by jphilo | Aug 29, 2012 | Recipes
Today’s recipe comes from the September 2012 issue of P31 Woman magazine. LeAnn Rice, who writes the recipe column, featured three different after school treats popular with her kids. Her blueberry crumble bars caught my eye because they sounded healthier than the average cookie or bar recipe.
Since they already used blueberries instead of chocolate, the only substitution necessary to make them non-dairy was to swap margarine for butter. (Finding dairy-free chocolate is difficult because even ordinary dark chocolate contains a small amount of milk.) I also swapped out some of the sugar for agave in the blueberry filling and cut the sugar in half for the dough. Finally, the original recipe said to mix the filling ingredients and pour them onto the dough. I mixed the filling ingredients in a sauce pan and then cooked them first. My mom often used that trick with pie fillings to 1) insure the filling was thoroughly cooked and would thicken properly, and 2) to cut down on baking time, and it accomplished the same purposes for the blueberry bars. With those caveats, here’s the recipe.
Blueberry Crumble Bars
Filling:
4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup agave syrup
4 teaspoons cornstarch
dash of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
juice of one lemon
Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice. Then put all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Set aside.
Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup rolled oats (not instant or quick)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 sticks butter, margarine, or other shortening
Preheat oven to 375˚. Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and blend with a pastry blender or by hand until mixture is crumbly.
Press half the mixture on the bottom of 13 x 9 pan. Pour blueberry mixture over the dough and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining dough on top of blueberry filling. Bake for 35 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares once completely cooled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
by jphilo | Aug 22, 2012 | Recipes
Over the weekend, we went to Wisconsin to visit the daughter and new son who just moved to that fine state. We ate like kings at every meal, and I’m pleased to say the younger generation is carrying on the following family cooking traditions in fine style:
- The oatmeal as a food group tradition.
- The never-be-content-with-the-recipe-as-is tradition.
- The non-dairy tradition.
- The what-should-I-substitute-for-the-missing-ingredient tradition.
Sunday morning, the daughter did herself proud in all categories by taking the baked oatmeal recipe, shared previously on this blog, and adapting it for ingredients she had on hand. She substituted mashed pear for applesauce and shredded carrot for an apple. She used almond milk instead of cow’s milk to be nice to her mamma. Then, she slam dunked by using fresh, grated nutmeg (more on that in a future post) for cinnamon.
It was so delicious we all had second helpings before I came to my senses and remembered to take a picture! And here’s the daughter’s version of our traditional baked oatmeal recipe. Click on the link to see the original.
Baked Oatmeal with Carrots, Pears, and Nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup Stevia
2 cups almond milk 1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt 2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. fresh, grated nutmeg 1 mashed pear
3 ½ cups old-fashioned oatmeal ½ cup grated carrot
1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts
¼ cup dried fruit*
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir well. Add apple, nuts and dried fruit. Pour into greased 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
*Craisins, dried cherries, and dried blueberries are our faves. Blueberries are divine!
by jphilo | Aug 15, 2012 | Recipes
Between helping with our friends’ wedding rehearsal supper and a day at the Iowa State Fair, the past week wasn’t conducive for cooking. So no new recipe this week. Instead, I’ll share some tips that will maximize the flavor of your summertime produce.
Tips for Choosing the Best Peaches
- Do not use California peaches if you live in the midwest. Who knows why – distance, picked too soon, whatever – but it’s hard to get good California peaches in this part of the world.
- In the midwest, the best peaches come from Missouri, Michigan, Colorado and Georgia, in that order.
- Smaller peaches are usually better than large ones.
- Choose peaches with a little blush and a lot of clear, yellow color.
- Let the peaches ripen in a bowl or paper bag until your kitchen smells just peachy. Then they’re ready to use.
- Peach season runs from early July to mid-August. It’s hard to get good peaches outside those time parameters.
Tips for Making the Best BLTs
- Wait until your tomatoes are really ripe to use them. Yes, I know it’s hard. But you’ll be glad you did.
- Slice tomatoes with a serrated knife. You can buy a tomato knife, but a steak knife works just fine, too.
- Slice sandwich tomatoes very, very thin when serving people who aren’t crazy about them.
- Slip the tomato between the lettuce and bacon so the bread doesn’t get soggy for your texture-sensitive eaters.
Tips for Easy Pesto Making
- When making basil pesto, put the oil in the blender and run the garlic through a garlic press before adding it to the oil. This will avoid chunks of garlic in the pesto.
- After adding the garlic, add basil leaves before adding the nuts or salt. The basil blends into the oil much easier this way. Add about a half a cup of basil at a time. Mix well, then add another handful of basil, mix, and repeat until all the basil is pulverized.
- Finally, add the salt and nuts. The salt won’t sink to the bottom and the nuts will grind beautifully.
There you have them. My top summer cooking tips. What are your secrets for working with summer produce? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Aug 8, 2012 | Recipes
Today’s recipe is the result of a series of fortunate events:
After a little fiddling to make the dish non-dairy for me and cheesy for Hiram and a little editing on the title to meet the 60 character limit, the recipe is now ready to be enjoyed by all.
Pasta in Garlic Gravy with Lemon and Herb Chicken
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast sliced into 1 inch chunks
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (if using dried, use half of the amount)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt (not table salt)
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Mix the above ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to overnight.
About 1/2 hour before serving time, prepare 1/2 pound spaghetti pasta according to package directions.
While the pasta water is boiling, saute the marinated chicken in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until cooked (about 4-5 minutes) then set aside. Then prepare the gravy, following the directions below.
½ stick (1/4 cup) margarine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups whole cherry tomatoes
Heat margarine and olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant and soft. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add chicken stock, whisking constantly. Simmer gravy until thickened. Add the chopped basil and season with salt and pepper.
Add the sauteed chicken and cooked pasta to the gravy. Toss until gravy coats the chicken and pasta. Add the cherry tomatoes and serve with Parmesan cheese on the side. Makes 5-6 servings.
Note: This recipe makes a lot of thin gravy. For those who like a thicker gravy (like us), use 4 tablespoons of flour. If you like less gravy, cut the amount of olive oil, margarine, and chicken stock by half, but leave the flour at 2 tablespoons. Hiram says the leftovers for this dish taste better than when originally served.
by jphilo | Aug 1, 2012 | Recipes
Summer vegetables are stacking up in the refrigerator at an alarming rate thanks to our weekly CSA share. So I’m getting desperate creative at coming up with new ways to disguise serve veggies at mealtime.
The other night, I combined a zucchini, a couple red and yellow peppers, and a bag of yellow string beans (aka: the contents of the vegetable crisper) to create a stir fry Hiram and I loved. To top it all off, I was able to use fresh herbs from my new herb garden, the contents of which are growing like weeds despite the heat.
Here’s my recipe, but don’t be afraid to substitute with vegetables and herbs threatening to overtake your refrigerator and garden!
Summer Veggie Stir Fry Medley
1 zucchini or summer squash, peeled and cut into half-inch cubes
1 pound green or yellow string beans, snapped and cut into 1 inch slices
1 red or yellow sweet pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Heat oil in wok or skillet on high, then turn down to medium-high. Stir fry beans for 2 minutes. Add squash. Stir fry until the outside of the squash starts to soften and then add peppers. Stir fry for 2 minutes longer and then add garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Mix well and sprinkle salt over the top. Stir fry 1 more minute and serve hot.
by jphilo | Jul 25, 2012 | Recipes
A cantaloupe smoothie is not something I would have tried in a normal summer. But this summer’s far-from-normal heat and drought is playing havoc with our community supported agriculture (CSA) shares. This week, the heat caused all the melon fields to ripen at once, so our friendly, local farmer sent us home with three large melons…and a couple recipes for cantaloupe smoothies.
Hiram, my husband who eats almost anything, doesn’t like smoothies much. Or cantaloupe for that matter, so this recipe will never get his coveted seal of approval. I was a bit skeptical, too, but with three melons staring me in the face, what was there to lose? My first sip of the concoction was disappointing. But gradually, the flavor grew on me, and the drink was extremely refreshing on a hot, hot day. The recipe below is non-dairy, with the dairy equivalents in parentheses.
Cantaloupe Fruit Smoothie
2 large slices cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cubed
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup almond milk (skim milk)
1/3 cup raspberry or orange sherbet (3 ounces yogurt)
1 tablespoon honey (if using yogurt)
Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately. Makes two small or one large smoothie.
