Okay, I made a lot of changes to this original recipe, so I'll just put down my modified version here. The original one had this salad serving 4 people and arranging the ingredients on the plates all fancy, but since I had to serve 8 people, I just added some extra lettuce and tossed it all into the same bowl... it was still delicious!
Dressing:
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp (finely!) minced red onion
pinch of salt
5 tbsp light olive oil
The Salad:
Okay I hate washing lettuce, so while the original recipe called for using red leaf romaine lettuce, I just bought a pre-washed mixed bag of mixed herb salad from Trader Joe's (the added dill in the bag actually made this all that much better in my opinion)... Anyway, use all of one of those pre-washed bags or about 8 cups of romaine lettuce.
The original recipe also calls for 2/3 cups slivered red onion.. what I ended up doing was just cutting a medium red onion in half, mincing it, using tbsp for the dressing and throwing the rest in the salad.
12 pitted kalamata olives, sliced
4 tbsp crumbled soft mild goat cheese (honestly I didn't measure this exactly, I probably used a bit more)
Whisk together dressing ingredients, pour over salad and toss till blended!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Coconut Macaroons Dipped in Chocolate
Macaroons:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups flaked coconut (non sweetened)
1/4 tsp salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (trader joe's sells this in a super easy squirt bottle)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Dipping:
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the flour, coconut and salt. Work in the condensed milk and vanilla (the recipe said with your hands, but that was soooo messy, so I just used a large spoon and it worked fine). Form into golf ball sized balls (or if you happen to have a macaroon press you can make them look all fancy). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted.
Once the cookies cool, melt the chocolate and milk in a small saucepan (either over very low heat or in a double boiler). Dip cookies as desired into the chocolate, place them back onto the parchment paper until the chocolate sets.
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups flaked coconut (non sweetened)
1/4 tsp salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (trader joe's sells this in a super easy squirt bottle)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Dipping:
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the flour, coconut and salt. Work in the condensed milk and vanilla (the recipe said with your hands, but that was soooo messy, so I just used a large spoon and it worked fine). Form into golf ball sized balls (or if you happen to have a macaroon press you can make them look all fancy). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted.
Once the cookies cool, melt the chocolate and milk in a small saucepan (either over very low heat or in a double boiler). Dip cookies as desired into the chocolate, place them back onto the parchment paper until the chocolate sets.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Homemade Marshmallows
One of our favorite sugary treats. You can make these any flavor you like simply by adding extracts or spices. I have tried chocolate, but make sure you use fat free syrup or cocoa powder, otherwise the fat will make the marshmallows dense and flat instead of airy and fluffy. One of my favorites was the coffee, I just added espresso powder. Mint is nice for winter too.
3/4 cup cold water
2 1/4 oz packets unflavored powdered gelatin, I use Knox
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp to 1 T vanilla, depending on how strong a vanilla flavor you want
1/2 - 1 tsp other flavoring optional
Make sure you have everything ready before you start. This is one recipe where measuring as you go could be problematic. You will need a stand mixer or hand mixer with the whip attachments, a saucepan, an 8 inch square pan, a thermometer, a couple of bowls spoons and spatulas.
In small bowl combine cold water and gelatin, stir to dissolve. Pour into your stand mixer, or bowl to mix in.
In another bowl mix the confectioners sugar and cornstarch. I like to put this in a device I have that sifts sugar onto cakes or what not. Sprinkle or sift half this mixture into the bottom of the 8 inch pan. The other half will do on top of the marshmallow mixture.
In saucepan cook corn syrup, granulated sugar, water and salt over medium high heat until it reaches 235 on the thermometer, about 6 to 8 minutes. (If using cocoa powder, add it here so it dissolves and cooks into the sugar mixture.) Combine this with the gelatin mixture and flavorings. Beat on medium high speed until thick and fluffy about 6 minutes. At this point you could fold in some coconut or mini chocolate chips, but don't add these any sooner as they will deflate the mixture. Scrape into the 8 inch pan and spread to the edges. Sprinkle or sift the remaining cornstarch mixture over the top.
Let dry overnight, and then cut into whatever shape you like. You can use colored sugar or toasted coconut mixed into the cornstarch mixture for some variation, or wait and roll the cut marshmallows into toppings like that. They are also yummy dipped in chocolate. Hope you enjoy them. If you have any questions please call. They are easier than they seem, and taste so much better than store bought.
3/4 cup cold water
2 1/4 oz packets unflavored powdered gelatin, I use Knox
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp to 1 T vanilla, depending on how strong a vanilla flavor you want
1/2 - 1 tsp other flavoring optional
Make sure you have everything ready before you start. This is one recipe where measuring as you go could be problematic. You will need a stand mixer or hand mixer with the whip attachments, a saucepan, an 8 inch square pan, a thermometer, a couple of bowls spoons and spatulas.
In small bowl combine cold water and gelatin, stir to dissolve. Pour into your stand mixer, or bowl to mix in.
In another bowl mix the confectioners sugar and cornstarch. I like to put this in a device I have that sifts sugar onto cakes or what not. Sprinkle or sift half this mixture into the bottom of the 8 inch pan. The other half will do on top of the marshmallow mixture.
In saucepan cook corn syrup, granulated sugar, water and salt over medium high heat until it reaches 235 on the thermometer, about 6 to 8 minutes. (If using cocoa powder, add it here so it dissolves and cooks into the sugar mixture.) Combine this with the gelatin mixture and flavorings. Beat on medium high speed until thick and fluffy about 6 minutes. At this point you could fold in some coconut or mini chocolate chips, but don't add these any sooner as they will deflate the mixture. Scrape into the 8 inch pan and spread to the edges. Sprinkle or sift the remaining cornstarch mixture over the top.
Let dry overnight, and then cut into whatever shape you like. You can use colored sugar or toasted coconut mixed into the cornstarch mixture for some variation, or wait and roll the cut marshmallows into toppings like that. They are also yummy dipped in chocolate. Hope you enjoy them. If you have any questions please call. They are easier than they seem, and taste so much better than store bought.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Honey Wheat Bread (bread machine recipe)
Okay here is my favorite bread machine recipe so far:
1 3/8 cup water
4 1/4 cups Bread Flour (All purpose flour works fine too)
1/2 cup Cracked Wheat (This is the same dang thing as the Bulgar you use to make tabbouleh - although it took the lady at whole foods 10 minutes to figure that out for me, since they had nothing called cracked wheat anywhere in the store)
3 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Active Dry yeast
My Zojirushi says to use the "Quick Wheat" setting for this bread... I'm not sure of the equivalents on other bread machines - If folks are really interested I'm happy to post up the basic timing of the cycles so that you can figure out what works with your machines!
1 3/8 cup water
4 1/4 cups Bread Flour (All purpose flour works fine too)
1/2 cup Cracked Wheat (This is the same dang thing as the Bulgar you use to make tabbouleh - although it took the lady at whole foods 10 minutes to figure that out for me, since they had nothing called cracked wheat anywhere in the store)
3 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Active Dry yeast
My Zojirushi says to use the "Quick Wheat" setting for this bread... I'm not sure of the equivalents on other bread machines - If folks are really interested I'm happy to post up the basic timing of the cycles so that you can figure out what works with your machines!
Trader Joe's mishap...
Just an FYI so no one else wastes a bunch of ingredients - Trader Joe's 100% Whole Wheat flour is actually WHITE whole wheat flour... soooo, it totally doesn't work for bread machine recipes that call for wheat flour...
DOH! :)
DOH! :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
Pineapple and Coconut Yumminess
I think pineapple and coconut is a fabulous combination. Especially in a dessert, when the coconut is a little toasty. I love that this is also a fairly healthy dessert or snack since it uses whole grains. In addition, it is as easy as a box cake with far yummier results.
Fruity Snack Cake
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar unpacked
2 eggs
1/4 canola or veg oil
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 cup plus 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds or chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 baking pan. In a bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, oil, fruit and juice and 1/4 cup coconut. Stir till combined. Pour into greased pan. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients and bake 35-40 minutes till done. Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.
This is really yummy with pineapple sherbet!
Fruity Snack Cake
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar unpacked
2 eggs
1/4 canola or veg oil
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 cup plus 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds or chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 baking pan. In a bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, oil, fruit and juice and 1/4 cup coconut. Stir till combined. Pour into greased pan. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients and bake 35-40 minutes till done. Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.
This is really yummy with pineapple sherbet!
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