Fresh Pasta Toss

4 cups cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
2-3 T balsamic vinegar
2-3 minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
pinch of red pepper flakes
generous pinch sea or kosher salt

Put everything in a bowl, toss together. Put a dish towel over the top and let it sit on the counter for 1-3 hours. The flavors will meld and tomatoes will soften. All ingredient amounts are approximations. Toss with spaghetti or whatever pasta you desire, top with parmesan cheese and serve. Yummy with fresh bread. Add grilled chicken slices if you'd like. So good!

Naan

For this recipe, you will need:

• 4 cups white or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons warm milk
• 2/3 cups plain yogurt
• 2/3 cups milk
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander

Prepare the Naan Dough

Mix together yeast, warm milk, and sugar, and leave it in a warm place until the mixture becomes frothy. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Make a depression in the center, and pour in your frothy yeast mixture. Then add milk, yogurt, egg, and ghee. Mix everything together until you get a smooth ball of dough.

Let the Dough Rise

Knead the dough well for 10 to 15 minutes. Oil a medium bowl, and place the dough into the bowl and turn the dough over so it is well covered in oil.

Cover the bowl with a towel, and place it in a warm place for two hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Shape and Roll Out the Dough

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Flour the surface, rolling pin, and your hands. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it is smooth.

Divide the dough into eight pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Then roll out the ball to make an oval about 6 inches long. Pull the ends to stretch the dough into an oval shape.

Bake the Naan

Brush your naan with melted butter or ghee and sprinkle it with chopped coriander.

Oil your baking sheet, and place your naan sprinkled side up. Place your baking sheet into the oven for 10-12 minutes until the naan turns golden brown.

Lemon Rice

My sister and I tried this a few weeks ago and really liked it. Plus, your kitchen smells great while you are making it.

Lemon Rice is a delicious South Indian dish you can easily put together
when in a hurry. You can also make it with leftover rice. Serve Lemon
Rice with a Raita (yogurt salad) and Poppadums for a simple yet tasty
meal.

2 cups cooked basmati rice
2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves
2 green chillies split length-wise
1" piece of ginger, grated
1/2 cup peanuts (roasted and unsalted)
1 tsp tumeric powder
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt to taste

Gently roast and then coarsely powder the coriander seeds. Set aside

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Fry until fragrant then add the ginger and the peanuts. Fry for another minute. Add the tumeric powder and remove from heat.

Add lemon juice and mix well
Add rice, roasted coriander powder and salt and mix.

Pineapple Fried Rice

1 lb small cooked shrimp, cut in half
8 rings canned pineapple, drained, cut in wedges
1/2 carrot, grated
red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1-2 tsp. chopped jalapenos
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. grated ginger
2 cups cold cooked jasmine rice
1-2 T soy sauce
1 t. curry powder
sugar, to taste
2 T. peanut oil

Heat wok, add oil, coating bottom and sides. When oil is hot, add garlic, ginger, jalapenos. Stir fry for 30 seconds, then add yellow onion. Stir fry for 1 minutes, then add bell pepper and carrot. Add pineapple and shrimp. Stir fry briefly. Add rice, cook for 2 minutes, continually stirring and tossing until it becomes shiny. Stir in soy sauce, curry powder and sugar, separately. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Stir in green onion, or use as garnish. Other garnish suggestions: toasted coconut, crushed peanuts, fresh mint sprigs or cilantro.

Marinated Chicken with Roasted Tomato Topping and Mozzarella Cheese

I found this recipe in the AJC a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked interesting. The chicken passed my taste test - which means it didn't taste a bit like chicken. We enjoyed it.

3 Tbl. lemon juice
3 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 lbs. chicken (cut into med. pieces)
3/4 c. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
3 Tbl. canned drained gr. chilies
2 c. grape tomato halves
1 c. fresh spinach
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
1/3 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a ziploc bag, combine lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, and paprika. Add chicken and refrigerate at least one hour. After marinating, cook chicken until juices run clear.

Cook onion and garlic in skillet until tender. Add chilies and tomatoes and cook a couple minutes longer. Add spinach, cook until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Divide spinach mixture and spoon on top or each breast; sprinkle with cheese and broil until cheese is melted.

Key Lime Pie

Another favorite! This is the best summertime dessert!

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. key lime juice
Graham cracker crust

Combine milk, cream cheese and key lime juice in large bowl. Mix until smooth. Pour into crust (I love the little individual crusts) and freeze.

Makes 1 pie or 12 individual pies.

Silky Choc. Chip Cookies

This is my new favorite cookie recipe...it's egg less which makes the dough oh so tasty!

4 Tbl. butter
1/4 c. vanilla soy milk
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
Chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add soymilk and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to creamy mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Place teaspoon full drops on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Ledys' Mom's Oatmeal Cookies

I loved these growing up and even now. Every once in a while, my Dad would show up to the kitchen and request that I made these (probably not because I did a good job, but to get me cooking, hehe)

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup sugar
2 cups oatmeal

Mix, then add:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix very well and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. You can add raisins, nuts, etc. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown. They're good!

(Allison, thanks for setting me up! And thanks everybody for the awesome recipes :-P )

NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique

um....yes please! If you read nie then you have probably already seen this, but man alive! I want to try this.

NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique

with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse & Ganache Bittercream

*

How does one go about making the PERFECT chocolate cake? I'd never done it before, and therefore went about it quite deliberately. I consulted cookbooks and cooking websites. Call friends. Window-shopped the pastry sections of my favorite bakeries. The perfect chocolate cake, I decided, (and one inspired by someone so delectably adorable) had to be simple. No frufru decor or garnish. It should be easy enough to whip up for grilled-pizza Friday's, but elegant enough to entertain at a garden party lit by candles hanging from trees tucked in baby food jars. It didn't come out right the first time, a bungled mess of brownie-like bits. It didn't work the second time. However, as it is with many worthy endeavors, a lot of tinkering and winkering was ultimately worth the price of patience. Nie's Mud Cake is everything Nie is: divinely beautiful inside and out.

*

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (8 squares)
¾ c. olive oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. powdered sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ c. cocoa powder
1 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking powder*
½ tsp. baking soda
In a microwave, melt squares of chocolate with olive oil. Once melted, beat until smooth then add sugars and egg. Beat again until well creamed. Add remaining ingredients. Beat just until all ingredients are incorporated. (If you are baking BELOW 5000 feet altitude, double baking powder). Pour batter into two 9-inch cake pans that have been generously greased & dusted with cocoa powder. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 26-28 minutes, or just until center of cake springs back to the touch. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before inverting on a cooling rack and removing from pan. Before layering cake, use a knife to gently cut away any uneven parts at the top or sides of the cake. You'll want a nice, even surface to begin with in order to have your finished product look amazing.
*
Mascarpone Mousse
1 c. whipping cream
¼ c. sugar
1 c. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
8 oz. mascarpone

In a large bowl, whip whipping cream until fluffly. Add sugar & mascarpone and whip until smooth. In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave, stirring every thirty seconds until smooth. Chocolate should not be warm to the touch, if it is, allow it to cool just slightly before spooning the melted chocolate into the whipping cream mixture & beating until light and fluffy. Spoon carefully atop one layer of cake. Spread evenly, then top with the second layer of cake. Refrigerate until ready to frost.

Bittercream Frosting
1 pint heavy cream
11.5 oz. 60% Bittersweet cacao chips
½ c. butter
4-5 c. powdered sugar

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate chips and heavy cream until a thick, smooth ganache forms, to keep the mixture from burning, stir constantly. Put in fridge until chilled. Remove from fridgidaire and beat in butter & powdered sugar until frosting is a spreadable consistency. Frost. Chill cake. To serve, remove from fridge 10-15 minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Flax Bread

This is my sister's recipe and it is really yummy.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Flax Bread

1 3/4 c water
1 T yeast

2 t salt
1/3 c honey
1/3 c oil
2 1/2-3 c wheat flour


Boil 1 c water
Add 1/2 c oats--set aside and let cool

1 egg
1/4 c flaxseed
2 1/2- 3 c white flour

Put yeast in the water and let sit to begin working. After the oats are cooled add honey, oil, egg, salt and wheat flour to yeast mixture and begin mixing. Add white flour until mixture pulls away from the bowl and dough is no longer sticky. This dough will be soft and pliable. Knead for 10 minutes. Split the dough into two (3?) loaf pans (spray with Pam). Let rise until double in size and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Take out of bread pans and turn on sides to let cool. Cover with a clean towel to keep crust from getting hard.

Blueberry Muffins

We went Berry Picking this past week and wanted to make some muffins when we got home. I found this recipe on allrecipes and really liked how they turned out. I thought I would share.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Lona Simon's Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls

The term 'whole wheat' is used loosely here.

1pckg dry yeast proofed in 1/4c warm water
2 eggs
1/2c sugar
1/2c oil
1/2t salt
1c scalded milk (slightly cooled)
1 1/2c whole wheat flour
2 1/2c white flour

Beat eggs, sugar, oil and salt in electric mixer for 2-3 min. Add cooled milk and dissolved yeast. Gradually add both flours and mix completely. Let stand overnight (or at least 6-7hrs) at room temp with a clean cloth over the bowl. Next morning, punch down the dough and on a floured board knead for minute or two. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12in circle. Cut each circle (I use a pizza cutter) in 12 weges for dinner rolls or 8 wedges for sandwich rolls. Roll wedges from big end to little end. Shape into a crescent and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise 30-45 min (depending on the temp of the kitchen). Bake 350* for 10-12 min.

**Portions of white/wheat flour can be varied according to taste and warm powdered milk can be substituted for the scalded milk.

Sesika's Mom's Tahitian Coconut bread

This is really good with Raspberry Sorbet. They serve this at the Tahitian village at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii.

2c coconut flakes
4c Flour
2tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2c sugar
1 1/2c water

Combine coconut, sugar, and water. Blend flour and baking powder together. Mix all ingredients to a doughy texture adding a little flour as needed so it is not too sticky. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake in oven at 350 for 1-1.5hrs. Makes 3-5 loaves.

***Alternately, you can bury the loaves in hot coals for several hours if you're doing the open pit cooking thing.

Chocolate Cacao Nib Cookies

If you need some cacao nibs to try this recipe, I have some you can use. I really love the texture they add!

Chocolate and Cacao Nib Cookies
2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fleur de sel
4 tbsp cacao nibs

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Melt together 1 1/2 oz of the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool for ten minutes. Meanwhile , combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in another mixing bowl and set aside. Finely chop the remaining chocolate, and set aside.
Whisk the eggs into the cooled melted chocolate. Add in the brown sugar and mix again. Sift in the flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. The batter will be thick. Fold in the chopped chocolate, cacao nibs and fleur de sel.
Scoop out rounded tablespoons of batter, shape them into balls with the tips of your fingers, and line them up on the cookie sheet, leaving a one-inch space between them. Sprinkle a few grains additional salt over the top of the cookies. Put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for ten minutes (if the sheet and batter are cold, the cookies are less likely to spread). Put the cookie sheet into the oven to bake for eight to ten minutes, until the tops feel just dry to the touch.

Makes about 15 two-bite-size cookies.

This recipe is from: We Heart Food

Corn Casserole

My sister and I tried this Corn Casserole this week and really liked it. We made it as a side dish and instead of corn bread. It is a new favorite. We served it with BBQ, rolls, cole slaw and watermelon. Yum.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (8.5 ounce) package corn bread mix

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, butter, creamed corn, corn nibblets and corn muffin mix.
3. Pour into a 1 quart casserole dish and bake for 40 minutes.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com

Deli-style pasta salad

This is the salad I made for Spencer's birthday; also I will be bringing it to the TO ward activity 5/30.
Pasta salad
12 oz pkg corkscrew pasta, cook and rinse
6 oz sliced, cubed provolone
6 oz sliced, cubed Genoa salami
1 sm zucchini, thinly sliced
1 sm red onion, thinly sliced rings
1/2 c. chopped green peper
1 3 oz can sliced olives
1/4 c. shredded parmesan
1/4 c. snipped parsley
Combine above in a large bowl.
Dressing
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 clove minced garlic.
Combine above; whisk well. Pour over salad, toss lightly. Cover and chill 4 hours or overnight.

US Senate Bean Soup

From the Joy of Cooking. 'This soup has been on the US Senate restaurant menu since 1901.'

Rinse & soak
1 1/4c small dried white beans, such as pea or navy

Drain and place in a soup pot along with:
7c cold water
1 small ham hock

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 1/4 hrs. Remove the ham hock. Discard the bone, skin, and fat; dice the meat. Return it to the pot along with:
1 large, diced onion
3 medium celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2t salt
1/2t ground black pepper

Simmer until the potatoes are quite soft, 20-30 min. Remove from the heat and mask with a potato masher until the soup is a bit creamy. Stir in:
2T chopped fresh parsley

Ladle into warmed bowls and serve! Makes about 6c.

Whole Wheat Bread Recipes?

I would really love to hear everyone's all-wheat bread recipes. Sidsie gave me her's which I will post here because she's too lazy to, but it will mess up all the Labels and sorting. Sorry.

Sidsie's Whole Wheat Bread
1/3 c oil
1/3 c honey or ½ c sugar
2 ¼ t salt
2 ¾ c steaming hot tap water
¼ c gluten flour
1 ¼ T instant yeast
7-8 c whole wheat flour

Mix together first four ingredients in mixer with a dough hook. Add ½ of flour and beat. Put in 1-2 more cups flour, gluten flour, and yeast. Beat again. With mixer on medium speed, add remaining flour just until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 10 minutes on medium-high speed.

Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to Luke Warm and turn off. Spray or oil 2 pans. Pour dough out onto oiled counter, divide and shape into loaves and put into pans. Let loaves rise 35 minutes in warmed oven. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Tip out of pans and cool on cooling rack.

***I used 4c red wheat and 2c white wheat for my last batch, which turned out really well. The key is the 10 min of kneading. A lot, I know, but it makes loaves instead of bricks.

Salsa Lentils

I found this on the Publix website and have really enjoyed it. I've used it as a filler in Enchiladas and served it over tortilla chips as well.

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) bag dried lentils
6 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 (24-ounce) jar thick and chunky salsa
1 (4 1/2-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 (1 1/4-ounce) packet taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package fresh cilantro

Steps

1. Rinse and sort lentils. Place water and lentils in large saucepan; cover and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place oil in pan; stir in onions and garlic. Cook 8–10 minutes, until onions and garlic begin to brown, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain lentils and return to saucepan. Stir onion mixture, salsa, green chiles and dry taco seasoning mix into lentils. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
4. Remove large stems from (rinsed) cilantro; coarsely chop, and then measure (1/3 cup). Stir into lentils; remove from heat and serve.

Bolognese Sauce

I found this one, like many others, in Real Simple magazine:

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 carrot, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds combined ground beef and pork, or meat-loaf mix
1 cup milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
6 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. In a large skillet, combine the onion, celery, carrot, and olive oil and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the meat and cook, stirring frequently, until it loses its pink color. Add the milk. Increase heat to high and cook until the milk has evaporated.
2. Transfer the mixture to 4- to 6-quart heavy casserole. Return the skillet to the heat and add the tomato paste; cook over low heat to reduce its bitterness, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the casserole, along with the tomatoes, salt, and nutmeg.
3. Cook the sauce over low heat, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours. Stir frequently.
4. I like to puree this one a bit to make it a smoother sauce. There is also a slow cooker version here.