snap snap gingersnaps

Yea I made cookies all by myself yesterday.
They turned out a little stiff though because i cooked them too long.
Whatever. Dip them in some coffee and they're still good.
(or i suppose you could try to not cook them too long)

Before:

After:

anyway, here's the recipe:

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon & sugar

Mix 1st five ingredients and set aside. Beat shortening until creamy. Add sugar, then egg & molasses. Combine with 1st mixture. Roll dough into balls and roll in cinnamon & sugar. Bake at 350 for 10 min.

Thanksgiving Day Cranberry Sauce

We all know what the typical tradition is on Thanksgiving...
Fair enough.

But if you're still eating cranberry sauce out of a can... um, well, it sucks to be you. It's simple really... Here's the remedy to your situation.

First, get yourself some fresh cranberries. You're only going to use about three cups, but go ahead and pick up a little extra, they're good and tart just eaten raw, and go good in smoothies and stuff. So it's ok to have a little extra.

First off, rinse your berries. Then in a saucepan mix 3 cups of water with 1 cup of suger. Boil that until the sugar is dissolved. Then add your cranberries and boil gently until the skins pop... about 5 minutes.

Then remove from heat and serve. I swear you'll never go back to canned again.

Chapli Kebab ( sandal patties) Slipper Burgers

Ground dry spices, namely Corriander, Cumin, Cayenne, Salt, Pepper


Ground Beef


Grated Onion


Minced Garlic


Serrano. To hot or not too hot, that is the question. I went middle of the road and only left half the seeds in...


Diced Serrano


Chopped Cilantro


Fresh Grated Ginger


Dump in the dry spices and mix well.


Fry a small seasoning taste test.


Patty teardrop shape

Brush Naan with Hemp Oil and grill. Top grilled Naan with fresh Lettuce, Onion and Tomatoe


Serve with a side of Kale and Onions.

Toasted Rock Star Holio

Ok, cut a star like shape thru the center of a whole wheat Pita bread. Add a small amount of oil to a non stick skillet. Open the Pita slightly so the egg can run inside. Place Pita in pan. Place egg in star shape. Fry / toast the pita / egg combo to desired doneness then eat.

Lasagna

Pizza,

Pizza Dough:
1/2 c. very warm water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
6tsp yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 c. semolina flour (italian crust)
OR 6 c. regular flour (thin crust)


sprinkle the yeast over the 1/2 c. warm water in a small bowl with the sugar and salt. Stir and wait a few minutes for the yeast to foam. Stir in remaining warm water and olive oil. Stir this mixture into the flour, making a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is too dry add more water; too wet ad flour

Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes to make a smooth elastic dough. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise 'til double (1-2 hrs). If dough rises before you are able to use it, punch down, reshape and let rise again. Or, you can reshape it and put in refrigerator for up to 2 days before letting rise at room temp.

preheat oven to 425 degrees with stone in. This crust: shape, top and bake pizza at once. Thick crust:shape, cover & rise 30 minutes. You can prebake 3 minutes before topping and baking, 15-20 minutes.
makes 4 pizza crusts, or 4 dozen appetizer size.

Catacombs Antioch (above): Mozarella, spinach, kalamata olives, roasted red pepper, feta cheese, rosemary garlic white sauce


Margherita: red sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil and fresh tomatoes

Note: I do not take credit for these. (except for the pictures) Melissa made them. I just ate them.

Curry

Fry some onions, roasted red pepper and the spicy sausage of your choosing.


Add some basmati rice and water. 2 cup water to 1 cup rice


Add jar of curry paste and chopped Kale. Kale is high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium and contains sulforaphane. Kale is kinda like a super food.
it has 17 times more Vitamin C than carrots and four times more than spinach!
Wow!

Kale wilts down nicely but is also able to stand up to prolonged cooking.


Simmer til rice is ready... It ain't pretty but it sure is tasty!

Pumpkin Bread

Well, I was able to find a pumpkin, even tho it's not a pie pumpkin. Thanks Josh!

Steaming the pumpkin...

Awwww. Look! It's pumpkin puree!

Freezing. Cuz I can't use 15 cups of pumpkin all at once. It freezes well.

Alright, this is where the magic happens. See the magic?
I used this recipe I found online.

And since I'm lazy, I also use Pam with flour... cause there's nothing worse than greasing and flouring a pan.

Pull the roasted seeds out of the oven, you need it for the bread...
and I know you roasted them since we don't believe in waste.

Perfect.

I'll make the pie tomorrow.

Breakfast Burrito

Falafel

Tabbouleh


Fixins


Put it all together Butter Lettuce, Red Onion, Cucumbers, Fresh Dill and Falafel topped with a yogurt sauce (yogurt, Lemon Juice, minced Garlic, diced cucumbers, chopped fresh Dill) with the Tabbouleh on the side. Yumm Yumm.

Shrimp with Black Lava Salt and Pepper

Ok well you start off by shelling and veining your shrimp. I know it takes a little time but they are cheaper and you get the shells to make fish stock... and the fish stock for your rice...

Throw the shells into a pot not the garbage. (add fish bones etc if you have them, you con sometimes get them at the meat counter cheap) with 1 cup dry white wine, some onions (preferably roasted for richer flavor),3 cloves whole Garlic, a couple spigs fresh Thyme and Parsley, some pepper corns ( maybe 10), celery seed and bay leaf. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for only 20 minutes or it will get bitter. remove from heat strain out solids (cheese cloth or a colander unless its been on someones head recently) and allow to cool to room tempature.

Make jasmine rice replacing the water with the aromatic fish stock.

bring 1 3/4 cup fish stock to boil add 1 cup jasmine rice cover and reduce heat to simmer in 15 minutes she should be ready.

Slice baby Portabellos and saute.

slice baby Bok Choy and steam 7minutes

toss the two together in a bowl.

In a dry skillet cook shrimp to desired doneness (c's not o's)

plate and top with fresh cracked black pepper and Black Lava sea salt

Enjoy!

November 2nd, 2009

I'll just go ahead and say it. I hate wallpaper in all its different forms, applications, etc.
It's almost as bad as a popcorn ceiling.

Sourkraut Pork Loin

Generously Salt & Pepper a Pork Loin. Rub with Stone Ground Mustard. Wrap and Refridgerate for at least 1 hour while the grill is being preped / heated. Smoke roast for 1 hour.

Cover the bottom of foil drip pan with Kraut.

Add Smoked Loin and top with more Kraut.

Drizzle 2 TBSP gin over Loin. Add 1/2 cup beer. Cover with foil and return to grill until loin reaches 165 degrees.

Remove Loin and let rest.

Drool over Kraut.

Serve up with a nice salad and Mulled Cider