Israeli “Couscous” August 19, 2008

So I spend a lot fo time in the international isle of the supermarket and found this thinking it was just big cous cous…I was very excited;p…and wrong, it’s actually a type of Israeli pasta made with wheat flour. It says that it is toasted it over and “open fire” to retain it’s al-dente texture after cooking. I have a theory that sometimes more toasting is a good idea and seeing as I don’t have an open fire I used a dry skillet and man does it smell good as it toasts.It takes only about 5 mins over medium high heat but I think the extra step will work well for this recipe I am going to try today. You can also serve this as an alternative to rice or pasta, I imagine it would be good tossed into veggie soups the last 5-8 minutes of cooking time, and might make an interesting “risotto”.

Israeli Couscous Salad(s)

1 (250g) pkg of Israeli Couscous

2 1/2 cups of water

enough of your favorite veggie boullion to flavor 2 1/2 cups of water

Toast or don’t toast couscous, bring veggie stockto a boil. Add couscous and return to a simmer, let cook cover for about 8 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Tomato Basil

2 spring onions chopped

1 large clove of garlic grated

1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes chopped

Dressing

2-3 tbspn olive oil

6-8 leaves of fresh basil washed and torn (I’m using basil because I am currently growing it but cilantro and mint would work very well in this)

salt and pepper to taste although the broth gives it a lot of flavor so easy on the salt

juice of a lime

cucumber would be good especially if you are using mint and cilantro.

Mix and add dressing and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Warm Grilled Salad

BBQ or roast approxiatemly 2-3 cups of any veggies you like, I used zucchini, peppers and mushrooms but eggplant and tomatoes would work as well. If you have it roast garlic to add to the dressing. Roast veggies whole but chop into bite sized pieces when tossed into salad. Olives and sundried tomaotes would be a great addition to this.

Dressing

2-3 tbspn olive oil

1/2 juice of a lemon

1 clove of grated garlic or if you want a more subtle garlic clove roast a bulb of garlic and use about 1/2 of the bulb, place dressing ingredients( with exception of fresh herbs) in a food processor or blender and blend with garlic until smooth.

1/4 cup of fresh herbs like basil, oregeno, cilantro or mint.

salt and pepper to taste.

Mix warm couscous and salad dressing and toss with warm veggies, serve warm or room temperature. You can chill it and it tastes just fine.

Most Amazing Hot Fudge Sauce August 15, 2008

Top ice cream, cheesecake or just eat by the spoonful…

Hot Fudge Sauce

Place 3 tbspn of butter and 1/2 cup of cream in a sauce pan over medium high heat.

Melt butter and bring mixture to a low boil.

Add 1/3 wit sugar and 1/3 cup fo brown sugar and stir until dissolved.

Lower heat and add a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup of cocoa, stirring with a wire whisk until you have desired thickness.

Serve immediately or store in a pourable container, if mix gets too thick add a little bit of milk at a time stirring constantly to combine.

Cornbread August 8, 2008

Mmmmm … in the words of Chris Rock (which Josh quotes every time I even speak of making cornbread) “Cornbread, ain’t nothing wrong with that”. It’s very true and I like my cornbread 2 ways, the old fashion way, not to sweet made with coarse ground cornmeal this one is good made into muffins or small loaves, or add a jalapeno and cheddar cheese to make a spicy savory loaf good served with chili or just eaten on it’s own, but isn’t so good as a muffin. I will give you both options, because when making cornbread everyone should be happy and screw those tittle corn kernels, I m not a fan but if you are go ahead and add them. I should add this is a large recipe, approximately 36 muffins or 2 large loaves, so half it or freeze it, your choice.

Cornbread…ain’t nothing wrong with that

4 cups all purpose flour

3 cups of uncooked polenta (coarse ground cornmeal, I use Bob’s Organic Corn Grits.. in the organic section)
4 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

1 Tablespoon Sea Salt

3/4 cup of sugar, 1 cup if you like it sweeter

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter melted

3 cups milk

Preheat oven for 350.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl whisk melted butter with eggs and milk. Add to dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

There are two variations to do with this bread I suggest, if you want sweeter cornbread add about 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn kernels to the dry mix before adding the wet.

If you want spicier/ savory add about 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese and 1-2 minced jalapenos.

Bake about 15 mins, or until brown and serve warm with butter …yum!

THE COOKIES (Mere’s Fave) August 6, 2008

I am super super sorry for the delay but this has been the most pressured recipe. I have never had a recipe for these cookies, they are the handful of this handful of that , pinch of this, dash of that type of cookies. You can make these into cookies or put them in a square pan and make bars. I used to make these all the time when I had the ingredients and bring them to my lovely ladies at MCS. The theory behind them is I wanted to make cookies but didn’t want to use refined sugars and I wanted to use as little processed things as possible by using natural peanut butter, whole oats, seeds, fruits and grains, but I do through in some chocolate cause there is nothing better than peanut butter and chocolate hehe. Anyways I hope they live up to the haphazard way I usually make them … this is all for Meredith…. now you don’t need me anymore Mere hehe.

The Cookies

1 cup of chocolate chips
3/4 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut(optional, I just use it if I have it on hand)
1/4 cup of flax seed
2 1/2 cup of rolled oats
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup peanut butter, natural if you have it, but it doesn’t affect the texture
1 tsp vanilla or maple flavoring
1/2 maple syrup, a little more if you need the moisture

Preheat oven to 325

Combine all dry ingredients then add wet to them. I do this just incase u need to add more
maple syrup. It’s a hard mix and can be messy so good luck, but since i have never had
a recipe for this until now this is how I do it.

Once it is all combined and sticking to itself, grease a pan, and start dropping cookies on it.
This recipe does not spread out, so I usually make 2 tsp full cookies, and pat them down a little.
You can also makes these into bars if you would like, it works well. Just press into a 9 by 9 inch square pan
and bake until brown, usually about 20 mins. The cookies bake about 8-10 minute, just until their bottoms are brown.

When you take the cookies out of the oven let them cool on the pan for about 2-3 minutes, be careful transferring them to a wire rack and the smalled the grid on the rack the better, once they cook they are much more sturdy.

Hope this works for you Mere, mine are baking as I speak, let me know how they turned out for you!