Wow, I am on a roll ain't I. Have I ever said how much I love my starches, which is more commonly known as potatoes. You know Atkins was deranged when he said to stay away from carbohydrates...freak he was. Well I stumbled upon this recipe. And here is where the Karma comes into play. I had purchased some Soyrizo and had it in the drawer in the frig, just waiting for a recipe to drop into our laps (or for me to get searching). Well low and behold, who pops up with one, but Chile Chews
Trust me when I say these potatoes and sausage are to die for. We also plan on trying the corn tortillas tonight and eventually the enchilada sauce. One dish at a time. But do not wait and make this dish for breakfast only, we had it for dinner and Ooo-la-la. A definite keeper. Make it...NOW!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Kick It Up A Notch Salsa
I am a chicken. Yep, I openly admit it. I do not like spicy foods. And that goes for salsa. Keep it simple and keep your hot stuff. But I am about to go against my own doctrine of spice. This salsa rocks. Savanah found it via a friend of hers who made a pineapple salsa, which is to die for, no I mean it. I will post that one later. But on to this one. Thee original recipe called for 3 jalapenos, but we took it down to 1&1/2. But we now know we can bump it up to 2 and I will not have steam coming out of my ears. We got the recipe from Jalapeno Cafe. We have used 2 of their recipes and loved both. So take a look around ad see what you can see.
Incredible Salsa
1 can (28 ounces) stewed tomatoes (we used regular canned tomatoes)
3 large jalapenos (we used 1&1/2, but will use 2 next time)
4 large cloves of garlic peeled
Salt to taste
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roast jalapenos ( in oven under the broiler) until skins are blackened. (we did not do this, we used them raw) Do not remove skins, but remove stems.
Blend jalapenos in juice of tomatoes, (no tomatoes at this point) add seasonings and garlic. Add tomatoes and cilantro leaves, chop in blender for 3 seconds.
Ready to serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Keep refrigerated.
Incredible Salsa
1 can (28 ounces) stewed tomatoes (we used regular canned tomatoes)
3 large jalapenos (we used 1&1/2, but will use 2 next time)
4 large cloves of garlic peeled
Salt to taste
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roast jalapenos ( in oven under the broiler) until skins are blackened. (we did not do this, we used them raw) Do not remove skins, but remove stems.
Blend jalapenos in juice of tomatoes, (no tomatoes at this point) add seasonings and garlic. Add tomatoes and cilantro leaves, chop in blender for 3 seconds.
Ready to serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Keep refrigerated.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Fattoush Salad
My husbands long lost family is from Syria. Very long story and I may post it one day. But for now, let me tell you the food they introduced me to, in 1992. We found them quite by accident, but have never looked back. So I have found this Middle Eastern site for dishes, and they are pretty darned close to what I remember eating up in Ohio. Check out the site and see what you can see. If you have any questions I will more than happy to help you guys in any way I can. But for now, here is my rendition of Fattoush salad.
2 or 3 tomatoes, cubed
1 small cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and chopped
5 scallions, chopped
1/2 small lettuce, shredded (my son prefers iceberg, but I have subbed with others)
2 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint or 1 tsp. dried mint ( I have used more)
1 pita bread (or 2-3 slices of bread), toasted and cut into cubes (put this out to dry to get stale, then put it in the recipe)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dressing made from equal amounts of olive oil and lemon juice and seasoned with salt and black pepper. (Make plenty of dressing and store whatever you do not use in the fridge.) (I make this in the spot. I do not make enough to store, but you can)
Combine the vegetables, herbs, and bread. Make the dressing, pour it over the salad, toss well, and chill for 30-60 minutes before serving. For an authentic Arabic flavor, the dressing should be made of equal parts of oil and lemon juice. However, you may prefer to use more oil - perhaps two to three parts of oil to one of lemon juice. Serves 4 to 6.
In this house there is rarely any left overs, but know if you do keep it, it will be majorly soggy, but we could care less.
Here you go Denise!!!!!
2 or 3 tomatoes, cubed
1 small cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and chopped
5 scallions, chopped
1/2 small lettuce, shredded (my son prefers iceberg, but I have subbed with others)
2 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint or 1 tsp. dried mint ( I have used more)
1 pita bread (or 2-3 slices of bread), toasted and cut into cubes (put this out to dry to get stale, then put it in the recipe)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A dressing made from equal amounts of olive oil and lemon juice and seasoned with salt and black pepper. (Make plenty of dressing and store whatever you do not use in the fridge.) (I make this in the spot. I do not make enough to store, but you can)
Combine the vegetables, herbs, and bread. Make the dressing, pour it over the salad, toss well, and chill for 30-60 minutes before serving. For an authentic Arabic flavor, the dressing should be made of equal parts of oil and lemon juice. However, you may prefer to use more oil - perhaps two to three parts of oil to one of lemon juice. Serves 4 to 6.
In this house there is rarely any left overs, but know if you do keep it, it will be majorly soggy, but we could care less.
Here you go Denise!!!!!
Let There Be Herbs
Well in Florida we do not have to 'technically' worry about our growing season. In fact, while may of you up north are putting your veggies to sleep, we are waking ours up.
I had grown spearmint for years, and then all of a sudden thee entire bunch just up and died. I was devastated. I use that in my Arabic salad. Plus it is thee only way I can get my son to eat salads. Not that I am complaining, for I love our mint salads. (Recipe forth coming) so here are some herbs we have growing in our garden thus far and soon to added, will be our newly sprouted dill.
Here is the basil, and boy do we love this. Freshly chopped on a bagel with cream cheese, Yummo!
And this is our new spearmint. What was special about our old mint was that it was from a family member in Ohio. We had taken some roots from her garden and transplanted them. So sad.
The basil is also used in our spaghetti sauce, Savanah loves basil and our mint can be used for so many things, dehydrated, we put it in our salads, and it can also be used as a tea. That is next on my agenda to try. It is supposed to be great for tummy aches, plus who does not like the taste of mint!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Waffle Time
Savanah prefers waffles to pancakes (freak she is) and we got a hand me down waffle iron We never look a gift horse in the mouth. Oh contraire, we have been blessed by my best friend and getting her older modles of kitchen appliances when she gets upgrades. Well her recently hand-over was her waffle iron. And due to the fact that we had no recipe to pull from she copied off a few for us to try and we finally hit on one that is a good one. That is not to say we will stop experimenting, oh no. There will be more try-outs.
2 eggs
2 cups milk (we used almond)
1&1/2 t vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/2 cup sugar (we used raw)
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
4 T unsalted butter(we used salted, non-vegan)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat waffle iron and oven to 250 if you are cooking for a group of people. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, sugar and baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
Pour about 1/2 cup of the batter into each well of the waffle maker and close the lid. Cook the waffles until crisp, 4-6 minutes. Transfer the waffles to a wire rack set on a baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Repeat to cook the remaining batter.
Makes 4 good-sized waffles. I could not finish the one Savanah made for me.
2 eggs
2 cups milk (we used almond)
1&1/2 t vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/2 cup sugar (we used raw)
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
4 T unsalted butter(we used salted, non-vegan)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat waffle iron and oven to 250 if you are cooking for a group of people. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, sugar and baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
Pour about 1/2 cup of the batter into each well of the waffle maker and close the lid. Cook the waffles until crisp, 4-6 minutes. Transfer the waffles to a wire rack set on a baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Repeat to cook the remaining batter.
Makes 4 good-sized waffles. I could not finish the one Savanah made for me.
Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake
Day 2 of our cupcake extravaganza: weight 135 pounds
Here we go again. More cupcakes, how sad is that? NOT! Savanah is my sweet tooth girl, if I have not mentioned that before. She is non-discriminatory. She likes pie, cakes, cookies, muffins, cupcakes. There isn't a sweet yet she has met that she hasn't liked. And her all time favorite is chocolate...of any kind. Let's all say it together. Chocolate is my friend. Support groups are held the third Thursday of every month. Make these and you will not be sorry.
1 cup soy milk (you can use rice or almond)
1 t apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar (we used raw)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract, chocolate, or more vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch processed or regular (we used regular)
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Whisk together the milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract and other extract, if using, to the milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients. And beat till no large lumps remain. (a few tiny lumps are okay)
Variation: Cookies 'N' Cream Cupcake
Mix into cupcake batter, 1 cup (about 10 cookies; chop first then measure) of coarsely chopped vegan chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies (such as Newman-O's). Bake as directed.
Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
There is no frosting with this recipe, and only due to the fact that Savanah felt it was not needed. Death by chocolate, not this time.
You can find these recipes and so many more here, at Barnes and Noble . We found it right on our store shelf, but if not then you have all thee information you will need. Once again I would like to thank Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero for their lovely book from which we have chosen to cook with.
Here we go again. More cupcakes, how sad is that? NOT! Savanah is my sweet tooth girl, if I have not mentioned that before. She is non-discriminatory. She likes pie, cakes, cookies, muffins, cupcakes. There isn't a sweet yet she has met that she hasn't liked. And her all time favorite is chocolate...of any kind. Let's all say it together. Chocolate is my friend. Support groups are held the third Thursday of every month. Make these and you will not be sorry.
1 cup soy milk (you can use rice or almond)
1 t apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar (we used raw)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract, chocolate, or more vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch processed or regular (we used regular)
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Whisk together the milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract and other extract, if using, to the milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients. And beat till no large lumps remain. (a few tiny lumps are okay)
Variation: Cookies 'N' Cream Cupcake
Mix into cupcake batter, 1 cup (about 10 cookies; chop first then measure) of coarsely chopped vegan chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies (such as Newman-O's). Bake as directed.
Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
There is no frosting with this recipe, and only due to the fact that Savanah felt it was not needed. Death by chocolate, not this time.
You can find these recipes and so many more here, at Barnes and Noble . We found it right on our store shelf, but if not then you have all thee information you will need. Once again I would like to thank Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero for their lovely book from which we have chosen to cook with.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
First off, this is a recipe that Savanah found in a new cookbook she purchased with her Barnes and Noble gift card. We have been fervently trying to get our baking to where it needs to be, and we are getting there. We had success with a batch of cookies (look at previous post) and now a new cupcake recipe.
This comes from Vegan Cupcakes * Take Over The World. Man at the recipes, and again, they are vegan...who knew. These cupcakes were a bit heavier, but at the same time they were very moist. These are a keeper. When I went to see who I should give credit to, it kind of freaked me out. It is Isa Chandra Moskowitz. That's right folks, from Post Punk Kitchen. And her co-author Terry Hope Romero. this book won Cookbook of the Year from VegNews. How cool is that?
Make these, and let me know how it goes.
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup oil
1 cup granulated sugar (we used raw)
1/4 cup soy milk (we used almond)
1 t vanilla extract
1&1/4 cups all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/2 chocolate chips
*****************
Cinnamon Icing:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
2 T butter melted (we used regular butter, but vegan do your thing)
1 T soy milk (we used almond)
1/2 t vanilla extract
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together with a fork-don't use a hand mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
Fill liners 2/3 full. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let fully cool before icing.
Icing directions:
Place sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter, milk and vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth. Keep at room temperature until ready to use. The mixture should look opaque and honey brown. If it's glistening a lot or looks to liquidy, add a little extra confectioners' sugar.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Yummo!
This comes from Vegan Cupcakes * Take Over The World. Man at the recipes, and again, they are vegan...who knew. These cupcakes were a bit heavier, but at the same time they were very moist. These are a keeper. When I went to see who I should give credit to, it kind of freaked me out. It is Isa Chandra Moskowitz. That's right folks, from Post Punk Kitchen. And her co-author Terry Hope Romero. this book won Cookbook of the Year from VegNews. How cool is that?
Make these, and let me know how it goes.
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup oil
1 cup granulated sugar (we used raw)
1/4 cup soy milk (we used almond)
1 t vanilla extract
1&1/4 cups all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/2 chocolate chips
*****************
Cinnamon Icing:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
2 T butter melted (we used regular butter, but vegan do your thing)
1 T soy milk (we used almond)
1/2 t vanilla extract
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together with a fork-don't use a hand mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
Fill liners 2/3 full. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let fully cool before icing.
Icing directions:
Place sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter, milk and vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth. Keep at room temperature until ready to use. The mixture should look opaque and honey brown. If it's glistening a lot or looks to liquidy, add a little extra confectioners' sugar.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Yummo!
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