Cream cheese Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms January 2, 2013

I was thinking about making something special for dinner New Year’s Eve dinner. Looking through the fridge, I found some large mushrooms that were the perfect size for stuffing. I also had some extra left-over bread crumbs made for Thanksgiving stuffing, as well as a large bunch of spinach.  Inspiration hit!

I started with 4 cloves of garlic (What can I say? I like garlic) and about ¼ of a red onion. While they were simmering in my frying pan in some olive oil and a bit of white wine, I gently rinsed the mushrooms and removed the stems. I diced the stems after trimming the ends, and added them to the frying pan. After they were golden brown I turned the heat to low and added about half a block of cream cheese that had been cut into small pieces. This recipe could be made vegan easily by using vegan cream cheese. I used a fork to mush it, and then added about 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and a bit of oregano, thyme and rosemary.

I then lightly oiled a baking dish and turned the oven on to 350.  Once the mixture had  combined and heated through, the fun part commenced.The stuffing part! I stuffed each mushroom and placed them on the oiled baking dish. Then I placed them in the oven and baked them for about 20 to 30 minutes. While it was baking I made a salad, and added a loaf of garlic bread the last 10 minutes of baking time.

Golden Cornbread November 22, 2012

Vegan Cornbread Muffins hot out of the oven and slathered with margarine.

Freshly made cornbread is such a treat and very fast and easy to make. These are a definite family favorite around here.

Here’s my recipe:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mix together, then add:

• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 1 cup soy milk, unsweetened
• 1 cup water

The Dough

My son only likes plain ol’ cornbread, whereas my taste is much more adventurous.So, for him, I pour half the cornbread mix into the pan. The other half is for me, and I add various yummy things like some whole corn kernels, some diced red onion and garlic, and some mild chiles. I put mine part into cupcake papers because I just found some really cool ones that are stripped and polka dotted!

The son’s plain ol’ cornbread and my spicy version.

done!

Sasha’s Marinated Tomato & Cucumber Salad Recipe October 3, 2012

This is quick and easy to put together.

My son and I were in line at Grocery Outlet last week (Love that store! You never know what you will find there.), and I noticed that the woman in front of us had a container of marinated fresh mozzarella in her cart. That reminded me that I love fresh mozzarella, especially during tomato season.  Inspired, I ran and got myself a container of them. Back in line, she told me her recipe for them. As soon as I heard it, I had no doubt that I would love it. I asked if she would mind if I posted her recipe on my blog and name it for her. She graciously said yes, so here it is! Thanks Sasha!

Sasha’s Marinated Tomato & Cucumber Salad

1 Ripe Tomato

Cucumber

Red Onion

Mozzarella

Red Wine Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

The Ingredients meet.

There are no amounts given, except the tomato, and that’s more of a guideline than a rule. Chop the ingredients in amounts to your liking, then add the vinegar, and some of the flavored oil from the mozzarella. I added a few things to Sasha’s recipe. I have fresh basil in my garden, so a big hand full was diced and stirred in.Yum. I also added a couple cloves of garlic, and some oregano. This comes together quickly and is a perfect way to enjoy the last of the summer’s bounty. It’s even better the next day, provided you don’t eat it all up at once!

ENJOY!

FREEZER NUTTY PLUM CONSERVE September 23, 2012

The Finished Conserve.

I visited a good friend of mine last week, and came home with a couple of full bags of very ripe Green Gage plums. I decided to make them into jam.  My mom gave me the recipe years ago. It’s a little different than most. I usually use purple plums, but any kind of plum will be good  and would work with this recipe. I like tasting the fruit instead of sugar, so I don’t add much, but you can add more if you prefer it.

4 cups  plums

1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup sugar.

1 Tablespoon grated lemon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or whatever your favorite nut is

1/4 cup orange juice (I had pineapple, orange strawberry juice, so I used that.)

1 package pectin.

Pit & finely chop about 3 lbs. plums, any variety. Combine with the lemon ( I keep a lemon in the freezer and grate whatever I need from it.), the chopped nuts, and the juice. Mix the 1/4 cup of sugar with the pectin, and add to plum mix. Stir well. Let sit for 30 minutes, then add the cup of sugar. Stir well. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours, then pour into pretty jars and freeze.  This comes together very quickly, and is delightful on a cold winter morning. It’s good on toast, of course, and also good mixed in yogurt, or over ice cream, or as a topping for pancakes.

Preparing the ingredients.

ENJOY!

FIVE MINUTE PICO DE GALLO SALSA RECIPE September 16, 2012

I make this every summer just as soon as I have enough ripe tomatoes in the garden. Then I eat way too much of it.  (I’ve long held the theory that germs can’t survive in a body that consumes lots of garlic, chilies, and onions! This gives me a good excuse to indulge. )

This is the recipe I’ve perfected over the years.   It is very forgiving. You can use any type of tomato, or a blend of types.  Make it as hot as you desire. Try different kinds of chiles.  If I have gotten carried away and added too many, I sometimes add half a cucumber. Not traditional, but good. This lasts for a few days in the fridge, but usually disappears right away.

5 or 6 Tomatoes

1 or 2 Jalapenos

2-4 Cloves of garlic

¼ Red onion

Cilantro to taste

1-2 Tablespoons of cumin and oregano

1 Lime, juiced.

Dice the onions, garlic and chilies.

Stir it all up.

Finely dice the tomatoes, garlic, onion and cilantro. Add spices and lime juice. Mix well Get the bag of chips and dig in.

Enjoy!

How to Freeze Berries July 3, 2012

I was out weeding the other day and looked up to discover that the raspberries are ripe! They always sneak up on me like that. I’m sure that there were not any berries even close to being ready the day before.  And now I have more than I can eat–a delightful dilemma.  However, there’s also not enough to make into jam. So what I do is freeze them.There’s a trick to it though, unless you want to end up with a big ol frozen lump of berries. This method works on any berry.

Here’s what you do:

Gently pour picked berries into a colander and rinse. Drain and let air dry a bit. Now put them onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Spread them out so that they do not touch. Place in freezer until frozen. This does not take long since they are so small–about 1 to 2 hours. Now, using a spatula up- side-down (Don’t know why, but it works best that way.)  gently scrape the berries off the pan and scoop into a labeled and dated freezer bag. Carefully place in freezer. You can continue adding to this bag until it is full. Since each berry has been individually frozen, they pour out separately. You can take out the exact amount you want.

There are so many thing that you can do with these  little frozen goodies. Once you have enough, you can make a batch of raspberry jam.  Another of my favorite things to do with them is to use these as ice cubes in lemonade, wine, and in some mixed drinks. These are also excellent in smoothies. You don’t need to add ice! They can be added to your hot or cold breakfast cereal. Top your ice cream with them! These are a few examples; I’m sure you can think of more.

ENJOY!

LEMON LIQUOR April 9, 2012

I love lemons and all things lemon flavored. It follows then that I would come up with a lemon liquor recipe, since I like to make my own, rather than buy it. I’ve been making this for several years.

It makes a nice gift if decanted into a pretty bottle and labeled.

It is easy to make, and can be made in about 30 minutes.  The hard part is waiting for the two to three months it needs to age!

You will need:

3 lemons & 1 lime, well scrubbed and.preferably organic

1 ½ cups organic sugar

2 cups good quality vodka

3 cups m/l water

First zest the lemons and the lime. Be careful not to zest any of the white part, as that will make it bitter.

Making this post gave me the excuse to buy this zester! It’s all shiny.and new.

 

Now roll the lemons back and forth with the palm of your hand several times..

This gets the most juice from them.

Now half them, juice them and pour into a measuring cup.  Add enough water to get 4 cups of liquid.

Now add the liquid to a pan, along with the lemon and line zest, and bring to a boil watching carefully and stirring often. As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from burner, add sugar, and stir well. Add vodka and stir again.

Decant into a pretty bottle, label and date it, and then store in the refrigerator for two to three months.

You will be very glad in July!

ENJOY!

Yummy Bubble And Squeak March 17, 2012

In honor of St. Patrick’s and my Irish heritage, here’s my version of Bubble and Squeak. It feature two favorite ingredients of the Irish–potatoes and cabbage. I make this dish several times a year. It comes together pretty fast, and it is a wonderful comfort food on a cold winter night.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

First, dice two potatoes and one sweet potato, place in pan with a bit of water and bring to a boil Add a bay leaf and a teaspoon of veggie bullion. In the meantime, while the potatoes are simmering, finely slice about a half head of green cabbage and saute with some olive oil in a pan. Add about a quarter of a green bell pepper, and a quarter of a red onion, and a clove or two of freshly minced garlic. Add to the cabbage. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. While the two pots are cooking, oil a casserole dish. When the potatoes are tender, mash them and add salt, pepper and margarine to taste.

Now put the mashed potatoes in the oiled casserole dish. Add the cabbage mix and smooth flat. Now sprinkle about one half cup of Panko, or bread crumbs over the top. and spray with cooking oil, or dot with margarine. Cover the dish with tin foil and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, Remove tin foil and bake another 10 minutes or until brown,

It’s ready! Time to dig in and enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

VEGAN MILLET BURGERS June 1, 2011

Soybeans take a very long time to make into burgers. The beans need to soak overnight. They need to cook for a very long time. They need to be put through a food processor or a grinder before you can start making the burger. That’s way I thought up this recipe. The kids were small. The kids were hungry. (The kids were always hungry.) I needed something I could make fast-or at least faster. So I thought that if I used a small grain as a base for a burger, then the cooking process would be faster. Looking at my grain supply, I decided to try millet. I like to keep it around because it’s versatile, nutritious and delicious. It’s been around for thousands of years, and is a staple food throughout a lot of the world. Millet is rich in B vitamins, especially iron, potassium, niacin, calcium, magnesium, B6, zinc, folic acid. Millet is also very small. It cooks quickly.  I decided to try it.  Thus, the following recipe has become a family classic:

MILLET:

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup millet
• 1 teaspoon veggie bouillon
• 1 bay leaf and a pinch of thyme, oregano, and rosemary

Add millet, bouillon and bay leaf to water in sauce pan. Bring to almost a boil, then turn burner down and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Add the seasonings about 5-10 minutes before the millet is done.

Uncooked Millet

Millet cooking merrily away

It is done!

BURGERS:

Let the millet cool off.  Put some oil into a frying pan and turn the  burner on medium. Mix in about a quarter cup of flour and mix well.  Sprinkle four over a cutting board or plate. Flour your hands. Take a handful of the mix and shape into burger. Repeat until you have enough to fill the pan. Place carefully into pan. I like to use a spatula to flatten and round them. Fry until golden brown, then flip over.  Add cheese, if desired. This recipe makes about 8 millet burgers.

Just Cooking Away

Dinner Time!

All the usual burger fixings and sides are good on these.  I usually serve them with baked sweet potato fries.  This mix is very versatile. For instance, this can also be used to stuff bell peppers. You would not meed to add the flour to the millet mix.  It make  a nice side dish, too.  This can be prepared in less than an hour. Enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE VIOLET LIQUOR March 13, 2011

Violets infusing.

Champagne and Violet Liquor

I just created this liquor, also known as a cordial, and think it is good enough to share. My daughter was my inspiration for this.  Last Thanksgiving, she made us a drink with champagne and violet liquor. I have been looking for some violet liquor ever since, but live in a small town, where such things are unheard of. A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that it’s violet season, and I could make some. I have made several different flavors of cordials with fruit, but it had not occurred to me before to use flowers. Once I did think of it, I had to try it right away.

I had planted violets in my yard and let them go wild several years ago. Now I’m ready to take advantage of my unintentional planning ahead. First I picked about 6 cups of blossoms. I found out that the bees had woken and and also discovered the flowers, so I picked -and stepped-very carefully.

My cat was also a great help.  Every time I bend over, (she thinking, of course, that I’m bending over to pet her-why else? ) rushed over and thoughtfully put her purring furry cat body right under my hand to make it easy for me.

Coming at a trot.

Kitty talk translated: Pet me, pet me now!

So, it took a while longer than I had anticipated, but it was a beautiful. sunny day and both my cat and I had a nice afternoon. Once I managed to fill my container I placed them in a colander and carefully rinsed them.

I then placed them in a large glass pot and added about two quarts of water. I heated it up very slowly. This is the most important step. Do NOT boil the flowers. They will be ruined. Stand over the pan and heat them up slowly, until steam forms, but before it boils, and turn off the burner, put on the lid and leave it until cool.

Then put it in the fridge for 2-3 days. After that, pour through a strainer into a glass jar. You should have about two quarts.  The flowers will be pale , and the liquid will be an amazing dark blue.

In the meantime, make some simple sugar syrup. Place two thirds cup of sugar in a glass bowl. Add one half cup boiling water and stir.  I use a very small amount of sugar because the flowers are already sweet, and because I want to taste them, not the sugar. Let cool completely.  Add to violet extract water. Add two cups of vodka. My daughter , who has bartended, recommended Monopolowa Vodka, which is made from potatoes and imported from Vienna, Austria.   Mix this all together. It’s now done.  Store in a cool, dark place.This will get better with age, but it may not be around very long. This does need to be refrigerated.

All eatable flowers have their own unique medical proprieties. While I don’t know what violets contain, I do know that they are a wonderful spring tonic for us.

Violets only bloom a few weeks of the year, so now is the time to make it!  Now, I think I’ll go have a  medicinal glass of violet cordial!