Fruit Juice "Jell-O"

Did you know that you can make jell-o out of fruit juices? It is a healthier dessert or snack for kids and adults. I bet kids would love them cut into cute, festive shapes and in a variety of colors.

The recipe is simple: 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin to 1 cup of juice. For example, in the recipe bellow I used 4 cups of White Grape Peach juice and 4 envelopes of gelatin and it fit in an 8"x8" pan.

RECIPE
Mix 4 envelopes of gelatin and about 1 cup of the juice in a bowl and set aside. Heat the remaining 3 cups of juice on the stove until it just begins to boil. At that point, pour the hot juice over the gelatin mixture and stir until all gelatin is dissolved. Pour into an 8"x8" pan and chill for 3 hours or until firm.
For perfect shapes, dip the pan in hot water for a moment or two then turn it onto a solid coolish surface like a granite counter top or glass cutting board. Cut into shapes and serve cold.

Christmas Cookies!

Ok - so Christmas is over but I made these cookies a while back and the technique is what is important here: Royal Icing. That is how you get those smooth, beautiful designs on cookies. It dries quite hard so the designs stay, but it is still soft enough to eat. A quick google search will bring up many recipes. Look for ones that use pasteurized egg whites vs. meringue powder, such as Alton Brown's. You can use different extracts for flavor. Also, powdered or gel food coloring is best.

Adjust the thickness of the recipe with water. Add more for an even spread such as in the solid green cookies above. Leave out water for a thicker consistency and more control for detailed work, such as the dots on the cookie on the far right. The one on the bottom with the blue dot right in the middle of the cookie had too much water in the blue icing and the dot became more of a blob.
It was really fun and easy to work with. The icing is very forgiving. I also used silver edible beads to decorate.

I think I will be making some heart-shaped cookies come February!

Chocolate-covered Marshmallow Cookies

I made these tonight and they made my husband really happy. The recipe is very simple, only makes about 15 cookies, and is rather quick to make. It is a sort of s'more meets moon pie. I also think they would be fun to tamper with. For example, they look so mysterious its hard to tell exactly what's in there. I might try to add a dollop of peanut butter, perhaps a few drops of peppermint axtract in the chocolate, or use marshmallow cream next time.

It is also fun to do a google image search and see others' creative take on this crowd-pleasin' cookie. Recipe is from the Sept 2010 Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. And it is also below for you. :)
1/4 cup plus 2 T e/ flour, whole-wheat flour
1/4 t e/ baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon
3 T unsalted butter at room temp.
3 T light-brown sugar
1 large egg
9 large marshmallows, halved
9 oz (2 c) semisweet chocolate chopped (or choc. chips)

350 degrees. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl. in another bowl beat butter and sugar for about 4 min or until light. Add egg and beat to combine. Gradually add flour mix. Drop dough tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet 3" apart. Dip bottom of a measuring cup in flour and flatten cookies to about 2" in diameter. Bake until dry and set, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven, top each cookie with a marshmallow half and bake until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Flatten the marshmallows with a spatula. Let cool completely on sheet on cooling rack. Melt the chocolate in a deep bowl. Coat the cookie, using a fork to lift it out and tap on the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place back on parchment lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes. YUM!

Strawberries and Cream

Inspired by Jen's recipe for berry sorbet (which is quite delicious and I have some in my freezer right now) I found this recipe for a strawberry version that uses sweetened condensed milk . . . and let me tell you this is so good. Period. I was just eating it out of the bowl before I ever put it in the freezer. I mean this is lip-smackin' strawberry heaven. So easy and is simply a must try. The recipe can be found here. And I can be found in the corner of my house, the spoon in bowl, dollop in my mouth, and crushing anyone with a mad stare who dares to feign a bite. Is that a bit strong? Just make your own and we can all be happy.

Chocolate-Spice Cupcakes

Michelle has Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook and last night we made these cupcakes. The only thing we did differently is leave out the candied ginger. And, seriously, these were sooo tasty. They are not too overwhelmingly spiced up or too rich. The glaze sets off the chocolate in the cakes wonderfully. Some who were there had reservations about the cupcakes, but 3 cupcakes later, I think we can safely say that everyone enjoyed them. :) Nobody could stop at one.

Here is the recipe.

Homemade Doughnuts

Mmmmmm :)

So, thanks to Kalina I am now obsessed with The Pioneer Woman's blog. I stayed up until 3:00 am reading her Black Heels to Tracker Wheels romance. It will make your heart go pitter patter. Please read it if you have not already. I know, I'm like the last person on the block to hear about her. Bought her cookbook. Love it. Love her.

Anyway, the recipe is here.

Don't let the darkness of these doughnuts worry you. They were not hard, burnt, or in any way unsatisfying. I cut the recipe in half and what you see is how many it made minus a doughnut or two that I ate (or 3).

Spreadable Strawberries

Well, I made my first successful batch of home canned goods all by myself. I went with strawberries, they are my favorite food. I have had a hard time finding a canning pot with a rack in a decent price range. I'm told it is not the season for it. So, I sat with my head in one hand, the basic canning kit my mother-in-law got me for Christmas in the other, feeling a bit discouraged. Then I had this great idea! I have a multi pot (if you don't have one I highly recommend them!) and it has a really deep sitting pasta insert that could easily be used as a rack. Well, it was a bit space constrained for anything larger than these tiny 4 oz. jars. But, I had already bought them, as Adam and I have thrown away so many jars of homemade jelly that was only half eaten because it goes bad before just the two of us can conquer it. I found that it held 5 jars just right. Until I find a better canning pot, this is working swimmingly.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd love to hear. And any cool canning experiences, recipes, or advice you have. I'm just getting started with this domestic self-sufficiency.

This recipe is found here on MarthaStewart.com, and I follow it with the canning instructions. I doubled the recipe and got these twelve 4 oz. jars and a little extra that we ate right away.

Ingredients

Makes 1 3/4 cups

• 1 quart hulled strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a food processor, process strawberries until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large skillet and stir in sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, until jam is thickened and bubbles completely cover surface, 9 to 10 minutes.
   
2. Transfer jam into prepared jars (they need to have been sterilized by boiling them and still warm). Leave about 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles if necessary. Wipe rim. Have prepared the sterilized and still warm lids and bands. Center lid onto the jar and screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
3. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars and let cool for 24 hours, and store.
   

Artisan Bread

Here's a recipe for the bread that I absolutely love. I recently mentioned it in another cooking post on my personal blog here. This bread is SO EASY. Requires no kneading, no special attention. It makes 4 loaves but you don't have to make them all at once. And the bread itself is crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Great for dipping in olive oil, for soaking up sauce or gravy, or for spreading with butter just for the heck of it. Try it. You won't be disappointed.


1 1/2 tbsp yeast (about 2 packets)
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
6 1/2 cups flour
cornmeal, water

In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups warm water. Let it sit for a minute or two. Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover but not with airtight lid. Let dough rise at room tempeature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours). In our house, which is cold in the wintertime, I usually let it rise 3-5 hours.

Get ready to bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as 2 weeks.

When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

Dust loaves with flour. Slash top with sharp knife 2 or 3 times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam (this is what will give the bread it's crusty yummy exterior). Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool.

Yeild 4 loaves.

Notes:
- If you don't have a pizza stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.
- If the dough is refrigerated, it will need a little longer to warm up before you bake it. Maybe an hour, maybe 90 minutes depending on the temp of your house. Ours is cold, so it takes awhile.
- This dough will keep in your fridge for up to 2 weeks, so you don't have to make it all at once if you don't want to.
- I wish I could find the link for this recipe. There was an article about it in the New York times a couple years ago and our friend referred it to us.

pappa al pomodoro

I can't get enough of my Ina Garten cookbook Adam got me for Christmas, Back to Basics. EVERYTHING I've made has been simply delicious! Here is a soup I made for some friends and family recently, that I wanted to share. It was a big hit, so I thought some of you might like it, too.

It goes like this . . .

Cook: 1 hr 30 min

Total: 2 hr 0 min

Serves: 6

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
• 1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the topping:

nocoupons

• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
• 2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.

La Pastina

So, there was supposed to be a picture with this post. But, I got so excited about eating it that I totally forgot to take a picture. Then, I went to look online for a photo and came across this recipe that not only looks amazing, but is totally going to overshadow my simple recipe here. Still, the basic recipe is great to know because it's a starting place for a whole lot of yummy variety.

For those of you who don't know, I was a missionary in Italy for a year and a half. I'm no Italian, but I like to think I know my way around pasta if only slightly better than the average American. Pastina literally means little pasta. It's mostly a kid's meal, but adults eat it too. It is soooo good when it's cold outside. And it's even better when you're sick. The ingredients are simple and easy on the body and still a bit nutritious.

You can find pastina in the pasta isle, in baggies usually, or little boxes. My favorite shape is stars, but you'll also find orzo and little ditalini (tiny circle tubes).

To make pastina, you want 1 part pasta, 2 parts water. If you're making it for yourself, use 1/2 cup pastina and 1 cup water. Bring the water to a boil, adding a bouillon cube and a healthy drizzle of olive oil while the water is heating up. When boiling, add the pasta. Stir, stir, stir until the pasta is cooked. These little guys are really good at sticking to the bottom of the pot. If it's getting toward the end, and the water is almost gone (it will look like the pasta itself is boiling, there won't be excess water) but the pasta isn't quite cooked, feel free to add more water a bit at a time until the noodles are done. Taste it towards the end and add a little salt if it needs it, but it usually doesn't. Pour it into a bowl, add as much parmesan cheese as you like, and enjoy! It's good, easy comfort food.

And there's a lot you can do with this basic recipe. There's really no limit, as the link above so effectively demonstrates. A few other simple ideas:
- when you add the pasta, drop in some frozen peas.
- if you want more of a soup, use less pasta or more water...duh.
- when it's done, add diced tomato, fresh mozzarella, and a little basil.
- add a little bit of canned diced tomato with juice and some white beans and whatever italian herbs you like (I'm always partial to basil).

This is so simple and easy, I really kind of feel silly posting it here. But, it tasted so good tonight (I'm feeling a little under the weather) and it's something I always come back to...Hope you like!

Apple Crumble

I took my favorite recipe from Jen and used apples instead. I took 3 apples, pealed cored and chopped and put them in a skillet with 4 T butter and about 1/4 c water. I heated them over medium until the apples were almost like applesauce (with some just a little thick or tough). I made the incredibly easy crumble topping, placed them in the ramekins and baked them according to the recipe. Top with vanilla ice cream. There you have it, another hit.

Smoked leg of lamb

This is a recipe that Joseph (Krhea's husband) have been in love with after watching it on the Primal Grill (PBS). In Joseph's words "It was the best meal Ive ever had." Go Adam!

1. First, pierce the leg of lamb all over with a paring knife, making each incision about 1" deep.
2. Fill the incisions with fresh rosemary, black olives, and fresh slices of garlic.
3. Brush all over the leg with olive oil (kind of sounds like changing a diaper)
4. Rub it all over with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary.
   
5. Make 2 pouches of the wood of your choice in aluminum foil. Poke holes in the pouches to allow the smoke to escape. Place them by the lit burner. Dont forget to soak them according to package instructions. Place the lamb in the grill that has been preheated to 370 degrees. Make sure the lamb is not directly over the flames. It needs to be cooked in indirect heat. Basically, only turn on one side of the grill; place the lamb on the unlit side.
   
6. Grill about 2 hours, or until internal temperature is about 145 degrees; a perfect medium rare.
7. About 20 minutes prior to the lamb being done, slice a red, yellow, and green bell peppers (about 5 of your choice), slice in about 2" wide slices, discard seeds and membrane. Place over the direct heat side of the grill. Season with salt and pepper. Flip them as they start to brown. Take them and place on the serving platter.
8. Lay the finished lamb on the bed of peppers and serve!

This was a DELICIOUS meal. Seriously, not very hard at all!

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream

Before peaches are out of season I wanted to share this quick and easy dessert with all of you.
All you need to do is:

1. cut a peach in half, throw out pit and all the red stuff
2. grill it flesh side down for just about 3-4 minutes, or until you have some nice grill marks and the juices start to caramelize.
   
3. Place the halves in a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon; top with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
4. Enjoy!

variations: fresh pineapple

Berry Crumble

Jen should actually be posting this recipe, since I got it from her. But Adam and I have been obsessing over this recipe this summer. I wanted to post it before all the summer berries were out of season. You can choose any berry or berry mixture you like, and many are priced at their cheapest right now. This recipe couldn't be easier. If you do not have ramekins, you can cook them all in one dish and serve.

Mixed Berry Crumble

3 c. fresh mixed berries
2 T balsamic vinegar
10 T sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
pinch of salt

serves 4

- 400 degrees. In a large bowl toss berries with balsamic vinegar & 4 T sugar. Let stand 30 minutes

- In a food processor pulse remaining 6 T sugar, flour, butter, & salt until mix resembles fine bread crumbs (can use fingers). Dont overwork or it will turn into a pastry.

- Divide berry mixture in 4 ramekins. Sprinkle crumble mix over berries. (Dont be afriad to pack it in - the crust is too good to waste!) Shake dishes slightly to allow ingredients to settle. Bake until top is slightly golden, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Butter Pie Crust

I had a few requests for my pie crust recipe - I posted it today on my other blog but figured I'd cross-post it here, since, you know, we talk about this kind of stuff here.

Up until recently, I used a pie crust recipe that called for both butter and shortening. And, I thought I was making some great crust. Then a couple months ago I tried this all butter recipe and my dear husband stated that he liked it even better than my usual crust. So, I've made the switch over to using this one. It saves me from having to worry about whether or not I have any shortening. It also saves my body from having to process shortening. I think we're all winning.

Also, I've traditionally been a hands-on crust maker - no food processor, no cutting in with a knife (does that even work?!?). But I've made a switch over to using the food processor, if for no other reason than that it keeps my hands much cleaner. And, I think it might be a tad faster.

Combine 2.5 cups flour, 1 Tbps sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt.
Add in 1 cup of chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Pulse in the processor (or whatever method you like) until a coarse meal forms.
Then add in ice water, a few tablespoons at a time.
Here's where I go rogue. The recipe says 6 tbsp ice water. Here in this dry climate, I usually end up using 10-12 tbsp. Now, some pastry chefs would probably tell me that I make my dough too wet. I have never ever had a problem. The dough is easier to roll out if it's a tad moist. Basically you want enough water so that your dough is clumping and sticking together.

Then, turn it out onto a clean space, form a ball, divide in half, flatten into disks, wrap each in saran wrap, and let chill for at least 30 minutes - 2 hours. Or overnight.

If you are going to use this dough to make pasties (see below), then leave out the sugar.

Mmmm, pie crust. Any dough you don't use can be put onto a baking sheet, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and baked for 15-ish minutes...and then enjoyed with a class of cold milk.