Homemade Marshmallows

I tried my hand at homemade marshmallows!  They weren’t all that hard to make, even without a candy thermometer, but they were messy!  This is a project for a neat cook, someone who cleans as they go and uses metal utensils instead of their fingers.  I am a messy cook, and it sure made a big mess!  

I don’t think these are exactly good for you, they are pure sugar after all (with some gelatin), but they sure do taste good!

And they look good!  Do NOT ask why we have Christmas tree marshmallows…I suppose it was because I let the kids choose shapes.

super relaxed…

Larger than life!

I’m happy to share the recipe, and the marshmallows, just ask!

 

Recipe for Warmth

In the event you`d like to have your own Beach Day, here is the recipe for the Tropical Smoothie we made:  All quantities are of course variable to suit your taste and the amount you want to make.   We were all licking the bottom of the glasses and wishing for more!

 

 

Pineapple, fresh or canned, about 1-2 cups

Mango, frozen pieces, about 1-2 cups

Banana, 1/2 to 1 whole

Coconut milk, with the cream and everything mixed in.

 

Blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.  Top with shredded coconut and a paper umbrella toothpick.  Enjoy!

 

The tag on this dress / cover up actually says “Made in Hawaii”

Aloha!

 

 

Shana Ate Zucchini!

I don’t know why I buy zucchini…no one likes it.  I’ve learned that the best way to cook it is to gently saute it in butter for just two or three minutes; that helps a lot, but it’s still not a favorite.  Tonight I had some and looked up some ideas for what to do with it on my favorite recipe search engine, Recipe Puppy, and came up with this winner: 

Middle Eastern Zucchini Casserole

Cook separately:  1 1/2 cups rice (uncooked measure), 1/2 to 1 lb ground beef, 2-3 zucchini sliced (saute in butter, for only a minute or two).   I also added some dill and salt to it. 

Combine rice and ground beef.  Add:

1 tsp allspice

1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon

1 to 1/2 tsp salt

The recipe at this point says to add tomato sauce, but I felt that would be too tomato-y so I made a cheese sauce (white sauce with cheese) and added a little bit of tomato sauce to that, and mixed it in with the rice and beef. 

Layer in baking dish zucchini slices, layer of beef mixture, zucchini again, beef again, top with zucchini and some more tomato or cheese/tomato sauce.  I put on a little grated cheese too.  (Oh, and I had no more zucchini left, so there were only two layers of that.  That’s enough!

Bake in oven until hot at 350 or 400.

Serve with plain yogurt. 

You could also make the filling and stuff it into zucchini that have been halved lengthwise and scooped out. 

I can’t believe Shana liked all that allspice! And now that I think about it…she didn’t eat the zucchini after all.  But she did like something that was not Plain Jane boring, so that’s still a good thing! 

Let me know if you try it!

 

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny…

Colored Polka Dot Rotini! 

 Yes folks, it’s a recipe!  And I got it out of Reader’s Digest, if you can believe it.  Of course I only used half of their ideas and substituted whatever I wanted for the rest, but that’s pretty normal, right? 

So here it is.  Tricolored Rotini (corkscrew shaped noodles) cooked in coconut milk and spices.  Yum.  I know it looks like a lot of spices, but it still tastes pretty mild so season as desired.  And it really doesn’t take that long to measure out, the hardest part is getting started. 

If you use lentils or chickpeas or another bean, it makes a complete protein with the noodles so that’s a complete meal all in one. 

1 1/2 cups Vegetable/Chicken Broth 

1 cup light coconut milk (as if I ever buy LIGHT anything! use regular, it’s good for you)

1 tsp EACH sugar and ground coriander

1/2 tsp EACH ground cumin and chili powder

1/4 tsp EACH curry powder and ground ginger (I used more curry and less ginger, b/c that’s the way I like it.) 

8 oz (227 g) tricolored rotini pasta, uncooked  (Yes, you can use whatever noodles you have)

1 cup frozen green peas  (or lentils)

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup dried currants (I used chickpeas, I don’t know what currents are. )

Combine broth, coconut milk, sugar, coriander, cumin, chili powder and ginger.  Bring to a boil.  Add noodles, reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.  Add red peppers, peas, and chickpeas (or whatever colorful things you like and are using).  Simmer 6-7 minutes more until liquid is absorbed and pasta is tender.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. 

Sorry, no pictures, we made it last with white spaghetti noodles, and didn’t think to take a picture.  It looked better the first time with the colored corkscrews, but the second time I doubled the curry powder and Nate couldn’t get enough of it. 

 

I love Summer

Isn’t it beautiful? 

 

 Fun with food! 

 

Paprikash Csirke

The finished product with crepes:   

Red, Red Sauce! 

 

Kitchen Table: Granny Spolumbo’s Skillet

We love this meal.  It’s tasty, sweet, and easy to throw together.

cooked rice
sausages
Granny Smith apples
maple syrup 

Slice sausages diagonally and brown them in a skillet.  Our favourite is locally-made Spolumbo’s Chicken Apple Sausage, but we do something different every time.  Peel (optionally) and slice Granny Smith or other tart apples, and add them to the skillet after the sausages are browned.  Cook until the apple slices are soft.  Add cooked rice.  Drizzle with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

 

Kitchen Table: Tofu Mollie

 

Next in our series of inviting you to our kitchen table is a perrennial favorite, we call it Tofu Mollie.  (Nate calls it Tofu Mali, because he says it tastes African.)  It is from Mollie Katzen’s “Vegetable Heaven” cookbook, titled ‘Green Beans and Tofu in a Crunchy Thai Peanut Sauce.’ You can read the recipe here on Mollie’s cool website.  Below I’ll give you the Helen-ized version. 

2 TBSP minced fresh ginger (or to taste)
1TBSP minced garlic
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 lb firm tofu, cubed
1 lb fresh green beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces,
or frozen green beans (fresh is best, when in season!)
red pepper flakes to taste
 

Serve with brown basmati rice, start the rice cooking first. 

Mollie says to roast and then grind up your own peanuts to make the sauce… but I just use almond butter.  I’m into doing things from scratch but really, that does seem to go a bit far!

Saute ginger and garlic in oil for a few minutes.  Add tofu cubes and lemon zest and brown for 10-15 minutes on high heat.

While tofu is browning, make a sauce:

Almond butter, about 2 heaping TBSP
Honey, about 1 heaping TBSP, or to taste
Soy sauce, about 1 tsp or to taste
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

Stir sauce until combined.  When tofu is browned, add sauce to pan and stir to combine.  If using frozen green beans, add them right on top, cover, and let steam until cooked through.

If using fresh green beans, you may want to stir fry them in a bit of oil in their own pan first, then add to the tofu mixture.

Stir the green beans and sauce thoroughly, taste, and adjust salt or honey as necessary.  Voila!

This might be good with beef instead of the tofu.  Someone try it and let me know!

 

Kitchen Table: Palm Tree Gramma Muffins

For our Mother’s Day breakfast, the kids insisted on Palm Tree Gramma Muffins.  This recipe is already in the much-acclaimed At the Kitchen Table cookbook, but it bears repeating because it’s easy, healthy, delicious, and kids can help without making Dad go crazy.  And unlike most (every?) other recipes we share, this one is an original!  Helen’s mother (who we call Palm Tree Gramma because we visit her in Florida) created this recipe from nothing, making numerous variations every day until she had something perfect.

Combine dry ingredients:

1 cup quinoa or soy flour
1 cup white spelt flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine wet ingredients:

1 egg (or for an eggless recipe: 1 TBSP ground flax seeds mixed with 2-3 TBSP water; let sit for a few minutes before using)
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1/4 cup honey, rice syrup, or maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup soy milk

Combine wet and dry ingredients together, mix lightly, adding a little more milk if necessary.

Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of raisins, nuts, seeds, chopped fruit, or our favourite: chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin tin.  Makes 12 muffins.

Bake at 400 F in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

Kitchen Table: Birthday Pancakes

These delectables put the cake in pancake.  With 1/3 cup of sugar and 3/4 cup sour cream, these aren’t your everyday pancakes, but they make a great special Sunday breakfast.  (We sometimes replace the sugar with 3 T honey + 2 T cane sugar to be a bit healthier, but the consistency isn’t the same.)

Whisk together the dry ingredients:
1 cup spelt flour (or all-purpose flour if you prefer)
1/3 cup sugar
1 – 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

Whisk together the wet ingredients in another bowl:
3/4 cup tofu sour cream (or regular sour cream)
1/3 cup soy milk (or regular milk)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
3 T unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 – 1/2 t vanilla

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and gently whisk them together.  The batter will be thick, like cake batter.

Spoon 1/4 cup or so of batter onto the griddle for each pancake, and cook until bubbles pop and don’t fill themselves up again, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown.

This is our adaptation of the Lemon Pancake recipe in the Joy of Cooking.  They suggest serving with “sweetened sour cream or crème fraîche”.  We eat them with our staple, maple syrup, and see no reason to try anything else!