Super Bowl not a super bore, I hope.

At least the food can be a winner !!
I want to share some of my Super Bowl classics for those of you who plan to celebrate this sporting event.

My chili is easy and versatile whether you are feeding meat eaters or those on a plant based diet.
Don't forget to serve it with cornbread.

Or how about tortilla soup, it's a crowd-pleaser with lots of fun things to add to it.

What's a football game without chips and dip ? Try this one made with whole black beans.

While I am on the subject of appetizers...you can go totally decadent with devil's on horseback, or go light with fresh spring rolls or make all your friends happy with these collard wraps.

I made the collard wraps the other day with a few modifications, I left out the soy sauce and the fresh parsley and wrapped them just with avocado, they were great that way !

Now let's talk desserts... cookies are really the best bet for your Super Bowl party.

For the chocolate lovers  try these very very chocolate cookies.

My Snickerdoodles will make the kids happy. My cowboy cookies will please the vegans.

My favorites are the peanut butter chocolate chip  and my cousin would give anything for a batch of my oatmeal cookies.

I wish you a fun football feast whether your team wins or loses.

Vegetable Soup

The other day I decided to revisit one of my earliest posts for cannellini bean and kale soup.
It such a great recipe for any vegetable soup. I had an assortment of vegetables in my fridge that needed using up: cauliflower, carrots, a celery root, mushrooms, kale etc...

I started by sauteing the onion, while it was softening in a separate pan I began to cook the mushrooms, partly because I wanted use half of them for a different dish and partly because they do release a lot of moisture when cooking. I wanted some of the veggies to roast/saute a bit before adding the liquid, it keeps them from turning to mush in the soup.

 Next I added the carrot , cauliflower and celery root, let them cook some before adding the mushrooms, greens, beans and liquids.

I used the mushroom liquid, water, the last of some miso, two frozen tomatoes. I think I threw some herbs in there somewhere and some garlic. If you want a more precise recipe check out the one mentioned above.

 I let it simmer for about 45 minutes, not too long so the veggies would retain some texture.

At the end I added a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar , salt and pepper to taste. It was soooo good, we had it for three meals last week and Bob requested it again this week. Of course, it won't be exactly the same because this week I have different vegetable to use up but that's part of the joy of vegetable soup !!

Body Butter

As soon as I posted my goals for 2015, someone requested body butter which I had to make to fill the order. Perfect, as one of my goals was to post about making your own bath and body products. Body butter is the most complex of the products I will post about, meaning the rest will be very simple.

Body butter is a thick, rich cream for all over your body. I use it after my bath. It is great for doing massage and removing make up, too. The recipe can be simple or complex depending on your interests and willingness to get exotic ingredients. Since it does not have any preservatives it needs to be used within six months or refrigerated. It should also be stored away from sunlight.

I buy my ingredients online at Bramble Berry, they are a soap making supply company. They have a nice selection of fixed oils, butters and essential oils. They are not too pricey and they have no minimum order. If you decided to go fancy you may want to look at their website. If you are just making the body butter for your own use and are not concerned about the cost you can probably find some interesting oils to use at your natural food grocery store.

I get my containers from Sunburst Bottles, I prefer plastic to glass in this case since my body products are in the bathroom with the tile floor.

I will give you both the simple and more complicated recipes, both yield 10 ounces. At the end of this post I will also discuss the different properties of the oils and butters. I used to teach workshops in making your own bath and body products, I found my old handout and they were quite informative.


Laurie's Simple Body Butter
             

6 oz. olive oil

2 oz. coconut oil (solid)

1 oz. cocoa butter

1 oz. beeswax

Laurie's Fancy Body Butter

6 oz. sweet almond

2 oz. avocado oil

1 oz. shea butter

1 oz. beeswax

1 tsp. essential oil

1 Oz. = 2 Tbsp.  2 Oz. = 1/4 cup       6 Oz. = 3/4 cup

The minimum of wax is about 1 oz. this is assuming you will use at least 1 oz of a butter or coconut oil, if you want it stiffer add more wax. The lighter oils like olive* and sweet almond make good bases while the heavier oils like avocado add texture and body as do the butters. 

* It is better not to use a fancy virgin olive oil, it is a waste of money and will impart a strong smell to your body butter.

1) In a heavy bottom saucepan place all your ingredients except the essential oil.

2) Heat gently, stirring occasionally until everything has melted. Do not over cook. 

3) Once the mixture has cooled slightly add your essential oil stir in gently. 

Now you have a choice.  

Option #1 You can simply pour carefully into plastic containers, using a small ladle. Be careful not move the containers until the body butter has cooled enough to set.

OR

Option #2 To make a creamy product, you can whip some air into it. I use a bowl with ice cubes and an immersion wand. I will scrap down the slides of the pan and beat until it turns opaque and begins to solidify, don't wait too long though.

 

 Scoop or pour the creamy body butter into your containers.

 

Ingredients

Here is some information about the properties of ingredients you will use to make these products.

Oils

Apricot Kernel oil –type 2

It has moisturizing, nourishing and revitalizing properties and it is particularly helpful for dehydrated, delicate, mature and sensitive skin, and it helps to sooth inflammation. This finely textured oil spreads easily.

Castor oil -type 2

This oil, derived from the castor bean and obtained by cold pressure, is rich in fatty acids and very moisturizing and lubricating to the skin in general.

Jojoba oil –type 2

Jojoba oil is very similar in composition to human natural skin oils. It penetrates the skin rapidly to nourish it. Since it has antioxidant properties, it can keep other oils from going rancid.

Olive oil- type 1

It is good oil for skin care, especially mature, inflamed, or dry skin, as it provides disinfectant, anti-wrinkle, and wound healing properties. It retains moisture to the skin by forming a breathable layer, and it does not block the skin’s natural functions while performing is own. Some people may find certain grades unpleasantly strong smelling.

Shea Oil -type 2

It is high in vitamin E and A, linoleic acid and fatty acids, making it good for all skin types. Shea oil is absorbed quickly by the skin and works well for rehydration

Sunflower Oil-type 1 or 2

It has large amounts of essential fatty acids as well as a high amount of Vitamin E .Its vitamin E content makes it especially helpful for delicate and dry skin. It has a protective effect on the skin and is healing when applied to leg ulcers, bruises and skin diseases.

Sweet Almond oil- type 1

It is an excellent emollient (softening and soothing to the skin) and also helps the skin to balance its loss and absorption of moisture, suitable for all skin types. It will help relieve irritation, inflammation.

Wheat germ oil-type 2

It is used to nourish dry or cracked skin and soothes skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis; also helps to prevent and reduce scarring and may prevent stretch marks. Mature skin, in particular, will benefit from wheat germ oil. Be aware that this oil can impart a strong odor to your body butter.

Butters:

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. Using a percentage of coconut oil in cosmetics is moisturizing; too much of it can be drying. Its saturated nature resists rancidity. This oil can be used to replace some of the beeswax to achieve a more solid product.

Shea butter

Extracted from the kernels of the fruit of the shea nut tree (Butyrospermum parkii). It is high in vitamin E and A, linoleic acid and fatty acids, making it good for all skin types. Shea Butter is absorbed quickly by the skin and works well for rehydration.  It is soft at room temperature.

Cocoa butter

Cocoa Butter is obtained from the fruit of the cacao tree (Theobroma Cacao) in Africa. It prevents drying of the skin and development of wrinkles. It reduces degeneration of skin cells and restores skin flexibility. It is solid at room temperatures, but melts easily on contact with the skin.

Mango butter

Mango Butter has been extracted from the fruit kernels of the Mango tree (Mangifera indica). It contains a high content fatty acids, so is great for moisturization after exposure to the sun and other harsh elements. It is a soft solid at room temperatures, but melts readily on contact with the skin.

Beeswax

This is the oldest and purest wax in the world. It helps to emulsify and thicken lotions and creams, hold together lip and body balms, and forms a protective barrier between your skin and the environment.

The basic recipe uses these proportions for 10 ounces, meaning the total ounces should be 10.

For a richer product you could use 4 ounces of a type 1 oil and 4 ounces of a type 2 oil.

6 or 4 oz. type 1 oil

2 or 4 oz. type 2 oil

1 oz. butter ( or solid coconut oil)

1  oz. beeswax

1 tsp. essential oils ( optional)

 

Curried Chickpea Soup, Fresh Spring Rolls and Sushi Rice Balls.

After posting about my favorite holiday gift, those bags of Lompoc beans, I was inspired this weekend to make a large batch of chickpeas.
I will admit that the kind of cooking I do does require some forethought and planning.
I never thought about it much until my SIL asked about timing for meals. She was referring to the timing required to put all dishes of a meal out at the same time.
It got me to thinking, I realized that I very rarely decide what's for dinner a hour before I want/need to serve the meal. I think and plan several days ahead, that allows me to use dried beans and make my own sauces etc... I go to the farmer's market and grocery store once a week usually, so I need to have a vague plan for several meals when I shop.

Back to the beans, I rinsed and soaked them Friday night, cooked them in the slow cooker on Saturday. I froze some in bags and stowed 4 cups in the fridge for later.

Sunday, I made my favorite curried chickpea soup, delicious with a dollop of plain yogurt.
Later this week I will use the rest to make hummus.

I love making enough of whatever I make to have leftovers for lunch and subsequent dinners.
Several hours of food prep = two or three meals !!

To this end, I made sushi rice balls, using the sushi rice recipe from my roll your own sushi post.
I just add some black sesame seeds and a bit of sea salt.

For salad I went with fresh spring rolls. We had Thai food recently and that inspired me. I filled them with grated carrots, shredded cabbage, baked tofu, avocado and fresh cilantro.
If they seem like too much work you can toss all the same ingredients into a salad bowl or make my Asian slaw.

My easy peanut sauce is great with the spring rolls, sushi rice balls or as a salad dressing if you go that way.

We had all three items for dinner last night. Lunch today included the spring rolls and the rice balls. Tomorrow will be another chickpea soup dinner !!

My goals (?) for 2015.

It was fun to look at the post I did last year of my goals.
I was pleased that I had actually accomplished more than half of them.
Here is a quick review.

1) I made a concerted effort to learn to use a pressure cooker, only to discover I don't really need one in my life.
2) I posted about making your own cleaning products.
3) I have yet to make my own pie crust, so that will go on the 2015 list.
4) I did make my own tortillas, they are easy but also a time consuming process.
5) Spätzle, we were so excited when we first had this dish. I did try some recipes. The clean up was a bit of a hassle and then we were over it ;-)
6) This is the one I am most pleased with, using all my dried beans !! I have taken this one up with glee. Now I make all my own beans from dried and freeze them. In fact one of my favorite holiday gifts was from the Lompoc Bean Company !!

7) " Grow rhubarb and horseradish", I tried, the gophers won that battle. I am going to try again this year.
8) I forgot about sharing my bath and body products, this year, I promise !!
9) I made my own tahini and will  always do so.

Here are a few of the things I want to try out in 2015.

1) Once again making my own pie crust goes on the list. I already have a few recipes that are supposed to be fool-proof, we shall see.
2)  The next time I make bath and body products for an order, I will take photos and post the recipes.
3) We bought two kinds of rhubarb and we found gopher cages in which to plant them. Rhubabrb recipes could be posted this year.
4) I have never made risotto, I will look into it.
5) I didn't get a chance to stock up on puff pastry from Trader Joe's before they stopped selling it. I will explore making it from scratch.

Hmmm, that isn't a very long or impressive list, pie crust, risotto and puff pastry, no vegetables ??
Luckily I live it such a rich agricultural place that I am inspired often by the beautiful produce at my farmer's market.
I guess keeping it short may help me to accomplish all of them and I hope to post lots of tasty recipes using all kinds of wonderful foods.

I will happily take requests too ;-)

A Year In Review: My Favorites from 2014

It's that time of year again...
I have to admit, I skip all the news, movie, book and other media year end reviews but when it comes to food, I say "bring it on" !!

Here are a dozen of my favorite recipes from this past year.
I hope that at least one of them inspires you.

1) Hippocrates Soup, this soup would make a great hangover cure ;-)

2) This French lentil salad was inspired by our trip to Paris this spring.

3) Making my own tahini, sesame butter was one of my goals for 2014, I did it !!

4) I am still amazed by this very simple ice cream recipe.
In fact I have been using it to make my seasonal peppermint ice cream.

5) One meal on our summer road trip inspired these Texas barbeque beans.

6) Homemade Baklava is truly the best.

7) Apple Molasses, so simple, yet so tasty.

8) Grilled Flank Steak, you can use other cuts like flat iron or bavette. This has become a regular request at our house.

9) Minestrone soup is one of the first soups I ever made. It's so versatile.

10) Roasted Winter Squash, we have been eating it a lot this fall.

11) Smoked Pecans: these tasty treats were another inspiration from our Red Hot Red Stick Summer Road Trip. They get rave reviews as holidays gifts too.

12) Last by not least, my most recent post: Vegetable Wellington !!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Vegetable Wellington, great NYE dinner.

If you hosted both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner like I did, you may not want to cook for New Year's Eve. I have already made reservations at my favorite country French restaurant, Cafe Sparrow.

However, if you are feeling adventurous, this vegetable Wellington is a show stopper. It is tasty and not too hard to make. A lot of the prep can be done ahead of time. Right now stores should still carry puff pastry. In some places it is considered a holiday item so I stock up. If you want to make it vegan you can use filo dough instead, it is slightly trickier to work with.

I had this dish a number of years ago, prepared by my friend, Laurie. I was so impressed. Recently I asked her for the recipe, by then she had moved on to an entirely plant based diet. She couldn't remember where she got the recipe. Undaunted I looked online but without the benefit of the name of the dish, I searched and searched, finally I just decided to reproduce it from memory. I loved what I came up with, then a month ago she found what she thought was her original recipe.

I still think I like my rendition best ;-)

Laurie's Vegetable Wellington

Ingredients

1 package puff pastry
1 egg
1-2 cups grated cheese, Parmesan or cheddar or jack
2 cups cooked mushrooms
1 cup steamed greens, spinach or chard
2 cups sliced and steamed carrots
1 cup sauteed onions
1 cup sauteed bell peppers

1) I have found that the best way to work with puff pastry is to defrost it in the fridge. That way it takes only minutes out of the fridge to be ready to use.

2) It's important to get all your vegetables ready ahead of time. What vegetables you use is very flexible as long as you cook most of the moisture out of them so your puff pastry doesn't get soggy.

3) Beat one egg with a tablespoon of milk or water. The egg wash also helps to keep the puff pastry from getting soggy.

4) Preheat your oven to 400 F. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking oil.

5) Once you remove the puff pastry from the fridge and its packaging, you will want to work fairly quickly. You want to line the pan carefully with puff pastry and brush it with egg wash. You can see it doesn't have to be perfect but do mash the seams together.

6) Now you are ready to layer the vegetables. I suggest putting the carrots on the bottom instead of something wetter like the greens or mushrooms, otherwise I just layer them for nice color contrasts.
I sprinkled the cheese between some of the layers.

7) Now cover  with your last piece of pastry, crimp the edges together and paint with the last of your egg wash and make some slashes across the top.

8) Bake at 400 F for 40-50 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and then remove from the pan once it cools enough to handle. Allow to rest another 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve with a large green salad, hearty soup or meat dish. I have to say if you have leftovers, you are lucky, it is great the next day gently warmed in a toaster oven.

Last minute gift ideas !

This morning I am in my kitchen making infused olive oils and vinegars.
These will be some lovely gifts for family and friends.
I have posted about both of these already this season.

Just in case you want some more easy food gift ideas, here is a post that will get you started.
It includes granola, fruit syrups, ice cream toppings and more !!

My next project this morning will be some Christmas cookies !!

Roasted Winter Squash: or my attempt at pumpkin bouranee.

My dad and I used to go out to lunch at a lovely local restaurant: Laili.
They serve a dish called pumpkin bouranee, chunks of orange winter squash roasted and served with a yogurt sauce. I love this dish and it looks so simple but the recipes I found online seemed a far cry from what I was eating. No recipes, no problem, I will make up my own and I have. It is not an exact replica but I love it anyway.

Laurie's Roasted Winter Squash

4 cups butternut squash, baked and cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp.coriander
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 sprigs fresh mint, chopped

1) All the recipes I looked at, had you peel the squash before you cooked it. Do you know how hard and dangerous that is ?? My simple solution is to cut the squash in half and roast it first.
Put foil in your baking pan and over the squash as well. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  The squash should be done but not over done or too soft since you are going to roast it again. You should do this ahead of time. I like to do it in the morning so it warms up the kitchen.

 2) Now your squash is so much easier to peel !! Cut it into inch size chunks and place into a bowl.
 3) I like to grate my garlic with my micro grater, you can mince it instead if you prefer.

4) In a small bowl mix together the dry spices, salt and garlic.

5) Toss the squash with olive oil, then with the spices to coat.

6) Place on that same foiled baking pan.

7) Cover and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

8) Serve with yogurt and mint.

This makes a great side dish and is very good leftover.

Smoked Pecans and other nutty treats.

This summer while on a road trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we drove through eastern Texas, land of pecan orchards. Of course we stopped at a roadside stand to sample their wares. That was when I discovered smoked pecans and knew I had to try to reproduce them. They are not actually smoked but instead coated with a smokey, salty combination of herbs and spices.

Here's the recipe I created.

Laurie's smoked pecans.
Ingredients
8 cups pecans
1/4 cup melted butter*
3 tsp. salt
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp Chipotle pepper powder

* You can replace the butter with olive oil.

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2) In a small bowl mix the salt and spices together.
3) Melt 1/4 cup butter.
4) Pour the melted butter over the pecans to coat them well.
5) Sprinkle the spice mixture and toss to coat again.

6) Spread evenly onto the prepared baking sheets.

7) Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once.
8) Allow to cool before storing.

I made up two other savory nut recipes, the directions are the same as above.
Nuts make great gifts, holiday appetizers or snacks for TV time on the family couch ;-)

Laurie's Curried Nuts

Ingredients.

3 cups almonds
2 cups pecans
2 tablespoons melted ghee *
4 teaspoons curry powder
3 teaspoon salt

* You can use melted butter or olive oil instead.

Follow steps 1-8.


Laurie's Roasted Nuts with Herbs

3 cups almonds
2 cups pecans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary,
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder or cayenne*
1 teaspoon salt

* If substituting cayenne use 1/2 teaspoon unless you want them hot.

Follow steps 1-8.

Snack mixes as gifts.

 

Here are two very simple snack mixes that make nice stocking stuffers, hostess gifts or office offerings.

This first one is a gourmet trail mix. I was inspired by a funny incident in a Survivor episode. A player hoarded trail mix after a reward, it turned all the other players against her when she was discovered. One of the players of my Survivor Challenge won reward that episode. In keeping with the theme her reward was this gourmet trail mix. Now I know that the term "trail mix" may have a leave a bad taste in your mouth ;-) This version is so upscale and has no carob, raisins or colored pseudo candy. In fact after making for that reward, I had to make some for myself it was so fun to have around.

I use whole cashews, dry roasted almonds, honey roasted peanuts, dark chocolate covered almonds, large coconut flakes,  whole dried cranberries, dried apples, dried pears, dried apricots. I like to cut the fruit in half or quarters. The apples and pears are from my own yard.  The mixture lends itself to being creative. Fill a pint canning jar, add a bow and label, instant gift !

Or if salty is you thing try this addictive mix.

It's made up of all those salty things you love.

I get mine at Trader Joe's but I am sure any other grocery store with a bulk section will work too. Just  be sure to make enough for yourself ;-)

Next up: smoked pecans and curried nut mixes.

Homemade Spice Blends

In keeping with my promotion for homemade gifts, here are some great spice blends you can put together in under an hour: chili powder, pie spice, curry powder, ranch dressing mix, jerk spice, Moroccan spice.

Most "Whole Foods" type grocery stores sell herbs and spices in bulk, they may even have the decorative containers to put them in. Or try Cost Plus or Ross for containers.

Make your own label, add a simple recipe and you have a great gift you made yourself !
















Make your own label, add a simple recipe and you have a great gift you made yourself !