OJ, cornstarch, soy sauce and brown sugar in a ziplock bag (or bowl with a lid). Mine turned a kinda nasty looking brown color, but it did smell good. Put your chicken and pineapple in there to marinate for at least 3 hours, I wouldn't recommend overnight. The chicken ended up with a weird texture after marinating that long.

Heat the oil in a skillet or wok, sautee the onions, celery and pepper. Move these off to a plate and then cook the chicken and pineapple in the same pan (putting the marinade to the side in a small bowl). Return the veggies once the chicken is mostly cooked and the pineapple is soft.

Grab your bowl of marinade and microwave it for a couple minutes or bring it to a boil in a little saucepan, then add it back to your chicken/veggie mix along with the corn. Reduce the heat and cook and cover until the chicken is completely cooked. Sprinkle with the cashews.

Take your cooked rice (I am not about to try to explain how to cook rice, I am the worst ever at that part, but I am sure you all know how) and mix the coconut, scallions and salt into it. Put your chicken on your rice and voila! Dinner is served!

The verdict: Once you get past the murky brown color action going on I'd say the mixture of flavors was pretty dang good but probably you could actually back down on the amount of pineapple or just served more fresh and to the side (cooked pineapple isn't exactly my thing actually, so don't ask me why I tried it). If you cook the chicken right I think this would be amazing. I'd like to try it again sometime.

-Cayenne

Lentejas, or Spanish Lentils

Ok, so as you can probably guess from the announcement at the side of the blog, this post is being brought to you today by the husband of Thyme. I shall call myself Mint. I thought of taking Ginger, but figured I'd leave that one to Rosemary's husband if he ever wanted it.

Before beginning the recipe, one little caveat: I don't know any of the proportions for this dish. I learned it in Spain from a little old lady who basically only gave ingredients and told me to experiment until it tasted right. So I will do mostly the same, but give you about what I think is right. It really can't be messed up too bad, as a 20 year old single guy like me, at the time, couldn't screw it up.

Lentejas

1 lb lentils, cleaned
2 large russet potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1 green chile (or 1 can green chilies, mild)
2-3 medium tomatoes, whole but with the stems cut out (or one large can diced)
8 oz Spanish chorizo*, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole (more if you want)
2-3 bay leaves
salt to taste

This is a true one pot meal. Start off with the lentils in a large pot, putting enough water to cover them by about an inch to an 1 1/2 inches. Basically, the more liquid you put in the soupier they will be. Add the potatoes, carrots, green chilies, tomatoes, chorizo, and garlic to the pot and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for a while, until the tomatoes and the chili are soft enough that you can basically pull of the skin and let the insides fall apart. It's best to kind of pulp the tomatoes and chili using either a grater or a press of some kind. You mostly want them to be juice, not substance. After the tomatoes and chili are pulped, fish through the pot and find all of the cloves of garlic. They should be soft enough to just smash and mix back into the stew. Be sure to find all of them, as you can bet that no one wants a mouthful of garlic like that. Next, salt the lentejas to your liking. Remember, you might need more salt than you think, since lentils and the rest of the ingredients need quite a bit.

The recipe can be modified however you want, adding any vegetables that you feel work well for you. It is basically a pauper's dish, so whatever you have works.

* A note on Spanish chorizo: It is not the same stuff that you find in Mexico or many South American countries. It is a hard sausage similar to pepperoni, but not as spicy. There are many varieties that you can find, but if you can find Basque style it should be good enough. Obviously to make it authentic you would have to find actual spanish style, but it is often fairly expensive here in the states and so a substitute should probably be found. Talk to your local grocer to see what they have.

Mint

PS-Rosemary, don't ever feel it's inappropriate to ask me to post. I really don't mind, so if there is anything you wanted me to put up here, let me know.

Maharagwe, or, African coconut beans

Okay, so unless I totally spaced it and have actually already posted this recipe, I'm gonna finally give into the repeated demands that I give out my recipe for the yummiest beans in the world. Okay, they're not the yummiest beans, I think that award actually goes to my dad's chili beans (which, despite adding the exact same ingredients never turn out the same way when I make them), but they are pretty darn fantastic. I learned to cook them in Tanzania and from what I could tell, they're a fairly popular regional dish, and there are lots of variations on them. You can use lentils, add ginger or tomatoes, add hominy, serve with chapatis or rice or spaghetti, whatever. But the base recipe is actually quite simple.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, maharagwe (or maharage) just means beans in Swahili.

Maharagwe

1 lb dry red beans, cleaned, soaked, and cooked
2-3 tbs oil (sunflower is what they used there, I usually use canola or vegetable here)
1 red onion, diced
2-3 carrots, chopped or grated
1 green bell pepper (or two small ones), chopped
kosher salt (regular salt works, too, just keep an eye on taste)
1/2 can coconut milk*

Heat oil in large pot, add in onion, carrots and bell pepper, saute until they start to get soft. Add in the cooked red beans and half a can of coconut milk. Add any extra liquid (either the water the beans cooked in or just water) you want, or let it cook down, depending on how soupy you want it. Let it all simmer together for a little while, and add salt to taste. Serve over the rice (jasmine or basmati is best) or spaghetti or make chapatis to go with it (I'll try to post that at some point, too - it's far more involved). You can also serve salted cucumbers with it, sliced avocados, or a sauteed spinach or cabbage (just saute up some more red onion and then add spinach or cabbage to it and cook until done). Soooo yummy.

*If you have a fresh coconut and a grater, you can do it the more authentic way: crack open your coconut and let the juice just drain out - you don't want that boring old clear liquid (unless you have some random use for it - then keep it if you want); grate as much of the white flesh as you can (I picked up something in Tanzania called an mbuzi that is specifically for this purpose, but I'm sure you inventive souls could find another way to scrape it out or break the coconut into chunks for grating). Add hot, almost boiling water (about a half cup or so) to the flesh, let it sit for a minute, then kind of massage the coconut with your hands to really squeeze the milk out. Strain out the coconut, set the milk to one side. Repeat two more times. Add the milk to the beans in the reverse order that you squeezed them in (lightest milk first), letting it simmer down a bit after each addition. Add the creamiest, first milk last to get the best flavor. (At least, I think that's the order you're supposed to do it in, it's how I've done it the last few times).

There, are you happy now, Rosemary? (Sorry, just wanted to get one more parenthetical statement in there - there's a lot in this post, huh)

Thyme

Almond Cream Sauce (with Broccoli)

Since we were having a pretty lean mean for dinner tonight (boneless skinless chicken breasts with couscous), I decided to go with a higher fat vegetable side dish. Not only could we adults "afford" it because of the lean meal, it actually helps make the meal more satisfying and keeps us full for longer. Plus, with a toddler around, we have to make sure there's always at least one good source of fat in our meals, be it the butter for the bread, regular shredded cheese on our burritos, or the peanut butter in his sandwich. The little tykes need more of their calories from fat than adults do. Too bad he didn't actually eat it. Maybe next time. At least he enjoyed the couscous. :)

I couldn't find the broccoli gratin recipe that I was sure existed in one of my cookbooks, but I found this little beauty in my "What's Cooking?" cookbook that a roommate gave me a few years back. I don't think it's in print anymore, but it's got some good recipes in it. I modified this one a tad, but stayed pretty true to it.

Almond Cream Sauce
2 tbsp butter (I did about half extra virgin olive oil)
3 tbsp sliced almonds
3 tbsp heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli or other vegetable, still hot or reheated (I think we had about twice this, but the sauce ran out on us eventually.)

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add sliced almonds and cook lightly. Stir in heavy cream. Cook until volume is reduced by half. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve on top of broccoli.

Rosemary

Corn Chowder

Don't think you can bump my post and not pay, Rosemary - eat this! Literally, this is a great dish. Super easy, too.

Corn Chowder

1/2 to 1 lb sausage (I prefer the sage kind, and usually use half a pound, but use more if you wish)
1/2 onion, chopped
2-4 potatoes, chopped (make it as potato-ey as you want)
1 can corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 can evaporated milk
Thyme or sage (1/2 tsp or so)
salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, brown sausage with onion, drain off any grease. Add potatoes and spices and just enough water (or broth) to cover them. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cans of corn and milk (I tossed in about 3/4 cup half and half 'cause I was trying to use it up) and heat it until it's all warm and yummy.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Another great recipe find that resulted from me needing to use up random ingredients. I was suspicious that butternut squash and spaghetti sauce might not blend well. I was happily mistaken. We like this recipe very much and will certainly make it again.

P.S. my kid broke my camera, so that's why there haven't been pictures lately.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

1 lb butternut squash, peeled, cubed, steamed, and mashed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion (or onion powder if you're last onion got moldy like mine did :(
2 cloves garlic, minced
crushed red pepper to taste
2 tsp honey
1 1/2 cups cottage or ricotta cheese
1-2 jars of spaghetti sauce
1/2 box lasagna noodles (use oven ready or else make up the regular kind according to the instructions)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or less if you're using real Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

1. Cook up lasagna noodles if you're using the regular kind.This is also a great time to cook your squash. You can throw it in a steamer. I used a microwave steamer and it worked beautifully and relatively quickly. My 1/2 inch cubes were done in about 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until just starting to brown.Throw in squash, crushed red pepper, and honey. Salt and pepper are optional too.

3. Throw a small amount (1/2 cup or so) of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Add a layer of noodles followed by 1/2 of the squash mixture, 1/2 of the cottage cheese, some more spaghetti sauce, and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Do another layer of noodles, squash, cottage cheese, spaghetti sauce, noodles, a little more sauce, the rest of the mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan cheese. If you don't want so much pasta or you didn't cook up quite enough, you can just put the cheeses on top of your last layer of sauce and skip the top layer of noodles. That works too.

4. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes or so until cheese on top is getting bubbly.

Rosemary

Creamy ham and green bean pasta

Since the arrival of bouncing baby boy number two a month ago, dinners around here have been both simple and quick (or in the slow cooker, which isn't quick but is convenient). Today I decided to use up some of the leftover Christmas ham we had in the freezer and turned to the handy-dandy "red" cookbook (this refers to the red cover on the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and not to anything of the communist ilk) and found a recipe for creamy pasta. It looked pretty simple and amazingly I had all of the ingredients. So I did something I very rarely do - I followed the recipe. Not perfectly, since I didn't really bother to measure, but the only thing I actually changed was that I substituted green beans for broccoli.

And oh boy, was that a mistake. Don't get me wrong - the recipe turned out great - very yummy, rich sauce, which just might make it into our meal rotation. It was more the fact that when I was busy assembling my ingredients my son decided to pour a shower of breadcrumbs on his stuffed polar bear. And then when I was busy precisely stirring the sauce in the pot in the correct order, he was busy mixing syrup and parsley in the back of his dump truck. The moral of the story that I came away with is to never follow the recipe - it's way too distracting.

Creamy Pasta with ham and green beans

1 tbs olive oil
4 oz neufchatel or cream cheese
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs dried basil (or 1/4 cup fresh)
3/4 cup milk
parsley

Cook garlic and basil in hot oil for about 30 seconds. Add cheeses and stir them while they melt. Slowly stir in milk and parsley, let it thicken up a bit. Toss in pre-cooked ham and green beans, let it all heat up. Serve over pasta of your choice.

Thyme

Bean Burgers

I my house, we're big fans of Black Bean Burgers. So this week when I had lots of left over great northern beans and some wasa crackers nobody was eating, I got creative. The results were delicious. Here are two recipes for you.

In case you're curious, here's a link for a lot of healthy burger recipes. Some are vegetarian, some aren't.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_burger_recipes

And here's a good recipe for buns
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/whole_wheat_burger_buns.html

Black Bean Burgers

1 can black beans (DO NOT DRAIN)
1 egg
1 cup breadcrumbs, or more if needed (whole wheat if you can)
1 can chopped green chilies, the fresh roasted equivalent, or chili powder to your heat tolerance
1/4 cup or so corn meal
canola oil as needed
Cheese if desired
Buns/bread
Regular hamburger condiments

Using a stick blender or your food processor, mash up the beans a bit, but do not puree. Throw in one egg, slightly beaten, bread crumbs, and green chilies/chili powder, mixing well. Add enough crumbs so that it will hold together nicely and it's not too sticky.

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat.

Place corn meal in a small plate. Put some water in a bowl or cup. Wet hands with water. (Re wet every time and the patties won't stick to your hands.) Scoop out about 1/2 cup of bean mixture and shape into a pattie. Place pattie on corn meal, turning over once to coat.

Once oil is hot, place a few patties in it. Cook each side for 4-5 minute. You can use more or less oil, it's up to you. I've even used cooking spray successfully, but the texture wasn't quite as good. I recommend canola since it's a good heart-healthy oil and it's more heat stable than olive oil.

Serve and eat just like a hamburger. It won't taste anything like beef because it's not supposed to any more than a chicken burger is. Enjoy it for what it is.

Great Northern Bean and Wasa burgers.

2 cups cooked great northern beans with liquid
1 egg
1/2 a package or so multigrain wasa, pulsed thoroughly in a food processor
1 can chopped green chilies, the fresh roasted equivalent, or chili powder to your heat tolerance
1/4 cup or so corn meal
canola oil as needed
Cheese if desired
Buns/bread
Regular hamburger condiments

Assemble just like the black bean burgers. Additional salt may be needed depending on whether or not you salted the beans as you cooked them. You can also use a can of great northern beans or any other bean.

I'm a fan of Food Network. Alton Brown is probably my favorite celebrity chef because he gives loads of great information on his show and he's silly to boot. But recently I discovered another Food Network personality that I have completely overlooked. She's a registered dietitian, so once I found that out, I had to check her out. She's Ellie Krieger and, while she uses the same catch phrases an awful lot, I really like her recipes. Here's one of my favorites so far. It's ever-so-yummy (as good as any pudding I've ever had) and also rich in antioxidants and the goodness of soy.

The original recipe can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/dark-chocolate-mousse-recipe/index.html

You can also find a video for it on the Food Network website "Fabulous tofu  chocolate mousse" and on Hulu. The amounts she gives on the video are a little different, so I'll have to try it that way next time and tell you if I like it that way better.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

• 1 (12.3-ounce) package silken tofu, drained
• 3 ounces high quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon brandy (I use water or juice)
  
• 1/2 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar
  
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 teaspoons shaved chocolate

Directions

In a blender or food processor, puree the tofu until it is smooth.

Put the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, 1/4 cup water and brandy in a saucepan or heat-proof bowl fitted over a pot containing 1-inch barely simmering water. Stir frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Mix in 1/2 cup of sugar, a little at a time, until smooth.

Add the chocolate mixture to the tofu and puree until smooth and well blended. Spoon the mousse into serving dishes, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Whip the cream with a beater. When the cream is almost completely whipped, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and finish whipping. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of chocolate shavings and serve.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size 1/2 cup of mousse, 1 tablespoon whipped cream and 1/4 teaspoon shaved chocolate)

Rosemary