6/6 Chili, Cornbread, Strawberry-Basil Crepes
Chili
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 pound ground turkey or beef
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chicken or beef stock
2 (15 oz) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained
For topping: cheese, avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro, sour cream
1. Place oil in a large pot and place over medium high heat. Add in onion, garlic
and red pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add in ground
turkey and break up the meat; cooking until no longer pink. Next add in chili
powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt; stir for about 20 seconds.
2. Next add in tomatoes, chicken broth, kidney beans and corn. Bring to a boil,
then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until chili thickens and flavors
come together. Taste and adjust seasonings and salt as necessary. Garnish with
anything you'd like.
3. Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each.
Cornbread
2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place butter in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet, and heat in oven
5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together first 4 ingredients in a bowl; whisk in eggs and sour
cream. Add melted butter, whisking just until smooth.
3. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake at 400° for 30 to 33 minutes or until golden
brown.
Macerated Strawberries with Thai Basil
1 pound strawberries, quartered
8 medium Thai basil leaves
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1. Stack the basil leaves on top of each other. Then roll together tightly and slice
into thin strips.
2. Toss strawberries with basil and sugar.
3. Allow to rest for at least 30 minuets.
Notes:
A splash of lemon juice can be added to offset the sweetness.
Vanilla Crepes
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla paste
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan
1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse until smooth.
2. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. This allows the bubbles
to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter
will keep for up to 48 hours.
3. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat.
4. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly.
5. Cook on low until set all the way through.
6. Lay flat on a small parchment square to prevent them from sticking to each
other. Continue until all batter is gone.
Notes:
Fill with macerated strawberries.
Crepes freeze well.
6/7 Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Kabobs, Vegetable Stir-fry, Sticky Rice
Pudding
Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Kabobs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
1 tablespoon garlic minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
16 oz pineapple chunks drained with juice saved
1. In a small bowl add soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic powder, honey,
sesame oil, fish sauce, and saved pineapple juice.
2. In a gallon size Ziplock bag or large bowl, combine teriyaki marinade and
chicken; marinate for 30 minutes, turning the bag occasionally.
3. Soak skewers in water at lest 30 minutes to prevent from burning in grill.
4. Preheat grill to medium high heat.
5. Thread chicken onto skewers alternating chicken with pineapple chunks, leaving
a little space around the chicken. Add skewers to the grill and cook until golden
brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Notes:
Onions and peppers can be added to the skewers as well.
Vegetable Stir-fry
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 cup diagonally sliced carrots
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
2 teaspoons sesame seed toasted
1. Heat the oil in wok or large deep skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion and
carrots; stir fry 3 minutes. Add remaining vegetables; stir fry 5 to 7 minutes or
until vegetables are tender-crisp.
2. Add soy sauce, garlic and ginger; stir-fry until well blended. Sprinkle with
sesame seed. Serve over cooked rice, if desired.
Notes:
Sticky Coconut Rice Pudding
2 cups sticky, glutinous rice
3 cups coconut milk
1 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
garnish with toasted coconut
1. Soak the rice for 30 minutes and add the coconut milk and salt to it (do not drain
the soaking water). Simmer on a low flame until the rice is cooked and soft. You
can add some water if the rice gets too dry while cooking. It will become quite
mushy as it cooks and gets softer.
3. Remove from heat, add sugar, cream, and vanilla.
4. Keep covered for 15-30 mins until the rice has fully absorbed the coconut milk
mixture.
5. You can check for sweetness at this time and add more sugar if needed.
6/8 Green Onion Sausage, Omelets, Pancake Muffins with Blueberry Syrup
Green Onion Pork Sausage
4-5 pound pork shoulder (Cut into 1 inch cubes)
1/4 cup of cajun spice blend
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
8 green onions or scallions
1/2 small yellow onion minced
Instructions
1. Mix cajun spice blend, garlic powder and fennel seed. Toss the cubed pork
shoulder in spice blend and allow to marinade in refrigerator for at least four hours
or overnight.
2. Grind pork in meat grinder according to manufacturers instructions using a
double bowl ice bath to keep meat cold during grinding process. 3. Fold in the
green and minced onions to the ground pork.
4. Cook off a small piece for testing and adjust seasoning to taste. Refrigerate
sausage to allow the fats to rest before forming into patties. Cook and enjoy!
Pancakes Muffins
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. orange zest (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Blend first six ingredients (milk thru orange zest) in a blender. Be careful to
see that any flour clumps get well-blended.
3. Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.
4. Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 24 tins
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top.
6. Served with your favorite toppings.
Notes:
Baking in popover cups creates a taller muffin.
Blueberry Syrup
1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine berries, water, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and stir
frequently.
2. Simmer syrup until desired consistency is reached.
3.Remove from heat and serve with pancakes, ice cream, or cheesecake.
Notes:
Also great for mixing into yogurt, or blending into a milk shake.
6/9 Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Sautéed Apples, Bacon, Grilled Corn, Rainbow Sugar
Cookies
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
1 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes, or until
soft to the touch. Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool.
2. Once the potatoes are cool enough to work with, remove the peels, and mash
them into a large bowl. Blend in the salt, nutmeg, and egg. Mix in the flour a little
at a time until you have soft dough. Use more or less flour as needed.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While you wait for the water,
make the gnocchi. On a floured surface, roll the dough out in several long snakes,
and cut into 1-inch sections.
4. Drop the pieces into the boiling water, and allow them to cook until they float to
the surface. Remove the floating pieces with a slotted spoon, and sauté in bacon fat
or butter. Keep warm in a serving dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve with
bacon crumbles and apples.
Notes:
Sautéed Apples
1/4 cup butter
4 large tart apples cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Toss apples in lemonade to prevent browning.
2. In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook,
stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and serve warm.
Notes:
Be extra careful not to burn the sugar.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
6 ears fresh corn on the cob
3 tablespoons butter melted
1 tablespoon freshly grated Pecorino cheese
1 teaspoon smoked sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorn blend
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Preheat grill.
In a small bowl mix together butter, cheese, salt, and pepper.
Shuck corn and place on oiled grill.
Rotate corn as it begins to char.
Once corn has a light char all the way around, remove from grill.
Use a pastry brush to brush butter mix on to the hot corn.
Notes:
The corn should have grill marks on it.
Rainbow Sugar Cookies
6 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups butter (salted)
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
food coloring
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, extract and mix well.
2. Mix dry ingredients and add to butter mixture gradually. Mix until flour is
incorporated and dough comes together.
3. Split up the cookie dough and mixed up each color in a separate bowl.
4. I rolled the dough into grape size balls...they varied as we went along making
these. Obviously the larger the "grape-size" balls you make affect how big the end
cookie will end up.
5. Softly roll all the grape-size balls together to look like this. Don't overwork it or
it will end up blending too much and mushing the colors together and they don't
look as fun.
6. Roll large ball between counter and your hand. I found if we floured up the
surface it was actually a bit harder to roll and the cookie strand didn't stick together
very well. However, flouring up your hands was very helpful.
7. Starting from the center twist the coil of dough around to look like these. Give
them some room they do expand when cooking.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and transfer to
cooling rack.
6/10 Whole Wheat Pizza, Fresh made Ricotta and Tomato Sauce, Carmel Apples
Honey Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 cup hot tap water
3 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablspoon olive oil
1. Stir the honey and yeast into the hot water to dissolve. Allow mixture to rest 510 minutes until double in volume.
2. Sift together flour and salt.
3. Pour yeast mixture into flour. Knead with a dough hook or by hand until smooth
and elastic, approximately 5 minutes.
4.Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Ferment the dough in a warm
place 30 minutes. Punch down the dough and divide into portions.
3.On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into very thin rounds and top as
desired. Bake at 400°F until crisp and golden brown, approximately 8 to 12
minutes.
Notes:
Dough can be used to make one large pizza, 2 medium sized or 4 small personal
pizzas.
The dough may be wrapped and refrigerated up to 2 days.
Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
3 onions, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
2 red bell peppers, small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat a large strait sided skillet on medium high. Add oil and onions. Sauté
until sweeting, add carrots and cook until just beginning to brown.
2. Add bell peppers and garlic, cook until garlic becomes fragrant and peppers
have softened.
3. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes start break down.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Notes:
Dried Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence can also be used to add flavor.
Caramel Apples
8 apples, any variety
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Wash and completely dry the apples. Insert a stick into the stem end of each.
2. Fit a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a candy thermometer. Over high heat, cook
the corn syrup, butter, and sugar to 246 degrees F (firm ball); at this point the syrup
will be golden. Remove from the heat and carefully swirl in the cream and the
vanilla. Use caution; this is very hot and it may splatter.
3. While the caramel is hot, dip and turn the apples into the caramel to coat and let
the excess drip off. Arrange the apples on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and
let cool.
Notes:
Make sure to reach the firm ball stage or the caramel will not set up.