September 30th Trade

Hi girls...just starting a post for anyone interested in a trade this weekend. Post in the comments!

Tzatziki

INGREDIENTS
24 ounces plain yogurt
1 large English cucumber, peeled and shredded
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Place a cheese cloth over a medium bowl and strain the yogurt 6 hours in the refrigerator, or over night.
2.Drain as much excess liquid from the cucumber and garlic as possible.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and salt. Stir until a thick mixture has formed.

Puppies and Babies....and good food, too

This was almost too much to bear. Shara, thanks for sending on these pics! I'm making falafel patties this time; who else is up for this weekend?

Cornbread Muffins

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
3 T sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and add to dry. Beat until fairly smooth (about 1 minute). Pour into sprayed 12-cup muffin tin. Bake 15 minutes and use knife to loosen.

Serves: 12
Source: adapted from Aunti Jemima (hey, sometimes the back of the package really knows what it's talking about)

Yummy Goodness

All the yummy treats from the latest Swap!

• Primavera Sauce by Crystal
• Corn Muffins by Lindsay
• Lebnah by Courtney
• Plain & Spinach Hummus by Shara

YUMMM!!!!

Mezze

I stopped by Central Market and grabbed some pits, feta, olives, and halvah to go with Shara's two hummi (plural for hummus in Courtney language) and my lebnah. Lo and behold we had a mezze feast at our house tonight. Freya LOVED it! She was so happy with hummus, lebnah, olives, feta, and halvah that she says, "Hummm." Mark and I talked about how we are paving the way for her taste buds to love all different flavors. We know she will go through the mac and cheese only stage, but her taste buds will remember the good stuff for when she is an adult. Cool parents, huh?

Swap #3

I'm going to make lebneh. This is an experiment, so I hope it turns out ok. Who's in?

Yogurt, Courtney Style

Swap #2 was yogurt from me. I end up making yogurt for us about every week and half to two weeks. It's super easy and you can make it at home, too, and it's a lot cheaper than at the store.

Yogurt

2 quarts milk
1/2 cup or so of already made yogurt

Bring the milk to a boil on the stove, whisking to make sure the milk does not burn. Once the milk is boiling, turn it off and pour it into sterile quart jars. I also put some into another smaller jar (this is my starter for the next batch). Put the lids on and put the jars into the fridge for 1 hour. Take them out of the fridge, stir in the already made yogurt in each jar, and put the jars in a warm place.

My warm place is inside my oven with it turned off. I have a gas oven, so the pilot light keeps it somewhat warm. Some people put the yogurt in a cooler with a warm towel wrapped around it. Be creative! Just do not put the yogurt in a place over 100 degrees or the yogurt will die and you will be left with sour milk. Yuck!

I leave my yogurt in the oven overnight and I have yogurt in the morning. Keep the yogurt refrigerated.

Swap #2-Banana Bread Light

Thanks for the homemade yogurt, Court! I'm excited to try your recipe-you'll have to post it for us. The banana bread here is super-easy, and is definitely the best light banana bread recipe I've found. I end up freezing bananas if they get too ripe to eat. You can just thaw them in the microwave and drain the liquid before mashing.

Banana Bread Light

1 cup granulated sugar

1, 8-ounce pkg fat free cream cheese

1 cup mashed over-ripe bananas

2 large eggs

2 cups Bisquick heart-healthy baking mix

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add banana and eggs; beat until well blended. Add baking mix and pecans, and stir just until moist. Pour batter into a 9-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake for 45 minutes. Tent bread with foil, and bake an additional 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Source: Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2004

what I made with Swap #1

Spinach Black Bean Enchiladas!

Ingredients:
Lindsay's Salsa
Crystal's tortillas
cheese

filling
10 oz. frozen spinach
2 cups black beans (cooked)
1 cup sour cream
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin .... all to taste!

In a greased up pan, spread some of the salsa on the bottom. Make the enchiladas by filling each tortilla with the filling (of course). tuck them in nicely together in the pan. Top with more salsa and cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven 30 minutes (20 covered, 10 uncovered). Enjoy! Even Freya loved them!

Swap #1!

Here are the goodies from swap #1...soooooo yummy. :)

We're talking about swap #2, possibly next Sunday? Comment here and let us know who's interested. Edited to say: On second thought, guys, I think I will take a week off. Linds, if you and Courtney are still interested, you can still comment/plan here. :)

Granola by Courtney

So, as you may know, I don't really follow many recipes. Generally, I use them as suggestions or as springboards for my imagination. this holds true for my granola making. So, here are my remembrances.....

Granola

Dump a bunch of oats in a bowl (many cups) and microwave them for 2 minutes. Stir. In the meantime, make your spice goo.

Spice Goo (7/27/07)
some brown sugar (maybe 1/2 cup)
some honey (good squirt)
some dark molasses
canola oil (same amount as brown sugar)
a shot of vanilla
several shakes of nutmeg and cinamon

Stir the spice goo into the oats and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Add some almonds. Microwave again for 1 minute. Stir. Add some raisins. Stir. Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute.

Spread on sheet pans to cool.

You have easy, yummy, healthy granola in no time at all! Enjoy!

Corn Tortillas

Here's what I made for Swap #1...

And rather than a real recipe, I created a tutorial that you can see here.

Enjoy!

Salsa Picante

Here is the recipe I used for our first swap.

Salsa Picante

3 (14-ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
5 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 c fresh cilantro, chopped
5 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse on and off until the desired consistency is reached.

Makes: a whole, whole lot!

Source: Fresh (Lake Austin Spa)

Note: I like my salsa nice and chunky. I set 1/2 of the chopped onion, 1/2 cilantro and 1/2 green onions aside in a bowl with 1 clove chopped garlic and 1 of the canned tomatoes. After the rest of the ingredients are pureed, you can stir these back in. The original recipe calls for regular canned tomatoes, but I love using the fire-roasted ones for salsa.

Mississippi Mud Cake

As requested, here is the recipe for chocolatey goodness!

Mississippi Mud Cake

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme

Cream eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla. Gradually add flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder; beat until blended. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour in a 8x8-inch square baking pan coated with nonstick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Spread marshmallow creme on cake while still warm. (I didn't use the whole jar, maybe 2/3?)

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter with milk and vanilla. Add cocoa powder and sugar, and mix until smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

Makes 64 pieces (small pieces are perfect!)

Source: my mom's recipe box

Wine Tour, July 2007

We had such a great time today on our wine tour! You can see our flickr set here.

Please post links to your photos in the comments!

Calling all cooks!

Hello everyone, and welcome to our little blog. I'm going to have Justin take a stab at sprucing it up for us soon.

I think we should use separate blog posts for separate topics, and post comments if we're adding to one topic.

So I'm thinking I'd like to start swapping soon. Sounds like Sunday or Monday would work for everyone...is anyone up for a swap on July 29/30? If so, please comment here that you will be participating, what you'll be bringing, and when is the best time to meet.

I can make corn tortillas, and I can do a quick swap on Sunday or Monday evening (Monday lunchtimes don't work for me). Monday might be better that week for those who are staying overnight in Fredericksburg.

Let me know!