From-Scratch Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce
Makes a lot-- this batch is for one large pizza and one baked pasta recipe.  It easily makes 8 individual servings.  Time- 2-4 hours.  Work Time- 20-30 minutes.


Nouns-
2 carrots- diced
2 celery ribs- diced
1 large onion- diced
6 cloves garlic-minced
1/2 cup wine
2 large cans whole tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
1 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp  thyme
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ted pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil or butter

Verbs-
In a large dutch oven or saucepan over medium high heat, saute the carrots, celery and onion in the oil or butter for 5 minutes.

Add wine and herbs and spices and simmer two minutes.  Reduce heat to low and add tomatoes and garlic, breaking up whole tomatoes with a spoon.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours or up to four hours, stirring occasionally. 

 Remove from heat and puree carefully in a blender or with an immersion blender.  I usually blend only a little for pasta sauce, because I like it chunky.  For pizza, though, I puree it for several minutes until completely smooth.  Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week.  Freeze if not using within a week.

Brioche Burger Buns

These are awesome!  I adapted this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, so if you want the original version, go here.

Mine are done all in the stand mixer, and I used some whole wheat flour, so they are chewy and delicious in addition to being relatively easy to put together.

Light Wheat Brioche Buns 
Yields 8 buns.  Total Time- 4 hours.  Total work time- 30 minutes or so.


Nouns-
3 tbsp powdered milk
1 cup warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I add a spoonful of "gluten flour") to the bottom of each cup of all-purpose when I am measuring for making yeast breads.  This step is optional, but worth it!)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt

optional- sesame seeds

Verbs-
Add the milk powder to the warm water.  Whisk one egg and set aside.  In the bowl of the mixer, whisk the flours, salt, yeast and sugar together.  Add in the butter and mix with the paddle attachment until the butter is incorporated and no longer in big lumps.  Add the milk mixture and egg and mix until dough forms.  Dough will be sticky!  Sticky is okay.  Knead the dough with a dough hook for ten minutes, checking to be sure it doesn't climb the hook too far (did I mention it was sticky?  It is sticky.  If you just can't handle the stickiness, add a little more flour).  Lightly oil a large bowl and turn the dough into it.  Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let sit for two hours, or until doubled in size.

After it is doubled, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place on the baking sheet, two inches apart.  Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let sit for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 and place a shallow pan with a half inch of water in it on the bottom oven rack.  Whisk the other egg and paint the buns with the eggwash.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.  When oven is heated, bake the buns for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through.  Cool on a wire rack and use immediately, or freeze.

Hamentaschen!

Here's my take on Hamentaschen.  Admittedly, they are not super traditional, but they are quite yummy!

Hamentaschen-

Nouns-
Dough
3 eggs
2 tbsp baking powder
4 cups flour
1/2 cup safflower oil
zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar

Fillings
I just use store-bought stuff for the fillings, but if you want to make your own, there are lots of great recipes out there for the traditional prune and poppyseed fillings.  I prefer these.
1 cup apricot preserves
1 cup blackberry preserves
1 cup nutella

Verbs-
Preheat oven to 375.   Whisk together eggs, oil, lemon zest, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl, then set aside.  Sift the flour and baking powder together.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, mixing until they come together.  Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 3/8 inch thick or less.  Cut into circles and place the circles on a cookie sheet.  Drop a teaspoon of filling in the center of each one, then pinch the edges together in three places to create a little three-cornered hat shape.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating halfway through.

Eggplant Almond Enchiladas

This recipe is modified from several I found online, and I think it is easy and delicious!  I was pleased with the flavor of the eggplant and the texture of the almonds, and the sauce is easy and delicious... so much healthier and better than store-bought!  This is a little time and effort-intensive, but it is totally worth it.  In fact, I am always looking for gluten-free and vegetarian recipes for entertaining, and this one is a keeper!

Eggplant Almond Enchiladas


Nouns:
1 eggplant, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beer
2 medium onions, diced
12 corn tortillas
olive oil

Verbs:
Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large saucepan, saute half the onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Then add the tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, beer and half the garlic.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet or pan, saute the other half of the onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.  Add the eggplant and cover, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes.  Uncover and add the remaining garlic, stirring for another 3-5 minutes.  Then, take the sauce mixture off the heat and puree it with a stick blender or by carefully pouring into a regular blender.  Grease a 9-13 baking dish.  Take the eggplant mixture off the heat and add the almonds and cheese, then stir to combine.  Add about 1/4 cup of filling mixture to each tortilla, then roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish.  After all the mixture and tortillas have been arranged in the dish, pour the sauce over the top and bake for 15 minutes, or until bubbly.  Eat!  Yummm!

Easy Corn Chowder

Easy Corn Chowder
Makes 6-8 servings, great for a potluck.
(Adapted from Nigella)


Nouns-
20 oz frozen sweet corn (2 bags)
3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
6 scallions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
23 oz (one carton) vegetable stock
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Optional: tortilla chips, shredded cheese, cilantro.

Verbs-
Saute the scallions, garlic and jalapenos in the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat until fragrant and beginning to caramelize.  Add in the other ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.  Using an immersion blender, carefully puree the mixture off the heat.  If you don't have an immersion blender, then very carefully pour the mixture into a blender and puree in small batches.  Return to the stove top over low heat and serve with tortilla chips, chopped cilantro and shredded cheese.

Spring Rolls!

I have made these once or twice before, but it had been a long time, so it took a while to get the hang of it again.  But once I did, I was glad, because they are so fun and so yummy.  The ingredients are easy to find; I only had to go to the Asian market for the rice papers.  Everything else came from the big box grocery.

Spring Rolls:


Nouns-
1 package rice papers

1 package Mai Fun rice sticks

2 carrots, julienned
1 bunch cilantro, washed and stemmed
20 Basil Leaves
8 sprigs of mint, washed and stemmed
1 pound protein (cooked shrimp, cooked chicken, cooked tofu, whatever you prefer)
Butter lettuce, washed and torn into small pieces
Mung Bean Sprouts (optional)

Verbs-
Prepare the Mai Fun by soaking them in warm water for 10 minutes, draining thoroughly, and then dropping them into boiling water for one minute.  Drain, rinse, and chill the noodles.  Then, prepare an assembly line where you have a flat space to work, like a cutting board.  On one side of the board you need a large flat dish with an inch or so of warm water and your packet of rice papers.  On the other side should be all your stuffing ingredients.  Be sure the protein is cut into strips or small pieces.

Take one rice paper and immerse it in the warm water for 5-10 seconds, holding it so the ends don't curl up out of the water.  Lay the paper on your board and add the filling in whatever combination sounds yummy.  I usually do a few leaves of mint and basil, about 10 of the thin julienned carrot strips, about a half cup of noodles, stretched along the length of the rice paper to within an inch and a half of each side, a small pile of cilantro and sprouts, enough of my protein to lay across the noodles.  Then, I pull the far edge of the paper over the ingredients and tuck it in under them, followed by folding in the sides of the rice paper like a burrito.  Then I roll it towards me, as tightly as I can, until the edge of the rice paper sticks to the roll.  Ta-da!  Spring roll.

Repeat with new rice papers until all your filling ingredients are used up.

Easy Dipping Sauce


Nouns-
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chili garlic sauce

Verbs-
Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.  Garnish with cilantro and lime if you feel like it.

Sweet Corn and Lime Orzo Summer Salad

Made this yesterday and it turned out pretty well.

Orzo Summer Salad


Nouns-
2-3 cups dried orzo, prepared
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small summer squash, sliced in half-coins
1-2 cups sweet corn kernels
1 sweet onion, sliced thinly
2 limes, juiced and zested
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
fresh black pepper
salt
cilantro, for garnish


Verbs-
Broil the squash in the toaster oven until browned if you'd like it cooked.  Rinse the orzo in cold water and drain.  Mix the orzo, peppers, squash, onions, and corn together in a large bowl.  Then, whisk the lime juice, zest, oil, cumin and chili powder together in a small bowl.  Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and season with pepper and salt to taste.  Garnish with cilantro.  Yummm!

Grilled Pizza Dough

We made pizza on the grill tonight for the first time, and it was sooooo good.  It's a bit hard to get the hang of, because once the dough goes on the grill then everything moves really really fast and you have to be ready with the sauce and toppings and oil and whatnot in a well-choreographed little dance, BUT it is pretty easy once you master it and totally worth one or two screw-ups to get right.  I modified Alton Brown's dough recipe a little and came up with this, which was so so so good.  (If I do say so myself)

Grilled Pizza Dough


Nouns-
16 ounces all purpose flour
1 ounce gluten flour
10 ounces warm water
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing on the dough later
1 tbsp molasses

Verbs-
Add the flour and yeast to the bowl of your mixer.  Using the dough hook attachment, mix the flour and yeast, then add the remaining ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.  Then, turn the mixer up to medium speed and knead for fifteen minutes.  If your dough is too stringy or sticky, add a little more gluten flour and knead a few more minutes.  If you can pinch off a piece of dough and stretch it thin between your fingers until it becomes translucent, then it's ready.

Scoop the dough out of the mixer and put it a bowl coated with olive oil, turning the dough a few times to coat it.  Let it sit, covered, at room temperature for about an hour, or until doubled in size.  Then, cut the dough into three equal pieces.  Take each piece and pat it into a ball.  Alton Brown says to form a disc, then roll into a ball and then roll it around on the counter for a while until it forms a "round".  I'm not really sure what all that's about, but I did roll mine around on the counter for a bit before patting them into a rounds and putting on a tray and covering them with a tea towel for another forty-five minutes.  That seemed to go pretty well.  Or, if you are not using the dough right away, then put wrap your dough ball sin plastic wrap and stash them n the fridge for use for up to a week.  Be sure to give them time to come to room temp after you take them back out, though.

If you are using the dough right away, now is a good time to start your grill or get your charcoal going.  It is lame to have the dough all ready and no fire.  If you have fire, then take one of your dough balls and roll it out to about 14 inches in diameter, turning and stretching the dough between each roll.  Then, put the rolled-out dough on a lightly floured pizza peel or if you are fancy like me, the back of a cookie sheet.  Oil the top side of the dough really well with olive oil.  Oil your grill really well, too, with a clean kitchen rag covered in olive oil and held safely with grill tongs, and not with some undeniably macho but unfortunately burn-y hands-on method. Then flip the dough, oils-side down onto the grill.  On a hot grill, it will be only a minute or two before the dough is ready to be flipped.  In that minute or two, you need to oil the top side of the dough, again, carefully and using a basting brush held in your grill tongs, and not using your hands.  When you flip the dough, be speedy on the spot with your sauce, toppings and cheese of choice.  Then, close the lid on your grill for another minute or two, which should be enough to melt the cheese.  (Note- if your toppings need more than that long to cook, precook them a bit, then put them on)

After a minute or two, your pizza should be ready, and you should be very very happy, because your pizza is going to be delicious.

Peanut Noodle Salad

I realize I haven't been blogging much food on my food blog.  Sorry.  Running has taken over my life.  Here's a thing I ate today that was delicious!

This recipe was born out of having leftover peanut sauce when I make my peanut sauce chicken.  If I have leftover sauce, I dilute it with rice vinegar until it reaches salad dressing consistency and then stir it into some cold noodles and veggies.

However, the resulting salad is yummy I wanted to make it one day without making peanut sauce first.  This is it:

Peanut Noodle Salad


Nouns:
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
6-8 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger

Optional Garnish:  sesame seeds or chopped peanuts

Verbs:
Stir together all the ingredients but the noodles, peppers and scallions.  The dressing should come together into a thick, but liquidy mixture.  Add more rice vinegar if necessary, or to taste.  In a large bowl, toss the chilled pasta, veggies and dressing until everything is coated.  Garnish and serve cold.  Yummm!

Vegan Citrus-scented Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup


Nouns-
3 cups dried green split peas
8 cups water
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
1 large onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 jalapenos, minced
1 veggie boullion cube
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Verbs-
In a large pot or dutch oven, saute the onion, carrots and celery in the olive oil over medium high heat for several minutes, until the onion is translucent.  Add the jalapenos and cook for another minute or two.  Add half the peas, the boullion cube and all the water.  Simmer or 30 minutes and add the remaining peas.  Simmer until peas are tender, another 30-45 minutes.  Add the zest, stir to combine, and serve.

Game of Thrones Premiere Party Theme Food

For those of you who don't know, The Husband is a dork.

Here he is, sitting on a replica Iron Throne at Wondercon.
After serious searching, he was by far the cutest dork I could find, so I married him.

Yes, dork.  And, frankly, so am I, though I really fall right on the Nerd/Dork dividing line and sometimes people don't realize I'm a dork until it's too late.  (cue maniacal laugh)

Anyway, so The Husband is ridiculously, crazily, bizarrely obsessed with the Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.  In fact, if you haven't ever read the first book in that series and might be persuaded to do so, The Husband will probably just go buy you a copy of your very own.  He might even come to your house and read it to you.  He's essentially a missionary of this particular sect of dorkdom.

The good people at HBO have adapted this series into a TV show named after the first book, The Game of Thrones.  And they have been marketing the hell out of it.  For one, they've been hauling replica Iron Thrones all over the country for people like The Husband to sit in, and they have also rolled out celebrity-chef food carts in New York and L.A. with foods inspired by the books.

Of course, we had a premiere party for airing of the first episode; we got HBO just for this show in the first place, so it seemed like we should pack the house with all our dorkily-inclined friends and watch it together.  I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make some theme foods for the party, because I am like that.

I made one of the things that HBO had on the food carts, this lemon cake recipe.  This recipe requires a relatively high level of baking experience, but is totally worth trying out, because the cakes are the lightest, most airy things you've ever had from a home kitchen.  I was a little alarmed when I folded the batter into the whipped egg whites and ended up with such a thin liquidy consistency, but everything turned out just fine.

I also made some "meat pies" from the books, except that I made them vegetarian.  I used Alton Brown's pocket pie crust, which is surprisingly easy.  For the filling, I did as follows:

Vegetarian "Meat Pie" Filling
Nouns:
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
6 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and diced
4 yukon gold potatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1 cup vegetable stock
6 ounces veggie crumbles, I used Morningstar
2 good squirts ketchup
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
fresh ground pepper
1 cup peas
butter or olive oil

Verbs:
In an enamel dutch oven or cast iron skillet, brown the onions over medium heat in the butter or oil until translucent, then add the garlic, celery and mushrooms.  Cook for several minutes, stirring as needed to prevent sticking. Add the potato, rosemary and thyme and cook for five to ten more minutes.  Then add the wine and stock, simmering until reduced by about half.  Then add the crumbles, bay leaf and peas, and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.  Yumm!  Resulting mixture should be the consistency of pie filling.

Yum!

Stuffed Shells

I made these for a friend who comes over for dinner a lot on weeknights because he's out of town every weekend.  These are a great make-ahead dish, and I will keep them in my repertoire for entertaining for that reason, and because they are they perfect combination of delicious, easy, and impressive.

Stuffed Shells


Nouns:
1 box large shell noodles (I think a box is about a pound?  I don't know.  A box.)
1 large container of ricotta (in my grocery store, they have large and small options in ricotta, but I am dumb and didn't write down how many ounces, so you know, get the big one if there is one, and if there isn't, get two small ones.)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 egg
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 bag shredded Italian cheese blend, or a few ounces of shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan

Verbs:
Make the pasta according to package directions.  Or how you normally make pasta.  I assume you know how to make pasta.  So make it.  Okay.

Defrost the spinach and squeeze the liquid out of it by wrapping it up and gently pressing it with a clean kitchen towel that you don't mind dyeing green.  In a large bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta and egg.  Add some garlic or basil or parsley if you are so inclined.  Spray a baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease it with olive oil.  Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells one by one, arranging them in a single layer in the baking dish.  If you are making this dish ahead, then stop, cover the baking dish, and stick it in the fridge.  If not, carry on with the rest of the directions.

Preheat oven to 375.  Pour of the sauce over the shells.  Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.  Bake until bubbly and the cheese is slightly browned, about 25 minutes.

YUM!

Brunch!

Italian Eggs


Nouns:
8 eggs
1 package cream cheese (the brick, not the tub)
1 bag shredded Italian Cheese blend
2 tbsp milk
2/3 cup tomato sauce

Verbs:
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the eggs, milk and cream cheese together in a mixer until thoroughly blended.  Stir in the cheese.  Spread the tomato sauce on the bottom of a greased 9X9 baking dish.  Carefully pour egg mixture over the sauce, trying not to mix the sauce into the eggs.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

YUM!


Greek Frittata
Nouns:
1 half onion, diced
1 half red pepper, diced
1/4 cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained
6 oz breakfast sausage
2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Thyme and Oregano to taste.

Verbs:
Brown the sausage in a frying pan, then add the onion, peppers and artichoke hearts, cooking until onions are translucent.  Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and then pour over the sausage and veggies in the frying pan, keeping the heat on medium high for a few minutes.  Add the herbs if using.  Sprinkle the feta over the top, turn the pan to low and cover.  Cook until eggs are set.

YUM!

Glazed Red Cabbage

Okay, folks, I know that cooked cabbage is probably not on your list of top ten most awesome foods ever.  However, I promise that this recipe is actually really really good and you will look at red cabbage in a whole new way.  "Yum," you'll think, "cabbage!  I love cabbage!"

Glazed Red Cabbage
Nouns-
1 head red cabbage (duh), cored and sliced into thin ribbons
1 half yellow onion, sliced
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp orange marmalade
1 pinch cardamom
1 pinch allspice
1 pinch clove
1 dab of olive oil

Verbs-
Drip a few drops of olive oil into a large frying or saute pan.  Turn heat to medium.  Add the onions and stir until onions start to become translucent.  Add the cabbage.  Cook until wilted.  Add the spices, raisins, balsamic and orange marmalade, turning heat to medium high and tossing to coat.  Cook for 2-3 more minutes, then remove from heat and serve.  Amaze your friends!  Yum, cabbage!

Meal Plan and Vegetable Curry Recipe

This week, we are having--

Vegetable Chickpea Crockpot Curry
Tilapia
Chicken Parmesan
Cauliflower Soup
Spinach Salad with Chickpeas, feta and oranges


Many things are leftover from last week's plan, because we ended up eating the bean and corn soup for a couple of days.  It were yummy.

The curry recipe turned out delicious, and is my new favorite cold-weather comfort dish.  Here it is:



Vegetable Chickpea Crockpot Curry
Nouns:
2-3 cups cooked chickpeas (I cook mine in the crockpot from dry, you can use canned if you want)
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 green peppers, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 potato, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into one-inch lengths
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 red chili pepper, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can lite coconut milk
1 cup fresh spinach

Verbs-
Put everything in the crockpot except the coconut milk and spinach.  Cook on low for 6 hours, until veggies are tender.  Turn to high and add coconut milk. Stir to combine and simmer 20 minutes.  Add spinach and stir until spinach is wilted.  Serve over rice or quinoa.  Yumm!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Today I was blithering endlessly about food, as I often do, and I happened to mention this lasagna to a coworker who has a newfound love of butternut squash.  As per her request, here's the recipe:

Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage Bechamel Sauce


Nouns-
1 butternut squash, roasted, peeled and chopped
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 pint ricotta cheese
3 onions
1-2 tbsp sage
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded gouda or mozzarella cheese
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Verbs-
Preheat oven to 400.  Thinly slice the onions, then caramelize in olive oil or butter until sweet and warm brown.  Set aside.  In a saucepot, melt the butter over medium low heat and add the garlic, stirring for 2-3 minutes.  Add the flour and stir into a roux.  Cook the roux until golden, then add the milk, nutmeg and sage, stirring to thicken. When bechamel sauce has formed a creamy consistency, remove from heat.  Layer a greased baking dish with lasagna noodles, then ricotta, then onions.  Top with sauce.  Add another layer of noodles, then butternut squash, more ricotta and the shredded cheese.  Top with sauce. Repeat until all the noodles are used up.  Pour any remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle any remaining cheese over that.  Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and hot through.   Yummmm.

Apple Butter

This weekend we went out to Hood River and picked apples.  It was a lot of fun and we ended up with dozens of apples for only $11.  I decided we should make apple butter, which is one of the tastiest substances on earth. Here are the two apple butter recipes I made this weekend, though I started with just one big batch of 4 or five pounds of apples for the applesauce base for both recipes.  I canned my apple butter, and the whole process is shown on my Flickr page, here.  (Hint- click the Show Info button at the top right of the screen for step by step instructions.)

Homemade Apple Sauce
Noun-
Apples

Verbs-

Core the apples and cut the into slices. (*Note- if you do not have a food mill, you have to peel them, too.)  Put all the apple slices in a pot with just enough water to cover the bottom and cook on meduim low until the apples are soft, about 30 minutes.  Run the apples through a food mill if you have one, a food processor if you don't.  If you have neither, then hand mash with potato masher.  At this stage, if all you want is delicious sugar-free homemade applesauce, you can stop.  Or, you can add some sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest or whatever you like.

Caramel Apple Butter-
Nouns-
4 cups apple sauce
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups caramels
1 tsp cinnamon

Verbs-
Pour the applesauce into your crockpot, add the sugar and cinnamon and cook on low for 8 hours.  Then, if desired, puree with immersion blender to make it smoother.  Unwrap the caramels and microwave them until bubbly.  Stir them into the apple butter.  Yummm!



Spiced Apple Butter
Nouns-
4 cups applesauce
2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 inch fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup apple juice

Verbs-
Add the spices, half the sugar and the apple juice to a heavy-bottomed pot and cook on high for five minutes.  Pour the mixture into the crockpot and add the applesauce and remaining sugar.  Cook on low 8 hours.  Add more sugar to taste.  Yumm!

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

This is SO GOOD, but really rich and complex, so it's best as a side or an appetizer.

Roasted Root Veggie Salad-


Nouns-
3 beets
1 sweet potato
3 carrots
1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
5 fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp roasted pine nuts
2 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled

Verbs-
Peel the vegetables and cut them into bite size pieces.  Arrange them on a greased cookie sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.  Cool the vegetables in the freezer or fridge.  Zest and juice the lemon, and whisk the zest and juice together with the honey, olive oil and vinegar.  Pour over the veggies.  Add the nuts, goat cheese and basil leaves and toss lightly.  Enjoy!

College Food! Cabbage Salad

Last week's meal plan featured a recipe I made all the time in college, and it got me thinking about the other things I made then.  I did a lot more home cooking than most college students; in fact I cooked for 2-8 people a couple of times a week.  I didn't really know what I was doing, but that didn't stop me from making huge amounts of food for my friends all the time.  I made all kinds of crazy things, like huge batches of fry bread that I'd serve with honey and have people over to eat.  I am trying to find where I put all the recipes I loved in college, and I'll post them as I remember or find them.  In the mean times, here is one my favorite things that I made then:

College Cabbage Salad:
Nouns-
1 medium green cabbage or half green half red
1 bunch scallions
1 package of ramen noodles, either oriental or chicken flavor
3 tbsp white vinegar (use rice vinegar if you are fancy)
2 tbsp olive or sesame oil
1 tbsp honey or sugar
1 orange, zested and juiced
a few shakes of sesame seeds

Verbs-
Slaw the cabbage and put in a big bowl.  (Is slaw a verb?  I don't know.  Slice your cabbage into long skinny strips like you would for a good slaw) Chop the scallions and add them to the cabbage.  Remove the seasoning packet from the ramen and set aside.  Crush the dry noodles into small pieces and sprinkle over the cabbage.  In a separate dish, whisk the oil, vinegar, seasoning mix from the ramen, and honey together, with the zest and juice of the orange.  Pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss to thoroughly coat.  Top with sesame seeds.  This whole dish costs about $3 to make.  Yumm!

Chana Masala in the Crockpot

Chickpea Masala

This is easy, lowfat, vegetarian and delicious.  I was worried that the chickpeas would be mushy, but they came out tender and firm.  So good!

Nouns:

3 cups dried chickpeas, picked over

1 can crushed tomatoes

3 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cardamom

1 tbsp curry powder

1-3 tsp chili garlic sauce

1 medium onion, diced

1 veggie boullion cube

1 tbsp honey

1 cup water

1 cup plain yogurt

2 cups rice, prepared

Verbs:

Soak the chickpeas overnight in in enough cold water to completely cover them.  Drain and add them to the crockpot.  Pour the tomatoes, spices, onion, water, honey, boullion and chili garlic sauce over them and stir to combine.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir in the yogurt, if using. Serve over rice.