Apple and Carrot Shortbread

*Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks

*Picture from 101 Cookbooks

You're going to want to use metal (or sharp-edged) cookie cutters here, it will help cut through the shreds of apple/carrot more easily.

1/4 cup  semolina flour 

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt


3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature


2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/4 cup grated apple, grated


zest of one lemon

milk

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Combine the semolina, flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir the carrot, apple, and lemon zest into the flour mixture, and mix until well coated and evenly dispersed.

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms, then knead a couple times to bring everything together. Split the dough in two, flatten each piece into an inch-thick patty, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

When you're ready to bake the shortbread, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface ¼ inch thick. Use a metal cutter to stamp out cookies, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with a bit of milk and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown just a bit.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Grilled Pizza - The Dough

Grilled Pizza - The Dough
Recipe and picture found on Sunday Suppers

1- envelope dry yeast
1- cup water – room temperature or warm
1 teaspoon honey
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup fine ground flax meal- corn mean can also be used- I even sometimes substitute semolina flour
3 1/2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons good quality virgin olive oil
3 cups all purpose flour

1- in a large bowl add the water, yeast and honey
2- after all is dissolved slowly stir in the flax meal, whole wheat flour, salt and olive oil
3- slowly stir in the flour until a firm dough has formed
4- remove all contents from bowl and continue to knead on a floured surface until a smooth dough has formed adding additional flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
5- after you have achieved a smooth sough clean of any lumps transfer to a large bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil. add oil to the top make sure a skin does not form while rising. cover the bowl and let rise for about 2 hours. remove dough and knead again.
6- let the dough rise again for about 30 minutes.

* One batch of dough makes approximately 10 Oz  (2-3 pizza's)

Grilled Pizza- the technique

Grilled Pizza Technique
Recipe and Picture found on Sunday Suppers
 Hold your hand 3-5 inches above the hot part of the fire for a count of 3 before the heat forces you to remove it. Then you know the fire is hot enough to start grilling pizza. A cold grill is not going to work. Then place a 5 oz ball of dough on a well oiled metal sheet pan and stretch it out  with your fingers, using a roller is ok but make sure it doesn’t stick.  Oval shaped almost football like are the easiest shape to achieve. The thickness should be about 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch and even all around. Don’t make a loop around for extra crust as you would a traditional pizza, make the thickness consistent throughout.


When the pizza is about 8-10 inches long you can transfer the dough lifting it on each side with your thumb and pointer fingers and spread it across the hottest part of your grill. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bubbles appear on the top almost like a pancake,


Using tongs and a spatula flip your pizza over on to the cool part of the grill. Quickly brush the top with olive oil and add toppings as fast as possible. The idea is to get each ingredient on to every part of the pie evenly. Then using the tongs slide the the pizza over to the hot side of the grill. When the cheese is melted and starts to bubble its ready. Slide it off to a wooden cutting board, garnish cut and serve right away. The ideal crust is chewy in the center and crunchy at the same time. Practice makes perfect.

Grilled Pizza - Margarita

Grilled Pizza - Margarita

Recipes and Picture Found on - Sunday Suppers

5 ounces pizza dough- see above recipe
5 ounces Mozarella di Buffalo
Fresh grated Parmigiano- Reggiano
1/3 cup Pizza Sauce- see recipe above
I branch Fresh Basil

* See above post for grilling instructions and dough instructions

Pizza Sauce

2 large cans whole San Marzano tomatoes- about 12

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

1- in a medium sauce pan saute the garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

2- stir in the tomatoes and lower the flame to med. if you have time to chop the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds if makes for a much sweeter sauce.
3- stir slowly for about 5 minutes then place heat on low and cook covered for about 20 minutes.

4- add salt to taste and set aside off heat for cooling.

Preparation

When you flip your pizza over on the cool side quickly brush with olive oil. Then drizzle over the Parm cheese evenly. Rip the mozzarella into small pieces and squeeze out the excess water, almost like ringing out a sponge. Be careful not to squeeze to hard. After the cheese is evenly spread across the pizza apply the sauce in small dollops around the outside of the pizza. Then add more Parm and a a few splashes if extra virgin oil. Slide off grill and add basil. Eat right away and enjoy!

Gluten Free Muesli

Gluten Free Muesli

* recipe adapted from green kitchen stories and photo by green kitchen stories

Gluten Free Muesli
2 big glass jars

2 cups quinoa flakes
1 cup hemp seeds
1 cup almonds (chopped)
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup walnuts (chopped)
1 cup dried coconut flakes

4 tbsp honey
3 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix the dry ingredients with apple syrup and cinnamon. Spread them out on the baking sheets and let it roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Stir around a couple of times to keep it from getting burnt.

3/4 cup dried dates (chopped)
1 cup  dried apricots (chopped)
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup raisins

1 cup puffed buckwheat
1 cup puffed amaranth

While the dry ingredients are in the oven, chop the soft ingredients roughly and put in a large bowl. Let the roasted dry ingredients cool of before stirring it all together.
Store the muesli in large glass jars.

some of my loves

Fall Leaves

Picnics

photo found on Oh Happy Day!

Photo found on World in a Paper Cup

Wild Horses

Photo found here

Photo by Stan Engelbrecht

Garlands

Photo found on Design Sponge

Photo found on Once Wed

Photo by Wunderlust

Succulents

photo found here

Mobiles

Photo found on Spool

Photo by Elsie Marley found here

Organic heart shapes

Photo by unknown source

Photo by uknown source

Photo by unknown source

Glowing lights

Photo found at Oh Happy Day!

photo by: Nicole Carmen via The Coterie

Photo by unknown sourcehttp://jordanferney.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-09-20T01%3A30%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20

fall vegetable pesto soup

fall vegetable soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion 

2 leeks

5 garlic cloves

2 beets (roasted and sliced)

2 tomatoes (chopped)

1 1/2 cups of crushed tomatoes

1 apple (grated)

2 carrots (grated)

1 can of black beans

2 cups of cooked or canned lentils

3/4 cup of pesto or chopped basil leaves

4 cups of vegetable broth

2 cups of water

Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Slice beets in half and roast in a 350 F oven until tender (30-40 min). Cool, remove peel and dice.

2) Dice onion, garlic and leaks.  Saute in soup pot with 1 tbsp of oil.

3) On medium heat - Add diced beets, tomatoes and crushed tomatoes.

4) Add grated apple, grated carrots, black beans, lentils, pesto, vegetable broth ( I used organic mushroom broth).

5) Add salt and pepper to taste.

6) Add approximately 2 cups of water - assess consistency, add less if you would like a thicker soup.

7) Turn heat down to low and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Black Bean Brownies

Amazing Black Bean Brownie Recipe
* adapted from 101 cookbooks
* photo from 101 cookbooks

Keep these brownies in the refrigerator, they will slice much better if refrigerated several hours or preferably overnight.

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate


½ cup unsalted butter


2 cups soft-cooked or canned black beans, drained well

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup walnuts chopped

1 tablespoon vanilla extract


3 large eggs


1/2 cup corn syrup (or agave nectar)

¼ cup honey

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

- Prepare (grease) a 9 inch square baking pan.

- Melt the chocolate and butter in a sauce pan. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely.

- Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and cocoa in a food processor.  Blend for about 2 minutes, or until smooth. Add melted chocolate mixture to bean mixture and blend for 1 minute. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Pour chocolate / bean mixture into a bowl, mix in remaining walnuts and set aside.

- In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the corn syrup and honey and beat well. Set aside.



Combine the egg mixture with the bean/chocolate mixture.  Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.)

dinner party inspirations - thinking of summer...

Photos from top to bottom: 1&2 -Oh Happy Day, 3-Once Wed 4- Oh Happy Day, 5- Style-Files

favorite weed ~ Queen Anne's Lace

Top photo taken by Chelsea (Frolic / project wedding)

Thai chicken soup

Thai chicken soup
4.5 cups of coconut milk (3 cans)
6 cups of chicken stock
2 pieces of frozen galangal root (optional)
1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
rind from 1 lime
3 tbsp thai red curry paste
1 lemongrass stalk (cut into 1 inch pieces)
3 cups of of shredded cooked chicken
3 cups of mushrooms
1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
4 carrots, julienned or grated
2 red peppers, sliced thinly
2 cups of fresh cilantro, chopped
3 cups of cooked rice

In a large soup pot, bring coconut milk and stock to a boil.  Add galangal root, ginger, lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, lime rind, thai red curry paste, and lemongrass.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Add chicken mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, cilantro and rice.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Taste and add more lemon juice, sugar, fish sauce, curry paste as needed.  Garnish with cilantro.

prosciutto wrapped figs

recipe and photo found at Guilty Kitchen
Prosciutto Wrapped Figs
4 Fresh Figs

100 g goat’s cheese

8 slices of prosciutto, sliced very thin

1 tbsp oil

1. Split the figs into quarters.

2. Depress the centres of the figs slightly to accommodate the cheese.
3. Pinch off teaspoon size pieces of the chèvre and roll in the palm of your hand into small balls.
4. Place cheese balls into depression in fig slices.

5. Slice prosciutto into two pieces each, either vertically or horizontally, whichever will be large enough to wrap around the figs. I did vertically.

6. Place fig and cheese combo on one end of a slice if prosciutto and roll up into little cigar shapes.

7. Coat in oil and set aside. Continue with remaining ingredients.

8. Heat BBQ grill to medium high and place oiled wrapped figs directly on grill.

9. Grill on each side for about 1 minute. Just long enough to achieve grill marks and warm the centres within.

10. Remove from grill and devour as an appetizer or as a side dish to a summer salad.

Green beans with Thai style sesame sauce

Green beans with Thai style sesame sauce
1/2 pound green beans
2 tblsp cashew butter
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tblsp rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1. Steam the green beans over boiling water until just tender.

2. In a medium bowl, blend together the cashew butter, sesame oil, vinegar, honey, tamari, and ginger. Add the beans and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature.

Pesto with cashews

Pesto
4 cups of Fresh Basil (packed)
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp of rock salt
2/3 cup cashews
2/3 cup olive oil
fresh parmesan cheese


Use a mortar and pestel to crush the garlic cloves and rock salt.  Blend basil, garlic / salt mixture, cashews and olive oil in a food processor.  Add parmesan cheese to pesto before serving.


* if you have an abundance of basil... make several batches at once and freeze in ziplock bags or in ice cube trays.

to have a garden full of peonies...

Berry cobbler pie bars

recipe and photo found on Joy the Baker
Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

zest of two lemons

Berry Filling

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2  (16-ounce) packages frozen mixd berries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh berries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen berries and 3 cups of fresh berries)

To make the crust and topping-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a half sheet baking pan (12x17-inch) with butter or cooking spray and set aside.  If you use a 9x13-inch baking pan you'll have thicker bars.  Zest two lemons.  Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface.  Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon.  Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.

Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment.  Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling-

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt.  Gently fold in the berries.  Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust.  You may have to distribute the berries evenly around.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned.  Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

**If you're using frozen berries, be sure to defrost and drain the excess liquid.  Place the frozen berries on a plate in the refrigerator overnight.  They're defrosted and ready for bar baking!

chewy sugar crusted ginger cookies

Chewy sugar crusted ginger cookies

from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves3/4 cup 
(1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses 
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)


Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.


Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and spices until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  


Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute.  
On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.


Spread the turbinado sugar into a small bowl.  Roll 2 Tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball, toss the ball in sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.


Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Glory Bowl with excellent dressing

* adapted from Whitewatercooks cook book
 Ingredients: (SERVES 4)
    The Bowl
    4 cups brown rice
    1 cup beets, grated
    1 cup carrots, grated
    1 cup almonds, toasted
    2 cups spinach leaves
    1 package firm tofu cut into 1/2-inch cubes
     Dressing
     1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes *
     2 tbsp water
     3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
     3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
     1 clove garlic, crushed
     3/4 cup sunflower oil
     1 tbsp tahini paste
Directions:
1. Prepare rice and set aside.
2. Sauté tofu cubes in a skillet with a little vegetable oil.
3. To prepare dressing combine nutritional yeast flakes, water, tamari or soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, tahini and crushed garlic in blender. Add oil in a steady stream.
4. To assemble the bowls, place cooked brown rice into 4 bowls, top with beets, carrots, spinach leaves, almonds, and sautéed tofu cubes.
5. Drizzle bowls generously with the dressing.

We also make this into a delicious wrap using whole-wheat flour tortillas and all the same vegetables with falafel instead of tofu.
*Nutritional yeast flakes can be found at any natural foods store.

Bran muffins

Moist, sweet and healthy bran muffins!  Perfect for a meal on the go.

Bran Muffins

adapted from eva's recipe

2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup bran

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp grated orange rind

2 cup butter milk

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

4 tbsp melted butter

3/4 cup of chopped dates

1/2 cup sliced almonds

combine wet and dry ingredients.  distribute combined ingredients into greased muffin tins.  

Bake at 350 F for 23 minutes.

*Makes 12 large muffins

Honey cilantro basil dressing

Picture by guilty kitchen

Honey Cilantro Basil Dressing

recipe adapted from guilty kitchen

1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar

Juice of 1 Lime

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

3 Tbsp  Honey

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup cilantro (loosely packed)

1 cup basil (loosely packed)

Salt & White pepper to taste

1. In small bowl or food processor, combine vinegars, Lime juice, Dijon & honey.

2. Drizzle olive oil into vinegar mix while mixing / blending.

3. When all is combined, add salt & pepper. Allow to sit for an hour or more to allow flavours to meld and intensify.