Cowboy Cookies !!

I am still not sure why they are called Cowboy Cookies, looking online one writer suggested it was because they are rather hard and would travel well in a saddlebag...my cookies would not fit that bill.

They are very filling and would be a great snack while riding the range ;-)

Someone else suggested it was because they have nuts, hahaha...

When I served them at our last poker game, there were lots of jokes about them having beans in them, no they do not !

My guess is that the original recipe has been around for a long time. The one here is actually a vegan version from my friend and fellow food blogger, Laurie.

I couldn't believe these were vegan when I first tried them, they were so good.
My poker pals agreed, these are just plain tasty, toothsome cookies.

Cowboy Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats*

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup oil

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup  vanilla soy milk or almond milk

1 tablespoon ground almond meal 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coconut, shredded unsweetened

1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips (semi-sweet, can also use chopped chocolate)

1 cup pecan pieces, chopped and toasted (can use other nuts, too)

* The recipe called for quick cooking oats, I did not have any nor did I want to buy any. Instead I took my two cups of regular rolled oats and put them in the mini-food processor for  a few pulses.

That did the trick !!

1) In a medium sized bowl combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2) In a second bowl beat together oil, sugar, brown sugar, milk, almond meal and vanilla until foamy.

3) Fold in half of the flour mixture to moisten, then fold in second half to just barely mixed.

4) Fold in coconut, chocolate chips and pecans.

5) I chill the dough for an hour or overnight to make it easier to form the cookies.

6) When you are ready to bake the cookies,  preheat your oven to 350 F and prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease them. 

7) Use a big spoon or ice cream scoop to form the cookies, leaving two inches between cookies. 

    Pat them to flatten them slightly.

8) Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, switching the cookie sheets halfway through the baking time. The edges will begin to brown slightly.

9) Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

See how long they last at your house ;-)

Note: There were two issues the other Laurie had with these cookies: 1) the chocolate chips would not stay combined in the dough while mixing. To fix that I made sure to add them while the dough was still moist and the flour not completely mixed in. 2) They were crumbly when she went to form them into balls, this I fixed by chilling the dough.

Crab Stuffed Manicotti

 Crab Stuffed Manicotti

 It's crab season !! Actually it has been crab season since November and I am finally getting around to posting about crab :-)

First off, if you are a vegetarian or vegan, you might want to skip this post. I may eventually come up with a vegetarian version of this recipe but for now there may be material coming that is unsuited for those who prefer their food without moving parts.

If you are lucky enough to live near the ocean, the absolute best way to get your crab is fresh off the boat. We are that lucky and receive emails whenever Frank has crabs to sell at the harbor.

They are truly amazing and we love supporting local fisherman. The only hard part for some folks is that you have to kill the crabs yourself. There are those who prefer to toss them into the boiling water whole...we have found that the meat is sweeter if you kill and clean them first, then steam them.

YouTube has lots of videos of how to go about it. I won't go into those details now.

Once you have cleaned them, steam them for 12 minutes.
Buy extra, eat all you can freshly steamed with crusty French bread and a salad !! Use the leftover crab for this recipe, that's what we did.

Or you can buy them cooked and cracked from most local markets. Be sure they are fresh NOT frozen.
I know taking the meat out of the shells is a hassle but well worth it when it comes to flavor. Get someone you like to help you or put on some good music ;-)

As a last resort you can buy it already removed from the shell, it is much more expensive. 
I have an aversion to canned crab, enough said.

Crab Stuffed Manicotti

Ingredients

• 1 box manicotti pasta (about 12-14 shells)
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 pound crabmeat
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic granules
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce

Here is how they keep the pasta from breaking in the package.

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F, if you are going to bake the manicotti right away. You can also make it up ahead and store for a day before cooking it.

2)Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

2) While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, mix together ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, egg yolk, basil, crab, garlic granules, salt, and pepper.

3) Once the pasta is cooked drained and slightly cooled, fill the tubes with the crab mixture.  It's a bit of a delicate operation as you don't want to tear the tubes.

4)  Place in a buttered baking dish.

5) Cover with Alfredo sauce. I cheat and use the Trader Joe's version, as I find it works very well in this kind of recipe. The original recipe uses a plain white sauce and has you top the dish with more grated Parmesan cheese. Next time I would use bread crumbs as a topping, I just skipped the cheese this time.

You can see the fresh basil plant I also got from Trader Joe's to use in this recipe.

6) Bake uncovered until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately with a big green salad !!

I forgot to take a photo when it came out of the oven. 

Here it is the second day, it makes great leftovers !!

This recipe is NOT low calorie or low fat. There are ways to make it so I am sure. 
I really don't mind rich food, I eat a small portion with a big salad and am very happy !

Laurie's Easy Peanut Sauce

Two event conspired to inspire me to finally make a peanut sauce and post about it.

First I had lunch with my friend and fellow food blogger at a local noodle house, Charlie Hong Kong. I had a great bowl of veggies and noodles with peanut sauce. It reminded me of how much I love peanut sauce. 

Secondly, with our leftover crab, I decided to make fresh spring rolls, peanut dipping sauce seemed like the perfect accompaniment.

On the box of the rice noodles I use in the spring rolls was a simple peanut sauce recipe which, of course I immediately modified. The results were stunningly good.

Laurie's Easy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut or mixed nut butter*

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. hot pepper jelly** or sweet chili sauce

* I used my homemade nut butter, feel free to use whatever kind of peanut or mixed nut butter you like.

**I used my own hot pepper jelly, you can now find a similar item in the gourmet section of your grocery store or instead use the sweet chili sauce.

1) Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. I found that using an immersion wand helped to make the sauce smoother.

2) If you want a thinner sauce feel free to add a tablespoon or two of water. 

If you want it spicier add a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne.

Can you tell I didn't take photos as I was making it...you would think I would know better by now !!

This sauce makes a great dipping sauce, use with noodles or stir fried vegetable. I found myself licking it off the plate ;-)

Peppermint Ice Cream in January ???

Laurie's Peppermint Ice Cream

I know the season has technically passed but I do so love peppermint ice cream. We used to buy two cartons, Bob would eat his as fast as he could while Genna and I liked to make ours last.

With our score of the ice cream maker and candy canes and peppermint extract showing up on store shelves I decided to come up with my own recipe. I started with a good basic vanilla ice cream recipe which I will note at the end of this post.

I find it best to make the ice cream at least several hours before I am going to serve it so it can harden, as it comes out of the ice cream machine still fairly soft.

Don't forget to put your tub in the freezer well in advance or just store it in the freezer if you can.

Laurie's Peppermint Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 cup heavy cream

2 cup whole milk

2-3 candy canes

2 eggs yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon peppermint extract

1)  Place the candy canes in a plastic bag and crush with a heavy object, I used my rolling pin.

2) Combine cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

3) Add about half of the crushed candy canes to the milk and cream.

4) Heat until almost boiling, stirring for 5 to 8 minutes, then reduce the heat to low. The candy cane will dissolve and turn the milk a light pink color.

5) In a bowl add the egg yolks, sugar and both extracts and mix together well. This mixture will be very thick, just keep whisking it or you could even use an electric hand mixer.

6) Add four tablespoons of the hot milk/cream , one tablespoon at a time, stirring each tablespoon in fully. This helps to warm up the egg/sugar mixture so the egg yolks don't cook when you add it to the hot cream.

7) Gradually add the yolk mixture into the pan, stirring continually to prevent the egg from curdling.

8) Cook over low heat until slightly thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. The ice cream will coat the back of the spoon.

9)  Cool completely in the fridge, overnight preferably.

10) Before freezing stir well. Freeze for 20- 25 minutes. Just before it's done add the rest of the crushed candy canes and allow the machine to churn them in .

11) Remove from the freezer.

11) Transfer into a bowl to finish the freezing.

12) Enjoy the clean up.

My friend was kind enough to bring me leftover candy canes from her seasonal job. So we invited her over to sample this batch. She was quick to make friends with Maggie.

Note: Here is the basic vanilla ice cream recipe I used.

Vanilla ice cream

Ingredients

2 cup heavy cream

2 cup whole milk

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 eggs yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1) Combine cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2) Add vanilla bean and heat until almost boiling, 5 to 8 minutes.

3) Reduce to low.

4) Beat egg yolks, sugar and extract in a small bowl until smooth, it will be quite thick.

5) Add 4 tablespoons of warm milk mixture to the yolk mixture and stir well.

6) Gradually add the yolk mixture into the pan, stirring continually to prevent the egg from curdling.

7) Cook over low heat until slightly thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.

8) Cool completely in the fridge, overnight preferably.

9) Before freezing remove the vanilla bean and stir well.

10) Freeze for 20- 25 minutes, then if desired transfer to a container and place in freezer for several hours to firm.

Whole Black Bean Dip

Can you tell that beans are my current obsession ? Three bean post in just two week :-)

This one is inspired by the white bean bruschetta, I take it south of the border.
 I got all my fresh ingredients at my farmer's market.
Make it up ahead of time so the favors will marry.

This would be a great dish for your Super Bowl party.
It's a fresher, healthier version of those layered bean and cheese dips, so easy and delicious !!

Laurie's Whole Black Bean Dip

Ingredients

1 can black beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

1/2 cup finely chopped red or green cabbage

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

2-3 cloves finely minced garlic

2-3 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chili powder

 a few drops of hot chili oil or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

salt and pepper to taste

(If you like them you could try adding 1/4 cup finely chopped green or red onions.)

1) Grate the carrots, mince the garlic, chop the cabbage and the fresh cilantro.
2) Toss into a bowl with the drained black beans.
3) Add the olive oil, chili powder, hot chili oil.
4) Mix together gently, salt and pepper to taste.

5) Serve with tortilla chips and guacamole.

It is easy to scoop onto a chip !!

I thought this recipe would make lunch for two with lots for later in the week...nope, we were left with only about a half of a cup !!

Note: This mixture would be great as a taco filling !!

Hoppin' John: it's never too late to prosper.

This dish is traditionally served on New Years Day to bring you prosperity for the year to come.
I am a little late making it this year but it was so good, I wanted to post about it anyway.
Genna first posted my original recipe in her food blog.
This is a newer version that I made up as I went along, so the measurements are my best guesses, oops ;-) It is usually made with the rice and beans combined, this version is made of the beans poured over the rice, I like it better this way. And this can easily be made into a vegan dish !!

The Latest Hoppin' John

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup dried black eyed peas *
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
4-5 strips of bacon
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups chopped mushrooms
3 cup veggie broth
2-3 chopped green onions for garnish

1 1/2 cup uncooked rice

1) Wash, sort and soak the black eyed peas overnight.
2) Rinse and place in a pot with 2-3 cup water, bring to a boil and start the cooking process.

3) While the beans are cooking, cut the strips of bacon into 1-2 inches pieces and fry in a large pot.

4) While the bacon is cooking, chop one onion into medium size pieces. Chop the parsley.

5) Add the onions, smoked paprika and parsley once the bacon begins to brown a little.

6) Slice and chop the mushrooms.

7) The onions should begin to brown before you add the mushrooms. Don't worry if the bottom of the pan starts to darken, that's good stuff down there and it will deglaze later. Just keep stirring.

8) Once the mushrooms have cooked, add a cup of the veggie broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot, scrap the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or metal spatula to loosen all that brown goodness.

9) Add the rest of the broth.

10) Drain the peas, saving the liquid. Add the peas to the pot and allow to simmer for another 30 minutes or so. You want the peas to be soupy, add more liquid if need be. Check the peas for tenderness.

11) Cook the rice however you usually would.

12) Taste the black eyed peas and add salt and pepper to taste.

13) Serve over the rice and garnish with parsley or chopped green onions.

Traditionally this dish is served with cooked greens of some kind, we used beet greens.

Vegan Hoppin' John

Use olive oil in place of the bacon for cooking the onions, parsley and mushrooms.
Add 1 teaspoon liquid smoke at step # 10 when everything is in the pot cooking together.

* Note: If you don't want to use dried beans you can substitute two 15 oz. cans of cooked black eyed peas. Skip steps # 1 and 2.

May this dish bring your prosperity in the year to come, or at least good health !!