corn (v)

One of my favorite foods ia also one of the  most consumed in America: Corn.  The summer before I moved to Ohio, I ate fire roasted Michigan sweet corn on the cob on a daily basis.  I would wrap corn on the cob in foil with a little olive oil salt & pepper and throw it on the fire pit and forget about it for an hour or so.  At some point I switched to using olive oil and old bay, which is my standby now! 
Before I started throwing the corn in the fire I would boil it on the stove like my mom used to do.  I feel like I could never get it right, or keep it consistent!  I used to eat boiled corn on the cob with umeboshi plum paste, and it's still one of my favorite corn on the cob seasoning.  Plum paste is extremely salty, it's a Japanese food.

Here are some of my favorite corn recipes:

Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob, cleaned
olive oil
salt & pepper
foil

Since I don't have an outdoor fire pit anymore, I now roast corn in the same manner in my oven.  I wrap it and season it the same, and throw it in the oven at 350 for maybe 40 minutes.  You might have to experiment to find out how long is good for you.  I will eat corn on the cob raw, so I'm n ot picky about cooking it perfectly.  Even if it goes too long, it's still delicious!


Corn Butter

This is an amazing butter-like spread.  It's almost magical.  This works perfectly on toast and is so butter like you will probably be amazed that it's made from corn!

Mix together in a saucepan
3/4 cup water
4 Tbs. fine yellow cornmeal
Cook over medium stirring constantly until thick.
Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes & put in food processor or blender.
Add:
3/4 cup silken tofu, drained
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp. salt
Blend until smooth and pour into a container with a lid and stick it in the fridge.  It will firm up after being chilled, and actually melts on hot food.
The corn butter only keeps for about a week.


Corn Fritters

2 cups corn kernels (canned or thawed frozen corn works great)
Blend in the food processor until chopped.
Add 2 Tbs water + 2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot
2 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. milk or milk substitute
salt & pepper
Blend until mixed.
Heat oil in a skillet and drop the fritters in by spoonfuls.  Fry on each side until golden and crispy, and drain well.  Sprinkle with old bay or salt.


How to make Popcorn on the stove

No microwave, no air popper, I make mine in a pot on the stove.

Get a pot with a lid.  Pour about 1 Tbs. oil into the pot and add popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of the pan.  Put the top on and turn on the heat.  Listen.  Once the first kernel pops. start shaking the pan back and forth on the burner until the popping escalates, once it starts going crazy, turnt he heat off but keep shaking until all the popping stops.  Pour into a serving bowl and the rest is up to you!

Hummus (v)

I love that you can get pre-packaged hummus at pretty much any grocery store, but if you can make it yourself, do it.  Chick peas are only 79 cents a can, and homemade hummus beats the pants off of the grocery store stuff any day.  It is a staple in my fridge all summer long.  It makes a great light and easy meal, not to mention it's healthy and cheap to make!  I always use tahini that has been roasted, so be sure to look for that kind, and if you can find it, get it.  The brand I use is called Joyva and comes in an orange and white can.  Unroasted tahini is fine, but the flavor is a lot different!  I make hummus constantly throughout the summer.  Don't limit yourself to chick peas, other beans make great hummus dips too!

this is the good stuff

Hummus

In a food processor combine and blend well:

1 can chick peas, drained

juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 tsp. salt

1 clove garlic

Blend until creamy and well combined.  You may need to add a little water to help blend.
Transfer toa serving dish and top with a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

This is the basic recipe.  I always add something to this, cumin, black pepper, oregano; but my favorite addition is a jar of roasted red peppers, drained.  You can also add a jar of artichoke hearts or chopped black olives.  Possibilities are limitless, really. 

Lemonade, two ways (v)

Nothing can satisfy the quench of real lemonade.

Classic Lemonade

Make a simple syrup: 3/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup hot water
Combine with:
4 cups water
1 cup fresh lemon juice
Stir well and chill, serve over ice.
Add crushed raspberries strawberries or blueberries.



Agave Lemonade

Combine:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup agave syrup
3 cups water
Stir well and chill, serve over ice.
Who knew a cactus could be so sweet?!

Give limes a chance! 

Use fresh lime juice in place of the lemon juice using either recipe for refreshing limeade.

Mac & Cheese

In our house, there were two kinds.  The good kind and theirs.  These were in addition to the late night standby, the boxed stuff with the cheese powder mix; but when we made real mac and cheese, we had to make two kinds to satisfy the four of us.

Mom & I liked the good kind.  Elbow noodles cooked to perfection with real, sharp, hand grated cheddar cheese.  Theirs, my sister and my father,  was the classic southern creamy velveeta and elbow noodles.  Both are delish, but I still choose the good kind when I want mac & cheese.  Mom taught me how to make it, and I've never measured any ingredients.  It's just one of those dishes that you make by throwing the stuff in the pot and letting it all melt.  This is how I do it:

Mac & Cheese, The good kind

Cook and drain enough elbow noodles to satisfy.  While the noodles are hot, add shredded sharp cheddar cheese, a pat of butter and a little milk.  Cook and stir until the cheese melts.  Stir in about 1 Tbs. sugar.  This is what makes this mac & cheese magical.  Once the cheese is completely melted and incorporated, transfer to serving dishes and top woth freshly ground black pepper.

Comfort food.

Waffles (v)

I will choose a waffle over a pancake any day.  Eventually, I will write an entire cookbook on waffles alone.  I'm a freak about them.  This morning, I made some plain waffle batter.  I made one plain waffle.  Then I made one strawberry, one blueberry, and two coconut waffles.  I figured it was time to share the basic waffle recipe.  You can add whatever you want to this recipe.  It's super easy and delicious.  Waffles are always a dinner option for me.  I got my waffle iron for 5 bucks at a garage sale in Kalamazoo.  Best 5 bucks I've spent in a long time!

breakfast, lunch, dinner, whenever.

Waffles

In a large bowl, stir together:

1 1/4 cups flour

2 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

In another bowl, mix well:

2 Tbs. oil

1 1/4 cup water

OR

1/2 cup milk or soymilk or almond milk or whatever + 3/4 cup water (You can even use yogurt!)

Mix the wet ingredients into the drys and mix only until ingredients are blended.  You want a somewhat lumpy batter.  Stirring too much makes the batter tough.

Bake in a preheated and well oiled waffle iron.

I always add something to the batter.  This morning, I added 3 Tbs. cornmeal & 1/4 cup oatmeal.  I added a little extra water to make up for the added dry ingredients.

For coconut waffles, all I did was add about 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut to the batter.  I wanted there to be a prominent coconut flavor, so I added about a Tbs. or two of coconut rum and stirred it in.  The waffles not only smelled amazing as they were baking, and they tasted like a slice of sweet southern coconut cake,  Next time I will add vanilla.  I'll post the official recipe when I perfect it!

That's the great thing about this recipe, you can add whatever you want.  Like pizza, nothing is truly off the list for waffle ingredients.  I have made savory vegetable and cheese waffles before, and I have thrown just about everything edible in a waffle before with good end results!  Have fun experimenting!

Waffles freeze very well and are magical when reheated in the toaster or the broiler.  Just be sure to wrap them well so they won't get freezer burn, if they last that long in the freezer!

*this recipe makes yum pancakes too.  Silver dollar size turn out the best!

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Fried Plantains (v)

I first had fried plantains atr my sister's house one Christmas.  Her husband is Cuban, so I called her one day for the how-to on fried plaintains.  I bought 5 big green plantains at the store so I was excited to cook them; until I talked to my sister.  She said they have to be ripe, so they went immediately into a brown paper bag under the kitchen sink.  For two weeks! Waiting for them to ripen is the hardest part of this recipe.  Finally, my plantains are ripe so it's time to cook them.  I'm going to first just fry them in their pure state, tomorrow I'm going to make a proper meal out of them with a bed of steaming hot quinoa and a spicy black bean and mango sauce.  For now, here's how:

before & yum

Fried Plantains

Get ripe plantains, or do as I did; buy the green ones and put them in a brown paper bag to ripen.  This can take up to two weeks.  Mine did, but it was worth the wait because they are good and sweet and perfectly ripe.  I let them get brown, but not too brown. 

I peeled mine and cut them in half and set them into the hot oiled cast iron pan.
Let them brown completely on one side.

Flip over and press down into the pan.  You want to flatten it out a little but not too much.  I used my spatula at first, but the bottom of my glass measuring cup worked better.

Let brown on that side too.
Transfer to a plate with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

And now, the possibilites are endless!
= Yum.

Ok, so I made the plaintains, ate two and put the rest in the fridge.  Yesterday, I made a big pot of quinoa, my favorite grain, and I made a black bean sauce to go with the plantains.  Here's how I did it:

Fried Plantains with Black Bean Sauce

Sautee in olive oil, one onion, chopped, and one poblano pepper, chopped, one clove of garlic, minced.  Once the onion and pepper starts to look good and yummy, add about a teaspoon of cumin seeds, some salt and pepper.  You can make this spicy by adding cayenne or jalapenos, my sauce was a little milder than i wanted it.  Next time I'm using a jalapeno!  So, this is the sofrito!  Sautee for a few min longer and remove from the heat.  In a small saucepan, put in a can of black beans, add all the liquid in the can too.  Simmer until hot, then stir in the sofrito.  Heat through.  Add salt and pepper as needed.
To reheat the plantains, I put them in a hot skillet and put a lid on it.  Flipped them over and heated them gently until they were hot all the way through.
Put a big pile of quinoa on the plate, arrange the plantains, and top with the beans.  I also added fresh chopped mango and cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.  Next time I'll make a fresh mango salsa, like a pico, with raw onion, tomato, mango and lime.
So yum!

Tiny Kitchen

Working in a tiny kitchen isn't easy.  I have had to get rid of a lot of unnecessary items to make room for the things I use the most, which I'm now glad for.  The blender was the first thing to go.  I never used it!  The food processor does the job of two so the blender didn't stand a chance.  I replaced my set of five pots and pans with two.  A large pot with a lid, and a small pot with a lid.  Good, old sturdy pots with hefty handles that don't get hot and good fitting lids!  I kept two cast iron pans, and one cookie sheet, although, a second cookie sheet is in order.  I kept my popover pan and one muffin pan.  

When I first moved back to the city, my mom helped me unpack the kitchen stuff.  She said she kept waiting to open up a box with the dishes.  Little did she know, I don't have a normal set of dishes like most households.  Instead, I use small plates and only own two dinner sized plates.  It's because that's what works for me.  I don't need a four piece place setting.  I never have three guests over for a sit down meal!  I went to the thrift store around New Year's to get clear glass cocktail plates for my party.  I figured it was a better option than buying paper plates that would just be thrown away.  Turns out the little glass plates have been perfect for my everyday use.

I was having trouble figuring out how to arrange my cabinets for pans and dishes, as I only really have two.  These big white glass vintage mixing bowls are my favorite, and I wouldn't replace them for any other mixing bowls.  They take up a lot of space though.  Today, I found my solution.  This hanging wire basket fit the two bowls perfectly, and the top basket is the best spot for my little glass citrus juicer.  The basket used to house onions and garlic, but the only place I can really hang is is behind the stove.  When the oven was on, the onions and garlic were getting too hot!  Now they reside in the fridge, and my mixing bowls have a happy new home.



Doggy Treats

Dogs like cookies too!!

Doggy Treats

Preheat oven to 350.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup dry milk
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup water + 1 Tbs. beef broth powder

MIx all ingreduents well.  Roll out on a floured surface and cut shapes.
Bake for 20 minutes

Additional variations:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. powdered kelp
1 Tbs. Nutritional yeast
1Tbs. Flax seeds

Chocolate Pudding

This pudding is so easy! 

It can be vegan if you use soy milk or almond milk or coconut milk or whatever it is you like!

Once you learn to keep unsweetened chocolate in the cupboard, you'll be amazed how many yummy things you can whip up late at night to satisfy that sweet tooth!  I used to make this a lot back in the day, I always used soy milk.  I don't even buy soy milk anymore, and I have never made it with actual dairy milk.  I'm sure it's good with any type of milk or milk substitute. 
It is chocolate pudding, afterall.

Chocolate Pudding

In a medium saucepan, melt:
3 squares unsweetened chocolate in 2 2/3 cups milk
Mix together:
1/4 cup cornstarch & 1/2 cup sugar,
Stir in 1/3 cup milk
Add to saucepan and cook, whisking, until thickened and smooth.
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla.
Enjoy hot (which is actually really yummy), or, cool completely.  To prevent a skin from forming on the top, cover with plastic wrap; press the plastic wrap down onto the surface of the pudding so that air can't get to it.  (I actually like the thick skin that this pudding forms.  Maybe I'm weird!)
This pudding is really yum with whipped cream on top.  That's not a vegan option, sorry!

Pesto

grow basil, make pesto.

Pesto

Blend in a food processor until well combined:
2 cups fresh clean basil
2/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Once blended, transfer to a half pint jar.  Fill the remaining space in the jar with olive oil, this acts as a "seal" until you are ready to use the Pesto.  Store in the fridge.  Add 1/2 cup parmesan to the batch of pesto mixture once you are ready to serve. 

Pizza

 I love pizza.  Love, love, love it.  But, it has to be thin crust.  I don't like breaddy pizza crust or Chigago style deep dish.  I'm a New York style pizza girl 100%.  Here is my recipe for thin crust:

Pizza Crust

Preheat oven to 425.
Mix together in a big mixing bowl:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar or honey
Let yeast dissolve.

In a small  bowl combine:
2/12 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. olive oil

Mix the drys into the wet ingredients and mix to form a ball.  Knead for a few minutes then set in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle cookie sheets with cornmeal & roll out into two pizza crusts, or stretch them out like I do to make a more rustic style pie.

Top with whatever you like and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
In my kitchen, anything is a pizza topping. Sometimes I go for just cheese, sometimes I put seaweed or brown rice on my pizza.  Or crabmeat.  Or cashews, peppers, herbs, pepperoni, onions, muchrooms, tomatoes, pesto, feta, hummus, kale, tabouli.  You name it, I'll probably put it on a pizza!

Nothing for Lunch

Sometimes when there is nothing for lunch, there is!  I try to always keep raw nuts, cheese and some type of fruit in the fridge.  Even a simple lunch of a tomato or a cucumber dressed with a little plain yogurt & dill can be satisfying and filling!  Even just salt and pepper with fresh raw vegetables is yum!  When I lived in Alabama I had a very nice garden with plenty of space for the herbs to go crazy.  I used to have lunches of fresh herbs with cheese and crackers.  Sometimes my meals would be based around what herbs needed to be trimmed back!

Now that I'm back in the city I don't have the space for a huge garden, but I still love fresh herbs and vegetables.  I have a balcony where I just planted a pot of culinary herbs.

Lemon Thyme was my favorite with cheeses, but it was also the perfect companion to a flat iron steak that I grilled in my kitchen one afternoon.  After cooking the steak I topped it with a little butter and chopped fresh lemon thyme.  It was the first steak I had ever made for myself. 

I was vegan for about 15 years! 

I'm not anymore, and here's how I made my first steak:

how to cook a steak in a cast iron skillet

Take the battery out of your smoke alarm.

Make sure to have the steak, a clean plate, a pot holder, a pat of butter, freshly chopped herbs and a fork to grab the steak all ready.

Heat your cast iron pan to really really hot.  I mean hot hot.

Don't oil it.  A seasoned cast iron pan is all you need.  The fat from the staek is enough oil to cook it.

Have everything ready, because once you throw the steak ont he pan you can't walk away from it! 

Throw the steak in the pan and cook for 2 minutes, undisturbed.  This is going to generate a lot of sizzling, popping and smoke.  Don't worry, you're not burning it, you're cooking it perfectly.

After two minutes exactly, turn the steak over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Keep the burner on high.  Again, lots of smoke but this is good.

After 2 min on that side, your steak is ready.  Put the steak on a plate and top with butter and freshly chopped herbs.  I used lemon thyme and it was amazing.  I put freshly ground black pepper on my steak too.

Cover with foil and let sit for 5 min.  I know this is really hard to do, but it makes the steak so yummy so be patient and wait out the entire 5 minutes!

Amazing, and no grill needed, or wanted.

Lunch can be simple and healthy.  I'm a grazer; I snack all day long.  I always have.  I've learned that eating little healthful tidbits all day works for me.  Keeps me energized, happy, satisfied, and I feel good about what I'm snacking on.  I like salty snacks every now and then too, but my first option is always something nature had intended as instant food.  Always keep popcorn in the cupboard.  Always have a good chunk of cheese.  Raw nuts are good snackin, but also help out in lots of other recipes!

Next time you think there's nothing for lunch, look again, maybe there really is!

Breakfast, Anytime.

I used to hate eggs.  Even things that had eggs in them I couldn't stand.  But I wasn't being fair to the egg, because it turns out, it's the yolk that I don't like (and I actually do like the yolk when cooked into soups, like Ramen noodles for example).  I actually really like egg whites!  Once I came to this realization, I made an old favorite that my grandma used to make, minus the egg yolk; Egg in a Basket.  My version has wo egg whites, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, plenty of fresh ground black pepper, a thinck slice of a red ripe tomato and a huge pile of mushrooms sauteed in olive oil.  I learned from the British to have friend mushrooms with breakfast.   It really completes the meal!



Egg in a Basket Mimi Style

For each person:

1 slice of bread with the center cut out, save the center!

2 egg whites

1 thick slice tomato

olive oil for sauteeing

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

Sautee the mushrooms in olive oil until done.  Set aside.

Toast the bread and the bread cut-out, in the pan on one side until browned, turn over and add the egg whites to the center of the bread.  Top with cheese slice and tomat.  Cover and cook until egg is done.  Top with the bread cut-out and fresh black pepper.

Transfer to a plate and top with the sauteed mushrooms.

Another good way to make an egg:

A friend of mine found a recipe where you bake an egg in an avocado half.  We tried it, and it was really good.  Paired with a thick slice of sourdough toast, this is a very satisfying breakfast.  I think even a thin slice of ham under the cheese would be delicious too...

Here's how we did it:



Baked Egg in Avocados

For each person, one avocado half and one egg.  Cheese and seasoned salt.

Cut the avocado and remove the pit.  Set each avocado in a little foil nest in a cast iron pan.  This little nest holds the avocados upright so that the egg won't spill out!  Put the pan on the oven rack and the crack the egg into each half.  Depending on the size of your avocado, all of the egg may not fit.  You can scoop out the avocado a bit more before adding the egg if you need more room!

Top with shredded cheese and bake at 400 until egg is done.  Sprinkle with a little seasoned salt.  I made mine without the yolk and it was amazing.  The avocado had such a great flavor, and the egg and cheese combined with the warm and creamy avocado left me wanting another one!





Whole Millet Crackers (v)

I love crackers, and homemade crackers are the best.  These are a wholesome, rustic and grainy cracker.  This recipe lends well to a variety of flavors, and I have yet to mix cheese into the dough, but I bet that would be pretty yum. You can grind millet in a blender, food processor or coffee bean grinder.

Whole Millet Crackers
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine:
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. honey
1/2 cup water
In a seperate bowl, combine:
1/4 cup whole millet
1/2 cup ground millet
1 cup flour
Add the drys to the liquid mixture and mix well to combine.
Oil a baking sheet and roll the crackers out directly on the cookie sheet.  I can't tell you how many times I forgot to do that; it's not fun trying to get the dough from the couter to the cookie sheet.  So, remember: Roll the dough out on the cookie sheet.
I like thin crackers, so I split this dough between two cookie sheets.
After I roll it out ont he pan, I sprinkle with everything; poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, cumin seeds; basically any seed I have in the cupboard, along with a light sprinkle of salt.  I press the toppings into the dough with the rolling pin.
Score or pre-cut the crackers, or just make one big cracker to break apart once cooled. You can use cookie cutters to score or cut the cracker dough.
Bake for 10-20 minutes until golden.

Oven Roasted Artichokes (v)

Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables.  Sometimes my dinner consists of this: one whole roasted artichoke.  So simple, so yum.  If you are new to artichokes, don't be afraid, just be sure to snip the leaf tips off, they are sharp!  And when you get to the heart, scrape away the fibrous hairs that cover the heart; these are inedible and you will be sorry if you try.  Kind of like a cactus in a sense, so scrape it all away and enjoy that heart!!!  I used to always boil arichokes.  A process that seemed to take forever.  The roasted artichoke is so much better! 

How to oven roast an artichoke:
Preheat oven to 350.
You will need:
1 artichoke
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
lemon juice
salt & pepper
foil
Trim off the sharp points of each exposed leaf.  I use scissors for this.
Next, takle a big sharp knife and cut off the top third of the artichoke.\, and cut off the stem to make a flat bottom.
Place the trimmed choke on the foil and stuff the garlic cloves down into the artichoke.  Drizzle generously with olive oil, squeeze a little lemon juice over th eyop and wrap it all up.
Bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes.  It is done when the leave come off of the artichoke with ease.

How to eat it:
Pull each leaf off and scrape the leaf in your teeth.  You don't eat the leaf, you just scrape the yummyness off of it.  The further you get into the choke, the more edible the leaf becomes.  But beware, some of the leaves are still very sharp at the tip!  Once you get to the center of the choke, then you will want to scrape the hairy part off of the heart.  So now, after all that delicious hard work getting to the center you are rewarded with the best part of the choke.  Usually by this time my hands are covered in olive oil salt and pepper, and I scrape the bowl with the heart and eat it.  I have taken the heart and chopped it up and added it to scrambled eggs before to.  It was beyond amazing.
I love artichokes, maybe you will too!

That Hot Fudge Angel Food Cake Frosting

Beware.  This is not really frosting, it's a sinful, decadent, bad for you, oh-my-God delicious chocolate fudge sauce, topping, whatever you want to call it, you'll want to eat it with a spoon.  On ice cream. On brownies.  On cake, doughnuts, muffins, cereal, pancakes, waffles, bread, your finger.  But my mom used to make it especially for homemade angel food cake, and that is how it is best.

Mom's Chocolate Fudge Angel Food Frosting
3 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbs. real butter
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in the milk over low heat.  Stir constantly.  This takes forever but be patient.  Burnt chocolate sucks.  Keep stirring and cooking until it's thick; hot fudge consistency.
Add 1 Tbs. butter & 1 tsp. vanilla extract and stir in completely.

Chocolate Squash Cake

This is an awesome cake that utilizes all of that yellow squash that the garden usually pumps out!  Any summer squash will do, and you won't even know it's in there.  This is not a healthy cake, just cake with a healthy ingredient.

Chocolate Squash Cake
Melt 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate with 1/4 cup vegetable oil.  Cool completely.
Cream 1/2 cup butter until light. 
Add:
2 cups sugar
3 beaten eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
Mix together the dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with 1/3 cup milk, sour cream or yogurt.
Mix in 3 c. shredded summer squash, squeezed.

Bake in oiled cake pan (9x13) for 40 minutes.  Can be baked as cupcakes too, check at 10 min, may need to bake for 15-18 minutes. 

GF minimalist peanut butter cookies

I got this recipe from my friend Lindsay.  When I first saw it I said, are you sure this is the whole recipe?  Yep.  Grain and flour free, but somehow it works!

minimalist peanut butter cookies
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine:
1 egg
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar

roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Flatten.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Grandma's Spinach Salad Dressing (v)

This dressing is a bit rich, but it compliments the salad perfectly.  My grandma makes a fresh spinach salad with red onions, tomatoes, croutons, hard boiled eggs and fresh, homemade bacon bits. 

When I make this salad, I add feta!

Grandma's Spinach Salad Dressing

Blend and simmer over low heat until combined:

1 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup ketchup

1 Tbs. worcestshire sauce

Chill completely.

Chocolate Vinegar Cake (v)

I have no idea where I originally got this recipe, but I have held onto it it very tightly throughout the years.  I even copied it down in my address book for fear of losing it, because sometimes recipes come and go!  This cake is awesome.  If I have ever made you a chocolate birthday cake, this is probably what I made.  Not only is this cake vegan and cheap, but you can mix it right in the pan you are going to bake it in.  No mixing bowl required!

Chocolate Vinegar Cake
Preheat the oven to 375.
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. vinegar

Don't oil the baking pan.  Mix all the dry ingredients directly in the baking dish.
In a seperate bowl, combine the syrup, oil, water and vanilla.  Mix well and add to the dry ingredients.  Stir until all drys are mixed in.  Quickly stir in the vinegar.
You can put the cake in the oven as is and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Or, you can add frozen cherries or raspberries on top of the cake batter after you have stirred in the vinegar.  The fruit will sink to the bottom and does magical things.
I once made this recipe using frozen raspberries and loved it so much that the next time I made it I used a raspberry infused vinegar in addition to the frozen berries!  Wow.  You can probably add fresh fruit too, I haven't tried that yet.
You can also use coffee or milk instead of the water.
You can also add mini chocolate chips to the batter.
Walnuts and pecans are also a good addition.
Yum.

Grandma's Bean Salad (v)

My Grandma Poovey can cook.  But one of my favorite recipes of hers really isn't cooked at all!  This is one of my favorite summertime meals.  Just bean salad.

 

Grandma's Bean Salad
Dressing:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Cool completely.  Add 2 Tbs. olive oil or flax seed oil

Salad:
Drain and completely rinse in cold water:
1 can red kidney beans
1 can green beans
1 can yellow corn, with no salt added

Once dressing has cooled, mix together with the beans and corn.
Yep, that's it.  Simple and delicious.

Sarah's Beef Stew

This is seriously easy comfort food.  Sarah is my best friend and one of my favorite cooks.  I can always count on her for a great recipe, and this one always fits the bill when I need something hot, wholesome, hearty, and homemade.  Perfect for a cold winter eve and equally justified on a cool and rainy spring afternoon.  I always ask Sarah what to eat.  I have asked her for this recipe over and over.  I originally thought beef stew was not an easy thing to make, but it is easy, and so good.  Oh, and Sarah would say, only use Campbell's.  She's right.  Trust me, I tried a cheaper route.  Not the same.



Sarah's Beef Stew
Turn the oven on to 300.
In a 3 qt. casserole dish combine the following:
1 pkg. stew meat
1 can Campbell's condensed tomato soup
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 small whole potatoes
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil

 Put 1 pkg. of beef stew meat, or beef brisket cut up into chunks, into the casserole dish.  Spread out evenly and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and basil.
Put the chopped vegetables on top of the seasoned meat.  put the potatoes in whole.
Put tomato soup in a 2 cup measuring cup.  Add water to fill to the 2 cup line.  Blend well.

Pour the soup mixture over the meat & vegetables.  Cover with foil. 
Bake at 300 for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, chop the potatoes and press them down in to the stew and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes.

make pickles today, eat pickles tonight! (v)

These are my favorite pickles. They are a saltwater pickle, and can be made and enjoyed all in the same day.  They are extremely simple.  If you can mix salt and water, you can do this.  We sold these at the Eufaula Alabama Farmer's Market under the name Chill Pickles.  These pickles must be kept refrigerated at all times.  You can pickle the cucumbers whole, or sliced into thick chips like the photo.

chill pickles
12 small pickling cucumbers
fresh peeled garlic cloves
1/4 tsp. dill seed
2 Tbs. dill weed
1/4 tsp. whole peppercorns
1/4 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1/4 cup kosher salt
4 cups water

Dissolve the salt in the water.
Wash the cucumbers and pack into clean jars with the seasonings.  Add a clove of garlic to each jar.
Pour the saltwater over to cover.  Close the jars and stick them in the fridge to chill.  These are best eaten cold, they are crisp, fresh, and delicious.  You can add more garlic to your taste, and you can also add crushed red pepper flakes for a spicier pickle.

tofu omelette (v)

When I was a vegan, I experimented a lot.  I never really liked eggs tio begin with, but I liked breakfast.  So I invented egg-free, egg replacement dishes.  This was one of my favorites.  I found this recipe in the same notebook where I had the foccacia recipe.  I made this so many times I forgot that I even had it written down anywhere!

Tofu Omelette
1 pkg. firm or extra firm style tofu, drained
to taste:
turmeric
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper
finely chopped veggies of choice for filling:
green pepper
red onion
black olives
spionach

Grate the tofu gently on the large holes of a cheese grater.
Put the tofu in a large mixing bowl and gently stir in the seasonings.

Heat oil in a large skillet and arrange the tofu in a single layer.  Let cook, undisturbed, until the edges start to brown.  Place the chopped fillings on half of the big tofu round, and fold the other half over the fillings, just as an omelette.  Cover and cook until filling is hot.  Top with cheese if desired, and serve with hot sauce.

the dank foccacia with coarse salt (v)

This idea for this blog was born from the request for my Foccacia recipe. It is one of the easiest breads to make, and after losing the recipe for about six months, I can finally share it!

One summer I was a nanny for a 2 year old little boy, Oli.  I used to clean and cook when he was napping, and I found this recipe originally in some random cookbook that belonged to Oli's mama, Patty.  I copied the recipe down and have been making it for years.  At first the recipe was simply called foccacia, but after several times of making it, I re-wrote the title so that I would know it was the recipe I wanted, since I kept it in a notebook of recipes that I had copied from other cookbooks.  It's an incredibly versatile recipe, and my friend Ashley has made so many different yummy variations using this recipe.  She even made it into a loaf of bread and made french toast out of it.  Yum! 

This recipe makes a traditional breaddy focaccia.  It's moist and delicious, and can be rolled or spread thin enough for a pizza crust.  Have fun experimenting with it!

 you will need yeast, but don't be afraid.  it's easy.

Foccacia

1 tsp. yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup warm water

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water.  Let proof for a few minutes.

Add 1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

add up to 4 cups flour gradually.  You may only need 3, just add enough flour to mix into a nice soft ball.

Knead for a few minutes then put into an oiled bowl, roll the ball around in the oil to coat.  Put a warm wet towel over the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Make one big or several small dough rounds, flatten slightly with your hand and add toppings of choice.  My original recipe called for olive oil, rosemary and coarse salt.  I recommend this first, then you can stray and add your own yummy toppings!

Bake on a cookie sheet at 425 for 10 minutes.  Lower the oven to 400 & bake for 10-15 min. longer.

Enjoy!  .

the beginning of something yum!

Welcome to mimi yum yums! 

I love to cook, and I always have people asking me for recipes and such, so this blog is all about that; sharing my favorite recipes, trying new ones, and taking you along with me!