Friday's Fun Treat!

According to the news, the weather folks and everyone shopping tonight, there's supposed to be a HUGE storm tomorrow. This is why the two food stores I shopped in tonight were chaos. This is also why Gloucester County is low on windshield wiper fluid. (Three stores, no luck...the fourth place was a jackpot!)

It's been quite the day; water aerobics, pretzel baking, mourning the truck's death, car shopping, learning about inheritance laws, learning about safety deposit box laws and loopholes, grocery shopping and finally making the Friday treat!

Fruit Salsa, with Tortilla chips

Ingredients:

Salsa:
Pineapple
Peaches
Kiwi
Lime or lime juice
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Starfruit (optional)

Tortillas:
1 package of corn tortillas
vegetable oil
salt (optional)

Directions:

Salsa
*Wash your fruit. I'm not counting this as a step because you should always wash your fruit. Do you know how many germs, pesticides and bugs are around? Do you know how many dirty hands have touched it? Wash your fruit!*
1. Dice up your pineapple, I used two. This will be the base of your "salsa", you want it to be a little mushy and a little chunky mixed together. As you dice it up, it'll be messy and runny, you'll want some of the juice. Put it in a nice big bowl.

Usually, I buy a fresh pineapple and core it myself, but the nice gentleman at Shoprite offered to do it for me. It cost a dollar, but my time is worth more than that sometimes. It is fresh, I promise!
2. Add some peaches! I leave the skin on, if you're really adventurous you can skin them; I'm lazy and I'm okay with that. I used two tree ripe peaches, pretty rips and juicy.

3. Strawberries are next. Slice and dice them up. I judge how many to use by how colorful the mix is getting.

4. Time for the kiwi. You'll want to skim these, a paring knife works well. Usually I use 2 kiwis per a pineapple.

5. Mix in blueberries and raspberries. just toss them in and stir.

6. If you're using real lime(s), this is the time you should juice them. Roll them on the counter before cutting and juicing. Or pour about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of juice. The sour flavor of the lime combine with the sweet flavor of the pineapple is delicious!

7. If you want to garnish it with some starfruit, slice it up and add it in now. This is more to garnish then eat, but it still tastes good.

8. Stir everything together. If you're lazy like me, put the lid on the container and shake it up. (Shaking is more fun.) Refrigerate! If you let it sit for a bit, everything had an opportunity to mix and marinate. You can add other fruits too, melons, nectarine, pomegranate....sometimes even some green onions or cilantro to add some spark.

Tortillas
1. Heat oil in a skillet.

2. Cut corn tortillas into the shape/size you desire.

3. Put tortillas in oil and fry. Flip over and fry a bit more. when the oil is hot they will take about a minute total.

4. Remove from pan and add salt. Set aside to cool.

The first time I made this it was for my former roommate's grilled dinner. (Remember folks, I'm a vegetarian.) He really wanted some kind of fruit thing to put on his slab of fish. I grilled up a portabella mushroom, and added it too. Delicious! We had a tiny bit left over, so out came the chips...and this became one of our house hold treats. Eventually we started eating it on waffles and french toast. It was a great alternative to syrups, heavy dips and weird sauces that have mysterious ingredients.

Yum, Yum, Yum

I, like most people in America, have a job.  I work a pretty regular schedule, which includes one night a week....always Friday nights. Basically, having the chance to do all those things that John and his friends (or anyone else, for that matter) want to to on Friday evenings is pretty much non-existent. This had lead to numerous attempts at treat, peanut butter cups, cakes, fudge....and chocolate covered pretzels. Some of my co-workers seem to love it, they have favorite snacks and I try to accommodate that. At one guy's request this is pretzels, chocolate covered pretzels, with a twist.

Chocolate Pretzel Bites
Ingredients and Supplies:
-Pretzels, I used "Snaps", the circle ones or knotted ones would work well, too -Hershey kisses, unwrapped. I used both milk chocolate and the hugs variety. -M&M's -Cookie Sheet -Parchment Paper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and unwrap the kisses.
2. Put a layer of the pretzels on the parchment covered cookie sheet.
3. Place a kiss on top of each pretzel.
4. Place in oven for about 4 minutes, or until the kisses are melted.
5a. Remove from oven and place a M&M on the kiss, press down.
OR
5b. Remove from oven and place another pretzel on top, press down.
6. Allow to cool.
7. ENJOY!

Unwrapping these silly things takes forever so I brought some help!  Thanks Mi-Mi!  (She ate a few as she was going.)

The Hugs gave them a little flair!  I'm putting the M&M's on top here. Oh, and Mi-Mi took his picture, all by herself, with my DSLR camera.  SHE LEARNED HOW TO USE A DIGITAL CAMERA!!

Finished project!  I got a little chocolate on the M&M's, but I think it's okay.

If you out another pretzel on top instead of M&M, it's more like an sandwich.

There's another definite bonus to this treat making bonus. I get to hang out with my grandmother, Mi-Mi! She's not a big fan of cooking or baking, so when the treats are easy to make, she's happy to help.  She also took a picture of my working with my digital camera.  She's not very technology savvy, so this a amazing!

Macadamia Butter

A few years ago my friend Lisa introduced me to macadamia butter. She put it on slices of pears and topped it off with some tiny chocolate chips. This just might be my favorite snack food. Fast forward about 8 or so years, move a few hundred miles away and try to buy the stuff. It's not going to happen unless you want to pay an arm and a leg AND buy it online. I did ask Tracey, who owns the health food store in Mullica Hill about it, she gave me the same internet answer that I'd already came to, but recommended making my own. After doing some research, maybe 10 minutes worth, I realized how easy this really was to do.

Making Your Own Nut Butters
equipment:
food processor
rubber spatula
glass jar

ingredients:
nuts, at least 2 cups
complementary seasonings

directions:

Put your nuts in the food processor. Start to puree. There will be multiple stages before you have "butter".

It will start to have a texture like rough sand and crawl up the sides of the processor. Use the spatula and scrape it back into the bowl.

After a minute or so it'll start to have a wheat germ look. You're almost done! If you want to add any extra spices or flavors this would be the time. (Think about maybe some honey or cinnamon to peanuts....or salt)  I did not add anything to mine.

Puree for another minute or so, it should have a mostly smooth look to it. You're done! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

This Zucchini is Lasting Forever!

I'm horrible at growing stuff; flowers, crops, grass and weeds.  Yes even my dandelions look pretty sad.  That being said, one of the great things about being a vegetarian around here is all the free vegetables people give you from their gardens!  We have a lot of roadside stands, farm markets and grocery stores that only carry locally grown stuff when it's in season.  (All of which are awesome ideas!)  There are rules to what can be sold in the grocery store and there are people with gardens who can't eat everything that's grown (summer and winter squash are big on that list!)  All of that has lead to some zucchini and tomatoes being brought into work, and me making lots of yummy zucchini goods.  Today's creation was Zucchini Tahini Bread.

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, drained
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple sauce (as egg re placer)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup tahini
1 cup coconut milk (you can use soy, almond or rice milk)
1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and 1 tsp baking powder. Set aside.
3. In another bowl combine zucchini, apple sauce, 1 tsp baking powder. Mix well.
4. Add milk, mix well.
5. Add in dry ingredients, mix well.
6. Pour into a grease bread pan. Bake for about an hour. (do the toothpick thing, when it comes out clean, it's done)
7. let cool before removing from pan.

This bread is amazing! It's got a slightly nutty texture, YUM!

Birthdays and Summer Treats

Pop-Pop turned 92. I made the mistake of asking him what he wanted for this celebration. "An Ice Cream Cake!" was his very energetic answer. It's a great idea to buy your dying, diabetic grandpa an ice cream cake, right? (Please do not answer that!) Anyway, I lost that battle, and he got his cake.

There are other things he really likes. Football, lobster bisque, crab cakes, the little black kitty, anything with sugar, the isstory Channel...the list does go on for a bit. Instead of trying to buy him something, I made him some Blueberries and Creme Popsicle. It took two attempts to get the recipe to where I wanted it; a low sugar, vegan creation. The original one was a little heavy and syrupy, but it was good.

Blueberries and Creme Popsicle
ingredients:
1 pound blueberries
1/4 cup splenda
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut milk

1. In a pot, over medium heat cook blueberries, Splenda, sugar, and water until the "sugars" dissolve and the blueberries are soft. (about 10 minutes.)

2. set aside to cool (about 30 to 60 minutes)

3. Put a mesh colander in a bowl; strain the liquid out of the berries. Press the excess liquid out of the berries. Discard the berries. (okay, keep them if you will use them in something else like I did.)

4. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk to the blueberry syrup.

5. Fill Popsicle molds with the blueberry mixture and freeze.

If you don't need to make them vegan, the coconut milk can be replaced with heavy cream or milk. Just remember that anything with water will make it more icy.

Treat yourself, if you've earned it

Over the last few years I've spent too much time deciding if I've earned a reward. Really, Have I earned that piece of lemon pie? Have I earned that ice cream? How about that dress? Those shoes? That painting? Pftt, ridiculous! If nothing else, thirty one years of hard work is finally paying off....I can financially afford the pretty dress, the ingredients to the pie or ice cream and the supplies to paint the painting. Have I worked for them? YES! The 40+ hours of retail jail, the 20+ hours of physical activity and the zillions of ideas that have passed through my brain (some jotted down, some not); I deserve those rewards. In all fairness, there were some years that the hard work wasn't so hard and there have been some times when I wasn't the best person I could be. I think that's behind me, I hope. Reward time!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups!
 ingredients:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1 /4 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk

1. Create your pan. I used a cupcake pan with lining papers. There are endless possibilities, including a bread pan lined with parchment paper, creating a "cake"!

2. Make your graham cracker crumbs. I do mine in the food processor using stale graham crackers. (Remember, I live with old people who don't seal containers after opening them, I have a lot of stale baked goods....)

3. Melt peanut butter and butter together in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until creamy. Stir between the 30 second heating. *I do not recommend using chunky peanut butter because it may burn. The chunks do not do well in the microwave.*

4. Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar to the mixture, stir until smooth. (as smooth as it can be, you did just add crackers to a liquid!)

5. Put your mixture in the cupcake cups, distribute evenly. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes to set the mixture.

6. Heat chocolate chips and milk in microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring between. It may take two or three times to make a nice silky mixture.

7. Evenly distribute the chocolate on the peanut butter-graham cracker cups. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

My grandparents like to eat breakfast at a specific restaurant every morning. I don't. Breakfast food is my favorite food, but please don't confuse that with it being my favorite meal. I would rather sleep a few extra minutes than sit in the car for 30 minutes, eat something worth 15+ weight watcher points, feel gross from the amount of sludge consumed, and sit in the car for another 30 minutes. Instead, I'll just have some oatmeal with berries in my own kitchen

Oatmeal with Coconut Milk and Black Berries 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal 1/2 cup blackberries (blue berries, raspberries...ect are also great in this) 1/4 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup boiling water 1. boil water 2. put oatmeal, berries and water in a bowl together 3. add a bit of coconut milk 4. stir together 5. enjoy! I'm sure you can do this with Almond, soy or even regular milk...but I have extra almond milk, so I'm using it.

What's for dinner tonight?

Something about being home without the old people for a few hours makes me want to cook!

In reality, my grandparents had a dinner thing to go attend. By "Thing" I mean "some event for some person at a restaurant I don't like, with people I don't really want to eat with, where I can't eat anything on the menu". So, Ashley came over, and we cooked.

Pot Stickers or Fried Won Tons

Ingredients:
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tbsp ginger, grated
1 carrot, shredded
6 to 8 mushrooms, minced
1 cup napa cabbage, finely chopped
1/2 cup bean sprouts
2 tbsp tamari sauce
1 to 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 package rice paper wrappers (or if you can find or make won ton wrappers that are gluten free)
water

1. saute onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil for about 5 minutes
2. add veggies, sesame oil and tamari to saute mixture. cook for about 5 minutes. remember to stir.
3. Put together your pot stickers! Put about 1 teaspoon of the veggie mixture in the middle of a wrapper. fold into a dumpling/ravoli shape. Seal the edges with some water.
*the less excess water in the veggie mix when you put it on your rice paper, the better.
4. steam or deep fry, depending on if you want Pot Stickers or fried won tons.
*if steaming, You might want to put a leaf of the cabbage down on the steaming surface so they don't stick.*

-You can add other things to your veggie mix, spices, veggies, meat, tofu...ect. I usually just open the fridge and see what I have to choice from.
-If you do add other stuff, chop/mince it up! (for meat, like pork, put it through the salad shooter or food processor)
-Most won ton and dumpling wrappers have gluten in them, which is why I used rice ones. I've done this before using the regular wrappers, and they turn out great as well. I've also made my own (it's just like making pasta) and they also turned out great. However having a friend who can't have gluten and having short notice about her being here tonight was limiting the options down. It's all good though, I like to experiment in the kitchen.

Sometimes I cook too much!

Another cooking post! For dinner tonight there were "salad sandwiches" (chicken salad for my grandma, leafy green salad style for me) and vegan stuffed mushrooms. YUM!



The original recipe is from my Vegan Planet cookbook, but as always it was tweaked to use things I could find in South Jersey.

Ingredients:
8oz white mushrooms
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 Red popper peppers, chopped
2 jalapenos (this was my own addition because they were in the fridge), chopped
1/2 cup raisins (I used 1/4 brown raisins, 1/4 yellow raisins and threw some dried cranberries in to the mix too)
olive oil
3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used some gluten free corn flakes, because I had them and they were stale)
1/8 cup green onions, chopped
1 tbsp sugar, or something similar to sugar

How to cook it:
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. remove stems from the mushrooms. Set mushroom caps aside.
3. chop mushroom stems, green onions, peppers. put together in a bowl. add crumbs, sugar and raisins.
4. heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, put mushroom caps in to soften them up. remove caps and set aside.
5. put skillet back in heat, put in chopped garlic. Cook until fragrant.
6. Add pepper & bread crumb mixture. heat and stir until it starts to clump together. Remove from heat.
7. Stuff mushroom caps with the crumb mixture. pPlace on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Tada!

The verdict: My grandma, Mike, Ashley and Amanda all liked them. Grandpa refused to try them. Coakley thought he wanted one, but really wasn't interested when he was given some.

Next step in my cooking adventure: update the kitchen to having some new fancy modern things! I really need a silicon basting brush. I also really need an old school can opener, The electric one is a pain in the neck.

This is what having a kitchen is all about.

Sometimes you just have to buy a pomegranate, teach your grandma how to peel it and enjoy.

Sometimes you also have to chocolate cover half the seeds. That part didn't get photographed, it was a tad bit too messy to do with a camera in my hands.

butternut bliss

I love squash, especially butternut. I'm not usually patient enough to do more than cook it in the over/microwave, but sometimes I have to try something new.


I love the roadside stands here! Lucy was selling butternut squash for $1/each, and they were worth at least that! I dug out the cookbooks looking for a squash bisque recipe, but found nothing. Instead I went with a butternut squash chili. Of course, I had to alter the ingrediants a bit to make it work with what I had at home.

Instead of using canned tomatoes, I cut my own up (another one of those great things that Lucy had on sale) and again I used Spicy V8 Juice instead of water. (It's just some extra sodium....right?) And of course, with any soup I make, I used this as an opportunity to use up whatever vegetables were on the verge of going bad. Mine has carrots, celery and spinach added in as well. I was thinking of adding some macaroni too, but changed my mind.

My grandparents liked it, I liked it, over all, it's a win!

I have another squash, so I'm thinking some risotto will be in order next week.

and for dinner tonight...

I've been a vegetarian for more than 1/2 my life. This doesn't mean I don't have to buy, handle, prep, cook and serve any animals. For dinner the other night my grandmother wanted shrimp creole, not something I've ever made before. So, here's my experimental "shrimp and cream of tomato soup concoction.

1. thaw the shrimp, take of the tails. (This is the part that grossses me out.)
2. cut up an onion and green pepper, saute in butter or oil.
3. in seperate bowl mix 1 can of tomato soup, 1/2 can of water (I used spicy v8 because I needed to use it up.), a few drops of Tabasco and some ground pepper.
4. cook some rice, I used the microwave becasu I'm lazy.
5. add tomato soup mixture to the onion/pepper mixture. stir and heat until warm.
6. add shrimp (which should be precooked and than thawed) to mixture. cook until hot.
7. serve over rice.

My grandparents must have liked it, they are it all. I know it's not vegan stuffed peppers, but I guess they thought it was wonderful. As they had this little messy masterpiece, I scrubbed the shrimp residue off my hands and had easy mac. Classy, I know.

Next up, Butternut Squash Chili!

I took a vacation and came home with a recipes!

Dang, its been a little while! A bit has happened, some was good some was not so good....but I went on a mini-vacation and it was fantastic! I had the privilege of spending most of the trip with my best friend and his family. While there, his mom made soup and shared the recipe with me. I decided to make it today. So, here's my adventure making Swiss Onion Soup.

First and slightly important to know: get the right kind of cheese and use whole milk or cream, if you don't it's a little thin.

Swiss Onion Soup

3 cups thinly sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp bottled horseradish
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 1/2 cups freshly grated gruyere cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp soy sauce
3 drops tabasco
1/4 tsp worcestershire (you can get vegan in most stores)

In pot, cook onion and garlic with mustard, salt and 2 tbsp butter over moderate heat, stirring for 10-12 minutes or until onions are softened.

Add stock and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

In sausepan, melt remaining butter over moderate heat.
Add flour and cook the roux, whisking for 3 minutes.
Remove pan from heat, whisk in milk, scalded, and simmer mixture, whisking for 7 minutes. Add horseradish, sherry and cheese.

Add the cheese mixture to onion mixture, stir in pepper, tabasco, soy sauce, and worchestershire and simmer soup, stirring for 10 minutes.

yields 4 servings.

This recipe is from:
Leelanau Country Inn
149 East Harbor Highway
Maple City, Michigan

Now that that's all done, here's a little information about grocery shopping in New Jersey
-There are no Meijer or D&W's here. In fact, until recently there were no liquor stores in the county. Certain items are hard to find, good cheese and cheap cooking wines are two of those items. At Thankggiving last year I went to a liquor store to get sherry for cooking, luckily I remembered they sold cheese and chocolate, too.
-Most stores only stock one kind of vegetable stock, it's in a can and tastes like it. I've resorted to bullion cubes or making my own stock. I don't have time to make my own in most cases.
-The grocery stores are expensive. I'm talking Tiffany's/D&W/Bacchus expensive, but you don't necessarily get what you pay for like in the stores here.
-The roadside stands are amazing for fresh fruits & vegetables, unfortunately the weather this year has made some things a little hard to grow.

I'd really like to thank all the people who made my little trip as wonderful as possible. I'm sorry that I didn't make it back to see everyone, but sometimes I just need to relax and prepare for the next day. Maybe this winter when the holiday shopping rush is over there will be some spare time again.

Sweet & Sour Stuffed Peppers

The two best cookbooks I own (I don't own the Betty Crocker one, my grandma does) are "Vegan Planet" and "The Accidental Vegan". Don't worry, I didn't go vegan, I like cheese and chocolate too much for that. It's not that I like cooking, either and I do NOT like cleaning. (I think everyone already knew that) However, I do like eating!

My new favorite food to make is stuffed peppers, vegetarian for me, meaty for the grandparents. This is a combination of the stuffed peppers from both the cookbooks.

You will need:
the peppers
4 green peppers, cored and rinsed (you can use any color pepper you want, really)
2 cups of rice
2 cups of chili (homemade, which is what I used or canned)
1 cup shredded vegan cheese

the sauce
1 cup tomato juice
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1tbsp brown sugar or molasses
1 tsp chili powder


the recipe
1. preheat oven to 350
2. parboil the peppers for 5 minutes, rince and set aside
3. in a bowl, combine chili, rice, cheese (I don't use the cheese...especially not vegan, yuck), mix well.
4. fill peppers with with rice/chili mixture. place, upright, in a shallow baking dish.
5. in a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients and mix together.
6. pour sauce mixture over and around the peppers.
7. bake for 30 minutes (or until hot).

Sometimes I add other things like pineapple chunks or mandarin oranges to jazz them up. the oranges are best added after baking, otherwise they fall apart.

There are some reasons I make these as much as I do. First, my grandpa loves them! He has problems chewing, so the mixture inside is really easy for him to eat. Next, it's a good way to use up the end of the chili. My grandparents don't like to throw food away, but don't always want to eat the leftovers for days on end. Buy putting the chili in the peppers, they don't usually realize it's "that damn chili that seems to multiply in the fridge'. It's also easy, takes just a few minutes to throw together and toss in the over. It seems I usually have all the ingredients at home too, the peppers are usually a bartering item, for either peaches, apples or tree clippings. (I have great neighbors!) And the leftovers are almost always better than the original serving!

I have leftover taco supplies, so I think there will be a "taco stuffed pepper" night soon.

in my next career option, i'll be a short order cook

According to the Betty Crocker Cookbook (published in 1950-something) in the kitchen drawer, apple fritters are dinner food. I'm not big on deep fried foods and I'm not too sure there was anything nutritious about the dinner. Hell, you only live once so upon my grandmother's request (the stuffed mushrooms have been put to the side for a few more days).



Anyway, I made those damn apple fritters last night.

I got an ice cream maker for less than $3

When you get an ice cream maker for less than the cost of ice cream, it's perfectly fine to experiment, right? So, this is my first time making ice cream since about 3rd grade, and it turned out great!

It's blackberry vanilla ice cream, and turned out awesome. (okay the extra vanilla was kinda a fluke, i got carried away when I added it)